Advise on whether to gain or lose weight

Dr Feigenbaum,
I am currently trying to decide whether I would be better off gaining weight or losing a little bit of body fat before eating in a surplus. Ultimately my goal over time is to continue to get stronger and improve my body composition, but that is probably a lot of people’s goals right?
I am a 24 year old male ;my height is 6’2", weight average the past week is 208.5, waist is 35.75" and I am Caucasian.
My current e1rm are 285 bench, 470 squat and 565 dead lift.
I feel body composition wise I am kind of at the point where I could diet either way, but I don’t know if my waist measurement is too close to where it could become unhealthy and if I would be better off dropping several pounds first.
Thanks for your time!

Your waist measurement is nowhere near “unhealthy”, but ultimately what you want to do and what you want to get out of your training will determine what you should do.

If it were me at your age, I’d gain some weight and sign up for a meet to see if you like it.