Surprised to see an article about gear on HN. Very cool. I was more heavily into bodybuilding culture 10-ish years ago when I started lifting. I never took the

Surprised to see an article about gear on HN. Very cool. I was more heavily into bodybuilding culture 10-ish years ago when I started lifting. I never took the stuff, as there are a billionty downsides to using them and you have to train, and diet, even harder while you're on them, but I am saddened, but not surprised, to see that it's gotten _even easier_ to procure these drugs. That said, I am impressed that there are influencers who are finally coming clean about their drug use. It was really taboo to openly admit to taking PEDs back then, so it was really frustrating to see fitness dudes talking about how diet and grindset is the key to gains without mentioning the drugs while also knowing that their followers wanted the same body they had. VICE didn't emphasize the dark side of steroids and PEDs hard enough IMO. Steroids seriously fuck people up permanently when used without (and sometimes with) an oncologist guiding them. Heart and hormone regulation issues are the biggest side effects. And that's assuming you get good-quality drugs, which is very hard to do when you're ordering from wherever the fuck. Here's an article from WaPo that hits on that topic more directly: https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/interactive/2022/bodybuilding-health-risks/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/interactive/20... The article reminded me of another thing I think I read/saw on Reddit where a bodybuilder on gear literally ripped their bicep open during a curl. It was gross. I also remembered that steroids can affect reproductive health and leaves "souvenirs" behind like enlarged guts and fat underneath chest muscles.