The rise of social media has had a transcending effect on most industries; it created a platform where attention and popularity can be leveraged for financial gain. This incentivised individuals to stand out. Being mainstream just doesn’t cut it anymore; the extreme is what draws the most attention.
Once attention has been created it attracts a following, a community of individuals who are open to receiving the messaging put out by the creator. With a following comes opportunity for sponsorships and affiliations, this helps raise profile and gives corporations a readily available audience to tap into.
A heavily utilised strategy to stand out is the exploitation of ergogenic aids such as performance enhancing drugs (PEDs). A strategy not only deployed in the fitness industry but one that can also be seen rampant in film and television. This highlights the cultural shift that PEDs used to be seen as taboo but is now becoming an accepted practice. This environment now means that PED usage is no longer being hidden, it’s being incentivised.
The Environment: Why is This Happening?
The attention economy of social media has shifted the priority of content creation. Most coaches start social media to help build an online presence for their business and or, to share their personal training philosophies. Most individuals have a mainstream approach to training including usual variances and preferences, all of which fit the current paradigm. The problem is that doesn’t help them standout, that’s what can lead to these individuals turning to extremes.
The algorithm rewards extremes whether it’s physiques, views or lifestyles. It helps individuals stand out giving them the attention they need to build a following, the more extreme the better it is for gaining views. Figures such as Brian Johnson or ‘Liver King’ used his extreme physique and controversial views on lifestyle to sell his “ancestral tenants” and amass a following of almost 3 million people on Instagram alone. Attributing his physique to his own lifestyle model and denying reports of using PED usage until later being exposed by other content creators in the fitness space.
Other creators don’t deny PED usage but put it at the forefront of their personal brands. The ‘Tren Twins’ have gained popularity for the physiques they created using the anabolic steroid trenbolone gained a following of over four million across YouTube and Instagram. Another individual Max Wadworth has rapidly gained followers from displaying such extreme levels of muscularity he’s often seen flexing while wearing a sleep apnea mask to assist his breathing.
Whether these individuals hide their PED usage or emphasis it, the results are clear, using them as a marketing tactic can be extremely profitable. Leading to the incentivised system of drug usage and in cases rewarding dishonesty around it.
The Normalisation of PED Use
The “natty or not” discussion refers to whether an individual has achieved their results through natural or assisted means, a discussion that many individuals find very important as they crave transparency to help inform their own personal goals. However, the “natty or not” discussion is an individual case-based assessment of a system.
PEDs have shifted from taboo to now semi-accepted, there was a time where influencers/athletes would be scared to admit PED usage in fear they would lose their sponsorships, now global companies such as Gymshark use many enhanced influencers to promote their brands. The most prevalent of this being six-time Mr. Olympia winner Chris Bumstead.
Brands aligning themselves with athletes that use PEDs accentuates the acceptance of drug usage, whether the individuals are forthcoming about it or not. While being transparent is certainly less harmful, it doesn’t make it harmless. It still shapes what people think is achievable and impacts their self-image. This issue is extremely relevant with the young male audience of many of these creators, many of which suffer with body dysmorphia of some description as they’re chasing a new standard of male physique that has been wildly inflated through artificial means.
There’s a strong parallel between what’s previously been seen in women’s beauty standards. The effects of showcasing models with cosmetic surgery, beauty products and edited images shaped how women believed they needed to look to be seen as attractive. The psychological toll caused depression, body dysmorphia and eating disorders. Rightfully so the industry has corrected and shifted towards natural beauty.
So why has this male equivalent been left unchallenged?
The Real Consequences
The choice to use PEDs is down to the individual, rather than analysing individuals’ choices a review of the system that promotes people to stand out through drug usage should be reviewed. The health risks associated with many performance enhancers are well documented, strong links to cardiovascular issues, organ damage, hormonal side effects, reproductive issues and sudden death. The glaring health risks aside, the consequences are further reaching.
The behavioural consequences directly impact the fitness industry, the exposure to PEDs has fed into the “shortcut mindset” that many individuals have when it comes to their health. It tempts people into short-term gains without thinking of long-term solutions. Drawing another parallel to the everyday world, if individuals relied on recreational drugs to alter their mental state their social network will be quick to intervene as society is already conditioned to spot those negative spirals.
The issue with PED usage is that it closely resembles the results of well-structured training and dedication. This blurs the lines between great coaching and pharmacologically driven progress. This makes the differentiation between great training and drug misuse increasingly difficult, often leading to the social acceptance and even celebration of substance abuse as it masquerades as self-improvement. This process leads to drug usage not being concealed but being accepted.
The Coaching Problem
This misalignment between appearance and the process has significant impact on the coaching field. When mixed with social media, appearance is judged without thought to how it was achieved. This can be used to sell coaching without clear evidence of expertise in the coaching process.
This exposure to PED usage due to its semi-acceptance has distorted healthy relationships to non-enhanced training. The population believes progress should be achieved in far shorter time periods, either leading to frustration or temptation to experiment with pharmaceuticals in an effort catch up to those they’re inspiring to emulate. These distortions can directly impact a person’s ability to trust the training process, sabotaging their progress and potential health.
Personal image is a relied upon tactic when it comes to attracting clients especially online. As drug abuse can masquerade as self-improvement, physical appearance can appear as coaching ability. In the hierarchical nature of social media followers bring credibility and credibility without expertise can become dangerous. This adds additional noise to the landscape making more competent coaches harder to hear.
Practical Takeaways
Drug usage is a personal choice; this discussion is not a critique of those who have made that decision. PED usage is not new to the fitness industry, nor is it going to disappear anytime soon. The fundamental issue is the system it thrives within, a system where engagement and views create a false hierarchy of authority based on followers and views which in turn creates marketing opportunities financial gain. From the industry perspective it’s clear that uncontested PED usage is creating acceptance and even encouragement of drug usage. As health and longevity of clients is put at the forefront of all education it’s disappointing that more isn’t being done by the community to discourage harmful decision making, especially within the young male audience who are most venerable to the temptations.
For the industry to thrive and positively influence everyday people it needs to prioritise the health and longevity of the audience. This goes beyond “steroids can cause early death” to thinking about the long-term health and longevity benefits exercise should offer a client. Developing a healthy relationship with training can lead to a lifelong pursuit of self-development, which is an outstanding achievement.
The longevity of the industry relies on educating followers on proper training development, realistic timelines and prioritising the process not the results. With these insights the public will have the skillset to avoid the comparison-based marketing and extremes being posted online, opening the opportunity for qualified sources to distribute education. Once attention has been re-distributed the system incentivising drug usage will lose its impact as the individuals they’re trying to entice understand what a healthy relationship with exercise and training looks like.
