Here we go again! I went from 135 pounds at 14 years old to 230 pounds at 21 years old, all natural!
When I used the drugs, it was for 12 weeks before a contest. At the time, I was 225-230 off season and
natural. When I did my cycle, my weight went down from 225-230 to about 205 for my contest. I did not
gain muscle from the drugs, I did keep my muscle and strength when dieting. When the natural shows came
around, the requirement was one year drug free. I went into my first natural show in 1991, the last time
I used the drugs was in 1990. Of course, I could have just lied and said I never used the drugs and no one
would have known the difference. They did not make me bigger and they didn't contribute to my physique.
If you want to believe that once you do drugs, you are not "natural", than that's your definition of the word.
I didn't make up the rules for the natural contests. As I said, the requirements were one year drug free when
I competed in my first natural show. When I did the Natural Olympia in 1998, the rules were 7 years drug free.
I don't think the drugs changed my physique forever. They are drugs and like any other drugs, when they are
out of your system, they no longer work. I haven't used any drugs since 1990, that's 22 years. I also have never
used HRT or pro hormones. But believe what you want to believe. This pic is me at 21 years old, weighing about
225, again, all natural. I've always, always been honest about what I did. I don't think they made my physique.
I gained all my size naturally and that's why I was able to make the easy transition from the non tested shows to
the natural shows. The guys who used the drugs to build their physiques lost a lot of size when they went natural.
That didn't happen to me because I didn't use the drugs to gain size, I did that naturally.
Herein lies the problem with all these whiners, who think you can't put on that kind of size naturally. They're so scared of being called "fat", that they won't put in the work it takes to bulk up and build that solid base.
I bulked up to 230 back in the mid-90s and I'm 5'9". It took thousands of calories for me to do it and I certainly wasn't ripped (my condition, bodyfat-wise, was similar to yours).
But, when you've never been that size, you have to put away the groceries, or you won't grow (especially if you're an ectomorph like me), steroids or no steroids.
The average Joe would hardly consider you to be "fat" in that pic. In fact, you'd probably got accused of taking everything but the kitchen sink. People said similar things about me and I remember thinking.
"Are you serious? I can barely afford weight gainer and protein powder (I used to take GNC's Challege Milk and Egg protein, which was 'Buy One; Get one 50% 0ff')
. Where the heck am I going to get 'roids?"