A cocktail of societal pressures, poor education, and widespread availability have resulted in a massive increase in steroid use across the UK. Is there anything we can do to kick the habit?

ÔÇ£The whole ÔÇÿroid rageÔÇÖ thing? Load of bollocks.ÔÇØ

 

If anybody knows that, itÔÇÖs Dave Crosland. As I talk on the phone to him, I put his name into a search engine for what must be the hundredth time this afternoon. I simply canÔÇÖt comprehend the size of the man. Standing at 6ÔÇÖ2 and weighing 28st, his entire frame is covered in gargantuan slabs of muscle that look like they could break the bonds of his skin at any moment. Perhaps unsurprisingly, heÔÇÖs known within the bodybuilding community as ÔÇÿThe FreakÔÇÖ. Even on the phone, he sounds big.

 

Throughout the past year, there have been a number of media stories that indicate that steroid use is on the rise, warning of the dire consequences that could befall both the NHS and users themselves. Now normally, itÔÇÖd be easy to dismiss this sort of reporting as nothing more than a good old-fashioned moral panic, another boogieman fabricated by the yellow press in a desperate attempt to get a few extra copies moved off the shelf. But the trend is something IÔÇÖve noticed myself. Former school friends – who I havenÔÇÖt seen in years ÔÇô will upload pictures to their social media accounts of their chiselled pumped-up bodies, a far cry from the doughy, pasty physiques I remember. Of course, it would be deeply unfair to accuse every single person whoÔÇÖs transformed their body of having used steroids to do so. But conversely, itÔÇÖd be na├»ve to suggest that your mate LeonÔÇÖs new acne is just a by-product of his ultra high-protein diet. Steroids arenÔÇÖt being used by everyone, and itÔÇÖd be irresponsible to suggest that users are anything but a minority. But itÔÇÖs time to acknowledge that the problem exists, and itÔÇÖs not going away.

 

This is why IÔÇÖve sought out Dave, to find out whatÔÇÖs behind the boom. . As a man whoÔÇÖs taken steroids on and off for over 20 years, heÔÇÖs seen the changes to how steroids are made and sold, as well as the change in the types of people who are taking them. After all, steroids have been around for years, but until recently, theyÔÇÖve pretty much been the preserve of bodybuilders. Now, theyÔÇÖre used by men of various ages, shapes and sizes, from snapback-wearing, fake-tanning, chest-waxing ├╝berLADs, to middle-aged men hoping to recapture some of the masculinity they feel has been lost to age. DaveÔÇÖs also spoken before to a variety of publications ÔÇô VICE, The Guardian, and The Independent to name but a few ÔÇô about both his own experiences on steroids, and has called on numerous occasions for greater awareness and education about their effects. A week after our conversation, he appears on Reggie YatesÔÇÖ BBC Three show Dying For a Six Pack, and says a lot of the same things to Reggie on camera as he did to me on the phone. Only this time, he makes the same salient points with blood pouring out of his head; his blood pressure is so high that an extremely intense set on the leg press has caused one of his veins to literally burst. He seems like a good starting point.

 

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We begin talking about how one goes about obtaining steroids, and itÔÇÖs clear from the outset that the Internet has made that aspect easier than ever before. ÔÇ£Type ÔÇÿsteroids for saleÔÇÖ into Google and see how many hits you get,ÔÇØ he asks. I feel his request is more imperative than rhetorical, so I oblige. Immediately IÔÇÖm bombarded by a multitude of sites claiming that their EXTREME GEAR!!! will make me BIGGER!!! and itÔÇÖs all 100% LEGAL!!! IÔÇÖm somewhat doubtful, and Dave says I should be.

 

ÔÇ£This is a conservative guess, but IÔÇÖd say 50% of the steroids sold in this country today arenÔÇÖt what they say they are,ÔÇØ he claims, although he clarifies that this doesnÔÇÖt necessarily mean everyone who purchases steroids online is being sold sherbet. He elaborates, ÔÇ£You might go and buy testosterone decanoate, which is a slow-acting testosterone, but what you might end up being sold is testosterone propionate, which is a fast-acting testosterone, and a lot cheaper to manufacture. The amateur will still feel something, and not realise theyÔÇÖve got the wrong thing.ÔÇØ

 

Surely then, itÔÇÖd be reasonable to assume that the lack of quality control and regulation would have a negative impact on the health of users? But according to Dave, the implications in this regard arenÔÇÖt that big. ÔÇ£You very rarely get bad gear on the marketplace,ÔÇØ he says, ÔÇ£And if you do, itÔÇÖs very quickly found out by the user population, and very quickly shunned,ÔÇØ he says. However, itÔÇÖs well documented that even ÔÇÿpureÔÇÖ steroids can present serious health issues. Dave details his own problems with headaches, as well as stomach and liver issues, and bouts of acne. He neglects to mention his occasionally bleeding head. Perhaps itÔÇÖs such a regular occurrence, he no longer considers it a problem.

 

Other users have experienced more severe side effects. Author Craig Davidson underwent a 16-week cycle as part of the research for his book, The Fighter. He endured, among other things, cranial swelling, testicular atrophy, as well as gynomastia – the growing of breast tissue due to the build-up of oestrogen in the body, known to bodybuilders and Fight Club fans as ÔÇÿbitch-titsÔÇÖ. But when I caught up with him, he told me that the worst side effect of all was the swelling of his prostate, which meant that he was awake up to 15 times a night trying to urinate. He said, ÔÇ£It never felt like my bladder was empty. I was in my early 30ÔÇÖs, too young to have those kinds of issues. And theyÔÇÖre issues that persist, on and off, to this day – and ones that I imagine I’ll be dealing with the rest of my life.ÔÇØ

 

Tragically, there are also rare instances where users have died. Steroids have a low mortality rate compared to other drugs, but often this makes the few deaths that do occur even more harrowing, usually due to the young age of the victims as well as the severity of their symptoms. One example that received particularly heavy media attention was the death of Oli Cooney, from Bradford, who died in 2013. It was reported that as a result of his steroid habit, he suffered a heart attack and three strokes, before finally succumbing to a second heart attack. He was just 20 years old.

 

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So why is steroid use so prevalent nowadays, even when the risks are clear to see? Its a combination of several factors, says Crosland. Theres more social pressure on young men than theres ever been its not just pressure from their peer groups, but pressure from the media as well. Were given a very false ideal by the media, and by advertising. A lot of the physiques you see have been built with drugs, but thats never admitted. You couple that with a society thats inherently lazy, a society where theres a pill for every ill, a society that wants instant gratification when all these things come together and you have the mass availability of drugs, you get people that get frustrated and say, Fuck it, I want to look like this, Im gonna take these.

 

DaveÔÇÖs assessment of our society seems like a bit of a sweeping generalisation, but when it comes to the different pressures facing young men today, I only have to look as far as myself to see that heÔÇÖs absolutely right. I go to the gym four times a week, along with the majority of my friends. Our aims differ, to an extent. A few of us go to counteract our disgracefully unhealthy student lifestyles, reasoning that being able to bench 120kg will somehow make it acceptable to two whole pizzas for dinner, so long as we say weÔÇÖre bulking. Others take it considerably more seriously. But in one goal weÔÇÖre united: we want to look good, and looking good means being big. None of us have taken steroids, but weÔÇÖve all consumed more than our fair share of protein shakes, creatine pills, and a wide variety of other commonly used supplements. ItÔÇÖs not exactly hard to see other young men like us looking for something to take their training to another level, other young men who are willing to accept the risks that come with taking a substance made in a laboratory, rather than one made in your own body.

 

And this is perhaps the most obvious explanation why steroids are so popular. No matter how much harm is that for all the harm that steroids can do to the human body, people are taking them because they work. Davidson explains, ÔÇ£I’d plateaued. My body was what it was, did what it did. It had limits. Well, ‘roids pushed those limits, blew them away. It was mesmerizing and addicting, that feeling. It’s strange at any age to feel like some of the things that limited you don’t anymore. Like taking a pill that increases your IQ by 30 points. It’s all chemical nonsense, it’s not really YOU, but that’s immaterial at some point. It feels enough like truth that you accept it as such.ÔÇØ

 

ItÔÇÖs important to note that some men arenÔÇÖt just after aesthetics when they take steroids. More and more amateur sportsmen are turning to drugs, mostly those playing contact sports where strength and power are prized assets. This might seem a little extreme, considering at amateur level thereÔÇÖs little more at stake than pride, but this practice is reflective of how far steroid culture has come into the mainstream. Chris*, a student who has played rugby and American football, spoke to me about his decision to undertake a pro-hormone cycle in order to increase his performance. He explained that while pro-hormones donÔÇÖt work in the same way as traditional anabolic steroids, they are synthetic substances that raise precursors to testosterone, which subsequently raise the level of testosterone within the body. Because of this, both the bodybuilding community and the media have labelled them ÔÇ£designer steroids.ÔÇØ Part of ChrisÔÇÖs decision to start using was that his sporting commitments were holding back his progress in the gym. ÔÇ£I’ve always wanted to better myself, no matter what training program or diet I tried,ÔÇØ he said, ÔÇ£and whilst playing a sport, my body couldn’t make any strength progress because of how sore or tired I was. After consideration, and reviews from friends who previously tried it, I decided, why not?ÔÇØ

 

You can come to your own conclusion about the root of the problem, but one thingÔÇÖs for certain: the trend is only on the rise. Official statistics from the Crime Survey for England and Wales estimate that there are around 60,000 users in the UK, but these figures consist only of those who end up in police custody. And since the law surrounding steroids is pretty relaxed in comparison to other drugs (theyÔÇÖre illegal to sell, but theyÔÇÖre legal to buy, so long as theyÔÇÖre bought for personal consumption and not distribution), many of those who do find themselves in are often suppliers, rather than users. Consequently, because the law is structured to criminalise the few dealers rather than the many users, the scale of the problem is much larger than official statistics would indicate. Steroid expert Professor Julien Baker, from the University of the West of Scotland says, ÔÇ£there are needle exchanges in Cardiff and Glasgow which say theyÔÇÖve seen a 600% increase for steroid users over 10 years. The real figure is definitely in the hundreds of thousands.ÔÇØ

 

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ItÔÇÖs pretty clear that our steroid problem isnÔÇÖt going away any time soon, so how can we control it? Because the current law attempts to avoid criminalising personal users, some critics believe the current system to be too weak, and have called for more severe penalties. But the general belief among users, the medical community, and most significantly among lawmakers, is that criminalising users will allow the root causes of the problem to go unaddressed, as well as creating new problems. This stance seems to run contrary to the punitive mentality that has so often undermined previous pieces of drug legislation in the UK, which is both refreshing and appropriate, considering that the evidence would suggest steroid use is far more of a social issue than a criminal one. Instead of harsher penalties, many have campaigned for greater awareness and education, a stance echoed by Crosland. He said, ÔÇ£IÔÇÖm not anti-steroid, IÔÇÖm not pro-steroid, I believe itÔÇÖs a personal choice. But, what I am for is greater education, so that people can make informed decisions. I would look at a more comprehensive drug program within schools, and in general, a change in the way we approach drug use within this country across the board.ÔÇØ This sentiment is echoed by Nathan Coles, a natural bodybuilder and personal trainer, who has never used steroids. Coles believes, ÔÇ£Everybody has the right to do what they want with their own body. If someone was considering [using steroids], IÔÇÖd probably just make sure theyÔÇÖre fully aware of the risks.ÔÇØ

There is hope that progress is being made in this regard, and thatÔÇÖs largely because steroids have moved so far into mainstream fitness culture, that the issue is being discussed more than ever before Some large gym chains have recognised that this is an issue that they can no longer ignore, and taken the positive step of putting needle-bins in their changing rooms. But Coles, who works for the national chain PureGym, believes thatÔÇÖs all gyms can do for their members. He says, ÔÇ£ItÔÇÖd be pretty hard to police. For a start, itÔÇÖs not like steroids are a pre-workout that you have to take to the gym. No gym is going to blood test people, and theyÔÇÖre still paying for membership, so I imagine most gyms wouldnÔÇÖt care.ÔÇØ

Whatever the reasons for the increase in steroid usage, whether you believe itÔÇÖs due to media pressure, mass availability or sheer laziness, itÔÇÖs become clear that this is a problem we can no longer ignore. Calls for better education are a start, and itÔÇÖs encouraging to see that as steroid use has become more accepted, more and more information has been made available to both current and potential users to make them aware of the dangers. But ultimately, if we truly want to eradicate the shady online marketplaces and the underground labs where the quality of these products can be compromised, then there must be a conversation about legalisation and regulation in order to protect the health of users. The conversation regarding steroids – and indeed many other drugs ÔÇô has too often been of eliminating their existence, and seeing anything other than the completion of that goal as a failure. ItÔÇÖs time for that attitude to change; rather than looking to kick our steroid habit, the focus must now be on managing and regulating it instead. Otherwise, users will continue to buy from questionable suppliers, health issues will continue to go unaddressed, and in rare, tragic cases, people will continue to die.

 

*Real name withheld.