2.I strongly disagree as far as the "natural base" goes. I say that you need atleast 8 years of good training before you should ever use anabolic steroids(And be over 18 years old).
From looking at most of the pics of the pros it seems like they get on juice in their teens or early 20's. You gain faster on roids then off them, sp it just seems like a better way to get big. I know people say receptors burn out after a while but I think that the palumbo, kovacs, nasser look is more a result of too much eating, GH, and Slin. Look at guys like Dave Drapper, who has probably been on some kind of exogenous hormones for 40 years and he still looks awesome.
Then there is the argument that without a natural base you are more likely to grow too fast and muscle gains will outpace tendon strength increasing the chances of injury. I think that this could be avoided with conservative progression and a solid background as a natural (no way that 8 years is necessary though, 2-3 of serious training should be plenty).
To some extent I think that talk of the natural base is just another way for pro BBs to claim that their results are not all caused by sauce.
-sS