Judging from the picture on Wikipedia, Rippetoe himself looks like someone who would look better if he lost some weight (but I'm a heterosexual male, so my judgement might be inaccurate).

I'm somewhat annoyed that the comments on this thread are vapid, but this might be worth responding to. It doesn't particularly matter whether or not Rippetoe is himself currently ripped -- see this Wikipedia article of yours for his domain expert credentials:

He is one of the few strength athletics authorities to publish both peer-reviewed articles as well as books for the lay population. Unlike most strength and conditioning academics, he has several decades of practical application as an elite-level strength coach, former competitive powerlifter, and a current gym owner.

Secondly, notice that he was a competitive powerlifter thirty years ago. Senescence is a bitch.