Jesse James West is diving into the teen steroid epidemic affecting the United States. In a recent YouTube video shared on October 27, 2024, he talked to young people affected by these trends and revealed the side effects of using such substances as a teenager.
As a natural bodybuilder and fitness influencer, Jesse James West has become a trusted voice in the community. Boasting over 5.47 million subscribers on his YouTube channel, he continues to explore even the most touchy and controversial subjects in the industry.
This has led him to examine the rampant use of steroids among teenagers. It’s become a perfect storm, mainly because of social media. Young gym enthusiasts and teens continue using performance-enhancing drugs to build bigger muscles and gain fame, hoping to boost their following on platforms like Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok.
Jesse James West Explores the Teen Steroid Epidemic
West discussed why teenagers are turning to performance-enhancing drugs, aiming to find out who is responsible for this dangerous trend.
Level Up Your Fitness: Join our 💪 strong community in Fitness Volt Newsletter. Get daily inspiration, expert-backed workouts, nutrition tips, the latest in strength sports, and the support you need to reach your goals. Subscribe for free!
“This is a 14-year-old on steroids. But he’s not the only one. Taking steroids as a teenager has become a massive trend and so is posting about it online,” says Jesse James West. “I’m going to investigate this epidemic and find out who is responsible.”
West went around his gym and asked a 19-year-old why he uses steroids.
“It’s been the best thing in the world, honestly. I have no regrets, no complaints, more girls, more attention, got bigger,” said one teen who uses steroids.
“These teens listed steroids I’ve never even heard of,” shared West. “If these guys are willing to risk their health in pursuit of getting huge, I knew there must be a good reason.”
Next, Jesse James West talked to ‘Togi,’ a popular teen who used steroids for fame and bigger muscles.
“A big reason I took steroids is because I wanted to be famous and it sounds like an ad when I say it because obviously it worked out. Pursuit of big muscles was 60 percent of the journey and wanting to be famous was the other 40 percent of it. Now I have my dream physique, I am famous. I got what I needed out of it and I also have the negative side effects and that’s alright.”
Togi, a famous YouTuber, admitted that his cholesterol came back ‘worse than a dead person’ while using gear.
“After one of my cycles, my cholesterol came back like worse than a dead person. Cholesterol that you could never humanly achieve unless you were abusing drugs and it was like 20 times the risk of having like whatever. My veins clogged up on me. That was scary.”
West listed some of the negative side effects teens have experienced from using steroids at a young age.
- Testicular pain and cramps
- High blood pressure
- Acne
- Hair loss
- Permanently lowers intelligence
West also spoke with ‘Tren King,’ an 18-year-old who pretends to be 14 and claims to use steroids to grow his social media following, though he doesn’t actually use them.
“About three or four months ago somewhere around there, people call me the Tren King,” said one teenager. “I want to be a bodybuilder and competitive. I want to have that advantage over people. So I’m going to devote all my time and money towards that to get as big as I can.”
“I am not [actually 14] I am 18 years old,” he shared. “I’m not on any steroids. The only thing I’m taking are natural supplements.”
While it started as a joke, ‘Tren King’ revealed that it grew his follower count from 200 to 20K.
“It’s a very trendy topic and it’s gaining a lot of views and it’s helping me out increase my following. It started out as a little joke and then everyone believed it. No, I don’t [regret lying to my audience]. It helped me go from 200 followers to 20K.”
West finished the video by meeting with a steroid dealer, who shared that he only sells testosterone to teenagers. This wasn’t the first time that the steroid epidemic has been talked about. A Vice documentary explored the concerning trend and highlighted one user who took Trenbolone. He said it dramatically improved his physique but shrunk his testicles and made him feel unwell.
With younger people turning to steroids at an alarming rate, social media has also come under fire. West hopes to use this content as an educational tool for anyone enticed by these compounds in the future.
RELATED: Jesse James West Tests The World’s Strongest and ‘Most Banned’ Pre-Workouts
Watch the full video from the Jesse James West YouTube channel below:
You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and
YouTube for even more content.
