its only the genetics that determine everything. plus you gotta have the will power. there are alot of genetic freaks out there who look incredible without steroids. then there are some others who have been lifting forever and look like they never touched a weight in thier lives. its apples and oranges people. same way with steroids. you can take enough to kill ronnie coleman but if you have bad genetics and receptors it doesnt matter. and some guys can take trt amounts and blow up. its not fair but thats life
I've trained hard since I was 15. Never touched gear. I knew early on I didn't have good genetics to put on size, at least for my upper body. My legs are the only body part that blew up quick. Everything else has always been a struggle. Pushing too hard for my frame is probably what fucked up my shoulders.
Back in the 90's when I lived in LA I trained with my friend Eloy. We were close to the same height, but he looked much better than me. My best shape lean was about 155 with about 5% bodyfat or so at a little over 5'7". He was 5'8", 172, and had striated tris and quads at that weight, along with beautiful shape. He competed in a few local shows when he lived up north in Tulare and did pretty well. If he chose to do gear, he would have been fantastic. As hard as I trained and dieted, I looked okay, but never like him. It all comes down to genetics. And response to gear, if you choose to go that route. Since I knew I didn't have the potential to really look good, I saw no point in going that route.