Rich Piana, a longtime bodybuilder who has a following on YouTube, proudly admits to using steroids---creating a polarizing effect in the world of fitness.
Piana, according to a MailOnline profile on Sunday, started competing at the age of 15, and he said he’s been cycling on steroids for 27 years---since he was 18. He even posts his drug-taking cycles online, the report says.
Also, he eats nine meals per day and massive protein shakes, according to a recent Deadspin profile. He started using steroids when he failed to place in his first bodybuilding competition.
He weighs about 310 pounds.
The 45-year-old recently began to share photos of himself and his workout regimen on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, drawing a following.
Naturally, he’s received a bevvy of criticism for taking steroids.
“If you have the choice to stay natural or do steroids, stay natural. There’s no reason to do steroids, you’re only hurting your body, you’re hurting yourself,” he said in one YouTube video, per News LTD.
“If you want to become a professional bodybuilder, guess what—you’re probably going to have to [expletive] do ‘em. You’re not going to have a choice.”
According to WebMD, the men who take anabolic steroids might:
- Develop breasts
- Have their testicles shrink
- Have decreased sperm count
- Become infertile
- Become impotent
But Piana says that being honest and straightforward has helped his business ventures and has grown his popularity online.
“Coming out, talking about steroids, just being straight up with people,” he said. “I think people trust me.”
