Rachel Nicholas, Staff Writer
A time was had this past Saturday, as a crowd assembled in Monroe Park to watch around the judges table to behold a positive competition for those who feel like outsiders — Richmond’s first ever “Chud-Off.”
The definition of chud changes with the eye of the beholder, according to Dylan Grasso, the lead organizer. The beauty of the contest is that anyone could be a chud and win.
Grasso created the event after a throw away joke he made about a contest where the winner would be crowned the biggest chud.
“The joke was made and about a month later, and here we are,” Grasso said. “It’s a lot more planned out now, more fleshed out then it was before. A lot of it is based on the performative male contest that was here in the fall.”
Some notable chuds of history include Ronald Reagan and Will Smith, according to Grasso.
“Chudnana,” a banana-costume-wearing-chud, gave his own definition of what truly makes a chud.
“So my definition of a chud is someone who stays inside, never does anything with their life, unemployed and dumb, essentially a big, fat chud,” Chudnana said.
As the Chud-Off commenced, the judges, or chudges, evaluated the best of the best. They took notes, marking down the contents with true displays of chud, according to Chudges Madison Fadely and Tiffany Russo, otherwise known as Tiffart.
“I’d say it was based mostly on a feeling,” Russo said. “Everyone came with really good qualifications, and made sure to write them all down. We also look at how the audience reacted, like if there was a lot of commotion or just a big reaction, we would be like ‘Oh yeah, this guy is the real deal.’”
The competition was broken off into five sections, each emerging with a winner. The sections were The Dumbest Chud, The Truecel Chud Award, the Foid Award, the Most Nefarious Chud and the Mega Chud.
The Chud of Shame, also known as George Sullivan, walked away with the “Truecel [true incel] Chud Award.” He listed Jughead from Riverdale as chudspiration, begging the question: “Have you ever seen me without my second pair of cat ears on?”
Sullivan feels that he is a chud at heart and shared a message to all the young, aspiring chuds of today.
“This is for all the chuds of color … anyone can be a chud, no matter what color you are, you just have to hate yourself, a lot,” Sullivan said.
In the end, the Chud-Off proved to be more than just a joke brought to life, but a space for humor, creativity and self-expression to collide. Through playful performances and enthusiastic crowd reactions, the event highlighted a shared understanding that identity, even as a chud, can be celebrated as a community.