Bodybuilding legend Kenneth ‘Flex’ Wheeler led a highly successful career but admits there were some regrets. On March 20, 2025, he reflected on using site enhancement oils in his shoulders and explained why Samson Dauda has his favorite physique of the modern era.
Wheeler is considered one of the greatest IFBB Pros to emerge in the sport who didn’t win the Mr. Olympia title. Despite that, he claimed gold at the Arnold Classic four times throughout his tenure (1993, 1997-1998, 2000). His career wasn’t without sacrifices, as Wheeler has dealt with a flood of health struggles, including the partial amputation of his right leg.
Although he’s long retired from the sport, Wheeler remains one of the most respected and honest bodybuilders to compete in the 1990s and 2000s. He earned numerous Pro show victories and accolades, including the prestigious Arnold Classic Lifetime Achievement Award.
“It Was Out of Control” – Flex Wheeler Talks Site Enhancements, Names Samson Dauda as Favorite Modern Physique
In a recent YouTube video, Wheeler revealed that injecting his shoulders with site enhancement oils (SEOs) was his biggest bodybuilding regret. He explained that SEOs weren’t frowned upon during his time in the sport.
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“The same thing [synthol], my shoulders, Milos’ biceps, my shoulders, definitely. It was a thing back then. It was new, it wasn’t looked down upon, it wasn’t frowned upon, almost everybody did it and it was just like one of those things that came across the sport that, it was just accepted and everything.”
“Only after I think after the ’98 Olympia that I started regretting it, that I thought it was out of control,” he explains.
He used Esiclene weekly, which he learned about from bodybuilding veteran Chris Cormier.
“I did it weekly. So just every time I trained shoulders I did it,” Wheeler shared. “It was just a mistake.”
“What’s the first one to come out, you still had striations and everything? Esiclene, I used that for the USA. Somebody told me about that, somebody on this show right now [Chris Cormier].”
It became hard to find after Kevin Levrone ‘literally bought out the market of Esiclene.’
“That went over well, and then I’m just – since we’re just telling the truth about everything, it was very prevalent back then.
Kevin bought out the market. He literally bought out the market of Esiclene. You couldn’t get it anymore anywhere. Then, at first it was called pump and pose, and then I was like okay.”
Wheeler hopes fans and athletes today learn from their mistakes with SEOs.
“They should learn from our mistakes and our stories. The things that, especially that we’re being more open about now that we wouldn’t be before. Those are things they should learn from and try to emulate. Because they try to emulate our era anyway, so continue emulating that era by learning from our mistakes.”
“I didn’t think it was possible but then we had Ronnie come along that actually had crazy size and crazy detail, right? I just didn’t think the two were possible. I remember talking to Steve Weinberger. I was like oh well I can’t be as shredded at this big, and he goes yes you can, yes you can, if you put your mind to it you could. I always thought it wasn’t possible and then Ronnie came along and did that.”
As for his favorite physique today, Wheeler gave that honor to reigning Mr. Olympia Samson Dauda.
“I would probably have to go with because of just what he’s done with his physique in the last couple of years, it would have to be Samson.”
“Just him showing, for one what he had to go through, and then you look back and you see he played soccer so you can kind of, I’m looking at those pictures and I can’t even see that guy in him. It’s like Incredible Hulk, you don’t see that in David Banner.”
Flex Wheeler isn’t the only bodybuilding star to come clean about regrets related to site enhancements. Milos Sarcev revealed that using synthol in his biceps was the single-biggest mistake of his bodybuilding career, which he says ruined his arms and prematurely ended his career.
Views around site enhancements have changed since Wheeler’s time in the sport, and if he could go back in time, he wouldn’t have used such measures to enhance his shoulders. He hopes the next generation of bodybuilders can learn from his mistakes.
RELATED: Video: ‘The Synthol Kid’ Gets ‘Alien’ Injections in Face, Refusing Doctor Recommendations
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