Bodybuilder Lee Priest never shies away from tackling controversial topics in his spare time. In a recent YouTube video published on November 6, 2024, Priest discussed young people abusing Trenbolone, Ronnie Coleman’s steroid use, and whether or not Mike O’Hearn is natural.
As a top-caliber bodybuilding veteran from the 1990s to the 2000s, Lee Priest has steadily become a knowledgeable star within the industry. While he no longer competes, he gives back to the bodybuilding community, discussing pressing subjects, unpacking workout techniques, and delivering his unfiltered opinion.
With eight-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman using performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career, younger fans wonder if they replicate his stack, will they sculpt a physique comparable with ‘The King’? Lee Priest says absolutely not. And below, he dives into whether he believes Mike O’Hearn, a popular model, powerlifter, and bodybuilder, has dabbled with such compounds.
Lee Priest Discusses Rise in Tren Use, Ronnie Coleman’s Start W/ Steroids, and If Mike O’Hearn Is Natural
Although fans would love to use steroids to achieve a physique on par with Coleman, Priest contends that it simply doesn’t work that way as genetics play a significant role in one’s progress.
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“He probably was [natural early on in his bodybuilding career]. He’s got good genetics, there’s a lot of people like that, just because other people can’t do it, it’s like if I can’t do it then no one can. I believe he was. He said he was. He said when he was taking gear.”
“Even if you took exactly what he took, you’re not going to look like Ronnie. Get over it.”
Priest also shines a light on younger people using Trenbolone who suffer from adverse side effects like bad sleep and anger issues.
“Even this Tren at the moment, I’ve seen so many videos lately, Tren this, Tren that. ‘Oh but when I take Tren I get angry. When I take Tren I can’t sleep.’ Why are you taking a drug that makes you feel like shit? You can’t sleep, you get angry. I hear people complaining about how shit they feel when they’re on it. Why have it?”
Priest went six years without using PEDs and after his first cycle, witnessed a significant response from his body.
“When I trained from 13 to 19 six years without it… and you’re training, eating, you’re competing, and you’ve been doing all that for so long when you finally do take a bit, your body just responds like that. There’s other people that can train six or seven years without taking it and still look exactly the same as they did. Drugs help a little bit but you’re not going to turn shit into gold,” he shared.
According to Priest, Mike O’Hearn’s physique has not changed much at all in the last 40 years, which he believes is evidence that he doesn’t use gear.
“Look at a 40-span year of Mike O’Hearn, if someone takes gear like when I was 19 at the beginning of the year, at the end of the year, you could see the difference. If you look at Mike O’Hearn’s career and all his photos throughout the 40-odd years, there isn’t something where you can go look at him from here to there.”
While there were times O’Hearn looked leaner than in other pictures, Priest chalks that up to dieting, adding that we’ve never seen the popular fitness icon suddenly gain 40 pounds of muscle.
“He looks consistently the same. Yes, there’s some photos where he’s leaner and dieted down for contest like that but there’s nothing like where Dorian went from that to that or Ronnie from ’97 to ’98. There’s been nothing from Mike O’Hearn’s where you’re going ‘Oh fuck he hit it hard and then goes oof, 40 pounds extra?’ I just don’t get the whole thing. People are weak, they think because they can’t do it nobody can.”
Talks of whether Mike O’Hearn is natural have raged on for years. He remains arguably the most talked about natty or not subject. Retired IFBB Pro bodybuilder Seth Feroce has also dived into whether O’Hearn has dabbled with such compounds. Having analyzed 12 different influencers, Feroce contends that O’Hearn hasn’t used steroids to achieve his physique.
While Priest believes steroids have their place in the sport, he doesn’t believe it can turn ‘shit into gold.’ What do you make of his opinions? Do you believe Mike O’Hearn is a lifelong natural?
RELATED: Mike O’Hearn Teases Blood Work Reveal w/ Kenny KO, Says He’s Not Using TRT
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