Examining Celebrity Influencers that have used SARMs/PEDs
Opinions in the bodybuilding and fitness community about SARMs tend to be mixed. Many people mistakenly liken them to steroids because of their results and their side effects, but the two drugs of course completely different. Still, there are many top bodybuilders and fitness influencers that have openly used SARM products to build lean muscle, shred and/or lose weight fast.
It’s important to review these famous (or at least internet famous!) people and see their opinion on these supplements because these people are often extremely successful and at the top of their fields. Their opinion carries more weight because of that, of course, but even more importantly, they have the expert knowledge to really be able to state what their experience with SARMs was.
Keep in mind that not all of the people listed in this article are currently competing bodybuilders. Rather than simply focus on current fitness influencers, we decided to review some of the biggest names in bodybuilding: currently, recently, and in the past, and see what people think about their opinions on performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) as well as their own past personal experiences.
So kick back and relax, and let’s take a look at some of the top bodybuilders and fitness influencers that use SARMs for in their quest for enhanced physiques.
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Experience
You shouldn’t be surprised to see this name on the list: while Arnold didn’t take SARMs because they weren’t around during the time that he was dominant, he would’ve no-doubt taken them if they had been available. Arnold absolutely used steroids and PED during his time as a bodybuilder, as do most that compete.
Many bodybuilders have access to different kinds of supplements or drugs: some of which aren’t always tested for or don’t show up all the time on standardized tests from various different bodybuilding organizations.
With that said, Arnie was absolutely a god back in the day. He had one of the most jacked bodies in history: looking at Arnie in the late 60s and early 70s is like looking at a picture of a modern Hercules. Arnold was completely shredded, ripped, and jacked.
You better believe that he used steroids to do it because everyone was (and is) still using steroids, though some have replaced them with SARMs.
What was Arnold’s stance on steroid use and how does the fitness and bodybuilding industry handles it? Let’s take a look at that.
His PED Story
“Steroids are taken eight, nine, ten weeks before a competition. It’s not a healthy thing to do. But it’s done. I took them, I take them. I took them right up until the competition. It was something that everyone had to do in order to get an equal chance.”
The above is a quote from Arnold from an old interview that he did back in the day when he was much younger. Arnold openly admits here that he did take steroids, he took them repeatedly, every day, and he used them to gain the same advantage that everyone else in the business was gaining at the time.
While this may seem like open cheating to some, the unfortunate truth of the matter – which Arnold lays out immediately – is that you’re required to take the same kind of supplements or drugs to compete as others: because if you don’t, you’ll obviously be the loser and you won’t ever win any of the competitions.
It’d be nice to pretend that honour alone is worth the effort, but people want to win. Arnold did. People like Ronnie Coleman did. People don’t go that far unless they have the will and the desire. Sometimes, that’s all that matters to people.
We’re not personally judging Arnold or any other bodybuilder or fitness influencer in here. Rather, we’re seeking to shed light on the situation.
Finally, while Arnold did not take SARMs – as previously stated – he absolutely would have if they were available, and his experience with PEDs is overall relevant to this discussion.
The Story of James Ellis
“I went down the dark side, which is a very easy decision… the more your appearance counts, you start getting accolades, followers, and those kinds of moral decisions go right out the window.” – James Ellis
James Ellis is another good example of a bodybuilder and a fitness influencer that used PEDs, as many of them do. While not all PEDs are SARMs, the reason that it’s important to review people like James Ellis or Arnold is their experience and the information they have to offer is relevant to how SARMs are used now.
James Ellis did not use SARMs. Instead, he took oral anabolic steroids. He had already been lifting for quite some time, of course, and was experienced before he ever began taking PEDs. Like many other athletes, bodybuilders, fitness influencers, and similar individuals, James Ellis felt the pressure from all directions: competitions, online influence, image, and everything relating to the goals and dreams he was shooting for. Everyone uses and everyone knows that everyone uses PEDs in pretty much all of these competitions.
James Ellis got huge progress from taking the steroids, too. He gained between six to nine pounds, won a competition, and got sponsorships and work. He became successful because he took anabolic steroids. Just as almost everyone else who competes in these types of events and competitions.
His PED Experience
James Ellis no longer uses steroids. He used them for six years and then quit bodybuilding in 2018. He became a coach for other bodybuilders and assists them, and is still active in the industry. However, his PED experience is interesting.
Essentially, Ellis spoke out and admitted that he took steroids because he wanted to highlight certain aspects of the industry. He talked about the fact that he took steroids for six years but never disclosed it on social media: calling it ‘the standard,’ as if he and everyone else he knew did this and thought that it was normal.
Ellis doesn’t seem to hold a horrible opinion towards PEDs as a whole. Rather, his current and future stance appears to be one more based around honesty than anything else: he and many others have commented on the idea that bodybuilders not disclosing their PEDs is bad and actually causes body dysmorphia in the many young men that follow these influencers.
James Ellis, like Arnold, did not take SARMs: but similarly, his experience is relevant in highlighting certain aspects of the industry.
The Tale of Ryan Casey
Ryan Casey is a popular and well-known fitness influencer that became famous at the very young age of 18 years old. People admire him for his body and his work ethic, and his following has grown to be huge: both on Youtube and Instagram. He’s one of the more well-known names in the industry, especially when you see that he’s open and honest about his PED use.
Many people feel positive about that, though that might seem strange. The fitness/bodybuilding industry is harsh and competitive, and being able to stack up to some of the men that compete in those contests is extremely difficult. Most coaches, if spoken to, admit to the fact that almost all that compete take some form of PED. Some have even said anyone who says they don’t are a liar.
So what PED did Ryan Casey take, and how did it affect his career and his influence?
Ryan Casey’s Experience with PEDs
“Have I used steroids? No. Have I used SARMs? Yes… it was solely my decision to take them.” – Ryan Casey, October 2018, on his usage of PEDs
The above quote comes from Ryan Casey’s open admission video from October 2018 in which he responded to a series of allegations and accusations about steroid usage and PED usage. As a big bodybuilder and a fitness influencer, and someone who’s been lifting for between 5-6 years (at the time of that video), Ryan makes it clear that the SARMs improved both his strength as well as his ability to build muscle.
Ryan confirms what SARMs he took as well: Andarine, LGD-4033, and Ibutamoren. He used Ostarine in his second cycle, which isn’t surprising, since it’s one of the more effective SARMs that are out there, along with the others Ryan also took.
Ryan confirms that he took not just one, but two cycles of SARMs: spread out about half a year from one another. One cycle was from October to January, and the next was when Ryan did a cut over the summer. Ostarine was used for that cut.
Casey achieved huge progress with his SARMs. He gained weight, he bulked up and put on quite a bit more weight: from about 175 to 208 lbs. His bench press, according to him, went up significantly and it was far easier for him to perform it, according to him, “hitting 335 like it was air.”
He did not lie about his usage and he was clear that it was his decision to take them. While some may believe this to be wrong, it’s likely that Ryans’s competitors and rivals are most likely on the same thing.
Open Usage from Noel Deyzel
Noel Deyzel is a well-known bodybuilder who has an Instagram following of around 2.6 million. As one of the bigger bodybuilder or fitness influencers on online social media, he has quite a following and has given tons of information and opinions over time.
One thing that Deyzel made a statement about last year in 2021 was PEDs. First, he didn’t even attempt to deny the fact that he used PEDs, though he did not disclose what type of PED they were. So he could have been using SARMs, steroids, both, or something else. Using both is relatively common in the bodybuilding world – just a quick bit of information.
Whatever it was, Deyzel did not make that aspect clear. What he did, instead, make clear was how he felt about things like SARMs and PEDs.
Deyzel didn’t seem to mind if adults decided to use PEDs: after all, he himself admitted that he used them, regularly, and had for a while. Deyzel also acknowledged that he wouldn’t admit what ‘gear’ he was using because he had young audiences and he didn’t want them to know what it was he was using.
So how does Deyzel feel about PEDs?
Noel Deyzel’s Opinion on PEDs
“Too many influencers are chasing money and profiting off of vulnerability.” – Noel Deyzel, July 2021
Deyzel doesn’t seem to mind if adults, who can make their own decisions, use PEDs. SARMs technically fall under this definition, even though they aren’t steroids because they can provide an unfair advantage in competitions against those who aren’t using them.
Deyzel, like many others, acknowledges that everyone in these competitions uses these substances. Where he draws the line (in what seems to be pretty reasonable common sense) is that influencers shouldn’t attempt to profit off of extremely young viewers or underage audience members who could try these drugs and ruin their bodies at a young age.
Besides that, Noel acknowledges the reality of the situation and of the industry: which is that if you don’t use PEDs, you’ll lose, and you won’t be able to compete with everyone else who’s trying to fight for first place.
The Advice from Brandon Curry
Brandon Curry is an extremely well-known modern bodybuilder who won Mr. Olympia in 2019. Coming in first and securing the gold must have felt good, but Brandon Curry didn’t bother to try and hide the fact that he used PEDs in a recent interview.
Much like everyone else in the industry, Curry wanted to win. People that choose to become bodybuilders want to be the best: it’s a kind of mentality, a desire to win, something to struggle and achieve. It’s meant to be a fight. Just because you took PEDs doesn’t necessarily completely ruin that fact, especially because it’s back to determining who’s the best again if all of the athletes or bodybuilders were on the same juice or gear.
Perhaps that doesn’t always happen, but similarly to other people on this list, Curry took PEDs because he wanted to compete and he wanted to win. He didn’t want to be left behind. Curry didn’t make a mention of what kind of PED he took, only that he did.
Brandon Curry PED Info
“You gotta have people you trust or people you know for a fact source correctly. There’s tons of fake bullcrap all over the world because there’s money in it.” – Brandon Curry
Brandon Curry is right in explaining that unfortunately fake supplements or SARMs can be common in the industry: it’s why that’s it’s recommended you buy from well-known companies with purity certifications when it comes to buying supplements and similar products.
Brandon echoes a similar story to many other men in this article: the fact that it’s almost required to take these kinds of supplements and drugs if you want to remain competitive in the industry. Doing anything else is essentially setting yourself up for losing. You’re playing a game that you know is rigged, but you’re doing it fairly, and there’s only one way that’s ever going to go.
With so many high-profile names speaking out about this – Brandon Curry being a huge one since he’s a former Mr. Olympia Champion – it really shows that the sentiment that they’re trying to bring forward is a shared one. If only one or two big names spoke out about it, people would believe in it a little less.
But because most big names openly admit that PEDs are a huge problem in the industry and that pretty much everyone uses them in some way, it’s brought a lot to all of this.
Shawn Ray’s Story
Finally, the last bodybuilder that we’re going to talk about today is Shawn Ray. Shawn Ray is a legendary retired body builder that competed in over thirty major competitions. He was so well-known that he even had an epithet: ‘Giant-Killer.’ While this is all entertaining, what it really does is show just how experienced Shawn Ray is in the industry.
Shawn Ray is another big bodybuilder who is open about his use of PEDs. He never liked the drugs, but like all others, he felt like had to use them in order to compete with everyone else that was competing at the time.
Ray has competed and placed in Mr. Olympia’s top 5 over 12 times. He also won a Mr. Arnold competition, which was his biggest claim to fame. His experiences with PEDs, though, while not SARMs, is probably the final statement we need to elucidate the industry’s situation.
Shawn Ray’s PED Experiences
“I had a personal disdain for all forms of drugs in our sport, as I saw them as a necessary evil that coexisted with my first love.” – Shawn Ray
The above quote shows, finally, that most of these top bodybuilders and influencers feel the same way: while they may not hate PEDs, many of them would choose not to take them if it didn’t feel necessary. But if they don’t do it, they won’t be able to compete.
Ultimately, while the above bodybuilders chose to use PEDs, the industry itself is to blame at large: for forcing that to be a necessity if you want a real shot at winning a competition. It’s an interesting thing because it also shows that the perfect bodies that we’re constantly presented with – on both the female and male halves of the spectrum – aren’t always 100% honest as they’re touted to be.
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