The Real Reason Young Men Take Anabolic Steroids

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:00]I've been very open about the fact that I blasted huge amounts of anabolic steroids in my 20ies in order to try and get even what would have been considered a mid- physique. And people say two things. They say why and they say why talk about it. Now, I believe that it's better we are transparent with this. I appreciate that Dwayne the Rock Johnson probably shouldn't be open about steroid use and that he got more jacked at 40 than 30 and more jacked at 50 than 40 because then kids would see that and go, "Oh, he's only successful because of steroids. Therefore, I'm going to do it." And that's a fair point. But the more important question here is why. As a 22, 23 year old, I've been working in corporate all my life. And there are not many routes to getting a level of status as a 22-y old. I was in a pretty crap paying job. And I was bottom of the sales department. So every time I tried to put my hand up for a good idea, they're like, "Shut the [ __ ] up. You're 22. You're on £20,000 a year. Go make your [ __ ] phone calls." I wasn't that good at rugby, although I wish I was. So everything in my life was kind of mid.

[00:00:53]loving family, great friendships, but as far as being good at anything, me. I didn't really accomplish anything in my life till I was 27, 28. So, you take anabolic steroids and you start getting good at something. You get good at building muscle. And weirdly enough, when I was blasting the gear, I started looking like all the fitness people that were natural. Whether or not we get to the bottom of that, I don't know. And then suddenly you go from midrigg to having one of the better physiques in the gym, having one of the highest bench presses in the gym. And being a 22, 23-year-old, having another man compliment you on how much you bench, or even girls that you know comment that you're looking great, you're getting an elevation in status. Now, the tough thing for young men is that they're growing up in a world now where they see Lamborghinis, Aventadors, SVJs, GT3 RS's. By the way, when I was young, I couldn't name any Porsches or Lambos, and I didn't know what model Rolexes there were. All we cared about were girls and beating Ssbury away at the rugby club. You lot have been mindfucked into knowing all of this stuff that you shouldn't until late 30s. And your chances of actually having a Lamborghini before your 30 is so slim that the only place you can excel is banging big weights in the gym. And I get it. To the young men watching, I'll tell you this.

[00:01:56]Sometimes the shortcuts aren't the best way forward. And a good example of that would be Love Island. You see the amount of people that go on Love Island, some of them make a career out of it, but most of them crash and burn. and they get a million followers and they spend the rest of their life just dwindling away followers and ending up in a really bad period of mental health. And anabolic steroids are very much the same. You're going to get an elevation to a super physiological place and it's going to be very difficult to come down from there. So, you're either on them for life. My embarrassing story is I got off and started CrossFit. I know. I know. And it was that I was actually chasing a girl. She was really, really attractive. Her name was Natasha. If you're watching, thanks. And that slowly pulled me away from me attaching my worth to how I looked, to how I performed, to how fast I could run a mile, to whether or not I could do a toast to bar. And it very much pulled me away and put me into a community where people just cared that I turned up for the workout and I was there to, you know, banter with them rather than just to look in the mirror and always think to myself, I'm never going to be enough.

[00:02:47]I'm never going to look enough. I'm not big enough. I can't bench enough or whatever. Stripped away all the negative side of things so that I could ultimately have a a more positive relationship with my training and myself. Then that CrossFit turned into Brazilian jiu-jitsu. It's difficult to say this because the majority of men won't really start getting good at things until your late 20s and your early 30s. Probably most men peak at 33, 34. My brain didn't really start developing until 28. I still drug dealing for fun in my mid20s. Dumb [ __ ] I'm talking dumb [ __ ] I'm talking having a perfectly good life, having a successful personal training business, and meeting my dealer to pick up enough drugs to go to jail for thinking it's okay. They're just for my friends. I remember texting my dealer. Great guy.

[00:03:28]Great guy, by the way. Beautiful guy.

[00:03:29]He's got out the game. He's not gone to jail. So, Metropolitan Police, I will not give you his name. And I remember looking at the order and I messaged him and I said, "Do you reckon I can come pick this up in two goes?" He goes, "No." I went, "Why not?" He goes, "Either way, you're going to jail.

[00:03:41]You're half this amount, you're going to jail." He goes, "Come and getting it in one go is actually safer." And that was the moment I knew it's time to get out and stop being an idiot. The problem with steroids is they're great. You feel amazing. I'm on TRT right now and it is nowhere close to how great I felt on steroids. But it took me years to fall in love with weight training again. To be perfectly honest, I never did fall in love with weight training again. I just do it to offset injuries from jiu-jitsu.

[00:04:03]The point I want to make is what you are looking for by taking steroids, you will never find. And the fact that I wanted to get bigger, to be less insecure, to be held in high regard in in just one area of my life goes to show that there was an underlying issue there. And I've still not figured it out. Not fully. But it was only that when I finally had a business that I could put all my attention into, that I could start to grow, and that I could start to give my my effort to, I got recognition from my work, which meant I didn't have to use my physique to get recognition. It was then when I started Brazilian jiu-jitsu 9 years ago that I moved into a realm of training that I loved where I could socialize because going to the gym, listening to Lincoln Park, lifting weights, trying to kill my muscles, it's quite a negative space versus going to training and seeing people that I'm looking forward to seeing to putting my trust in them and starting to learn new skills. And then now having a family, the amount of guys out there that are considering or probably going to start running protocols without knowing how much it could impact your future levels of testosterone, which could be another reason why I had to start TRT so early in life. Not to mention the impact it could have on your fertility or the other things it could do. Gynecostia, mood swings, hair loss, whatever. It's only now at 36 that I'm starting to understand why I blasted gear. The scary thing is I now pull back a syringe, inject, whatever. And the syringes are much smaller, the needles are much smaller. I do my blood work very frequently. uh do my blood pressure, do everything. When I did it before, I couldn't even tell you how much I was taking. I couldn't tell you my blood work, couldn't tell you where my estradar was at, nothing. So, for any of you that are considering a blast, I know that you're thinking it's just a 12week holiday. It's just a little lifting retreat with oneway ticket. I'm not going to say I regret it. Some of them pumps were mad. But just ask yourself why you're doing it. And and I think the reason is you just want recognition for being good at something in your life.

[00:05:40]And I can relate to that. And if you're just willing to to keep going for a little bit longer, you could put your energy into something that can compound.

[00:05:46]So, for instance, for me, it was social media. It was building a brand online.

[00:05:48]It was it was working. It was being a personal trainer. Uh, it was trying to be better at CrossFit and then being better at jiu-jitsu. And now it's trying to be a good family man. Now, it's trying to grow a drinks brand. I got something I can put my energy into where I can get status and recognition. And for those of you that are in that steroid loop cycle, I just don't think there are many bodybuilders that are that truly happy. I rip into them a lot.

[00:06:07]And the the truth is I'm I'm a failed bodybuilder in a lot of respects. I even think that Arie would have stepped off stage winning his fourth Mr. Olympia title and not been happy with his car.

[00:06:17]So, if you're going to spend your life being bitterly unhappy with any progress that you make and any achievement you make not being enough, put it into something like business or at least your misery can pay the mortgage and put your family in a beautiful house. Put it into jiu-jitsu. Put it into CrossFit or high rocks. Just don't put it into your reflection in the mirror seeing how big you can get. I was fortunate enough to be not enough of an idiot to get away without causing any permanent damage.

[00:06:40]So, I think it won't be the same for everyone. So, to those of you in your young 20s, I get that you want to be good at something. Just don't do that. I look at that picture of myself. It's unrecognizable. 25's not late. You still got loads of time ahead of you. Like I said, my brain only started working between 26 and 36. And besides, trying to get big pecs and big shoulders to get compliments from other guys in the gym.

[00:07:00]It's a bit gay, which has nothing wrong with, but it's a bit gay. Slight high rocks. Anyway, thought I'd share that with you today. Bye-bye.