Anyone wondering about what life is like on the dark side of the force. For those who have moved past the safety of their body's own limit and rely on massive dosages of T in the form of steroids.
I am busy - summarize it for me
Okay class, since you've been very good and it's Friday as I write this, as a treat we're going to watch a video. It's a short exploration of life as a dedicated long term steroid user and how it can affect your social life and health.
The Swole Nine Yards
A while back we wrote a piece for the site exploring the comeback in popularity of steroids. In hindsight that article was probably – appropriately enough – way too big.
But it’s a subject we still we get a lot of emails about. What’s it like to take massive amounts of synthetic testosterone on a regular basis? What are the potential risks and advantages? Are either being exaggerated?
This video from Vice Sports gives a brief but incredibly useful insight in to life as a regular steroid user.
It gets perspectives from both a medical side and that of long-time user. You might be surprised just how similar the two takes are.
So let’s recap.
The upsides: they’re almost purely cosmetic. If the body shapes in this video are the kind you want to achieve, then no question you’re going to struggle to do that naturally.
What’s telling though, is that nobody interviewed, not the doc or notably the roid pro bro, denied the dangers or down played the side effects.
He admitted to bouts of sexual dysfunction, depression, aggression and worried about a shutting down of natural T production.
These and more are all consequences that have been laid at the door of steroid use, but a lot of hardcore synthetic T fans still deny.
It also busts the commonly held myth that the steroids will do all the work. You heard it straight from the bodybuilder’s mouth folks, they won’t. You’re not cutting down on hard work, but you are loading up on risk.
tl; dr ... Short and to the Point
Who is this article aimed at?
Anyone wondering about what life is like on the dark side of the force. For those who have moved past the safety of their body's own limit and rely on massive dosages of T in the form of steroids.
I am busy - summarize it for me
Okay class, since you've been very good and it's Friday as I write this, as a treat we're going to watch a video. It's a short exploration of life as a dedicated long term steroid user and how it can affect your social life and health.
3 comments
Peter says:
Sadly, the bodybuilder you have in the photo on top of the page just passed away due to cardiac arrest. He was an incredibly nice guy as well as a wealth of knowledge for those of us who subscribed to his Youtube channel. 350lbs of fat or 350lbs of muscle…. I don’t think the heart knows the difference. RIP Rich Piana
Thanks for comment. I knew it was Rich, I deliberately chose the featured photo of the article to be him as I can’t think of a more appropriate person to use in an article entitled ‘Life on Steroids’ – he started when he was 18 and used them until he died at 45. So literally his entire adult life.
I also thought it was appropriate given how open he always was about his steroid use, and the fact that his views seemed to chime a bit with the guys in the video (ie, it’s the hard work and time in the gym that counts). It also seemed relevant that the video featured a doctor warning about potential health problems, although to my knowledge there’s no conclusive link between his death and his steroid use – if I’m wrong about this then just flame me via the reply button.
A polemic character but I liked him and the bodybuilding world has certainly lost a colorful character there. RIP Rich.
We had a chat in the office, maybe the choice of a photo of Rich wasn’t in the best taste given he’s only just passed away. Wasn’t meaning to be controversial but appreciate that could cause offence so I’ve changed it out for an old one of Dorian Yates.
3 comments
Peter says:
Sadly, the bodybuilder you have in the photo on top of the page just passed away due to cardiac arrest. He was an incredibly nice guy as well as a wealth of knowledge for those of us who subscribed to his Youtube channel. 350lbs of fat or 350lbs of muscle…. I don’t think the heart knows the difference. RIP Rich Piana
Rob Wright says:
Hi Peter,
Thanks for comment. I knew it was Rich, I deliberately chose the featured photo of the article to be him as I can’t think of a more appropriate person to use in an article entitled ‘Life on Steroids’ – he started when he was 18 and used them until he died at 45. So literally his entire adult life.
I also thought it was appropriate given how open he always was about his steroid use, and the fact that his views seemed to chime a bit with the guys in the video (ie, it’s the hard work and time in the gym that counts). It also seemed relevant that the video featured a doctor warning about potential health problems, although to my knowledge there’s no conclusive link between his death and his steroid use – if I’m wrong about this then just flame me via the reply button.
A polemic character but I liked him and the bodybuilding world has certainly lost a colorful character there. RIP Rich.
Rob Wright says:
Peter,
We had a chat in the office, maybe the choice of a photo of Rich wasn’t in the best taste given he’s only just passed away. Wasn’t meaning to be controversial but appreciate that could cause offence so I’ve changed it out for an old one of Dorian Yates.
Thanks again,
Rob