Fitness personality Joey Swoll has battled adversity on his way to promoting gym positivity and wellness. In a recent YouTube video, he inspired others by discussing his experiences with drug addiction and personal growth.
Joey Swoll amassed a large following online where he aims to change gym standards by targeting ‘toxic culture.‘ These measures were taken to create a safer space for everyone looking to improve their fitness and health. Swoll regularly stands up for people who are unfairly harassed and bullied by those looking to gain views and attention at the expense of others.
Joey Swoll has always been a fitness fanatic who took to bodybuilding at a young age. Though Swoll enjoyed competing, he expressed that he never felt like he reached the success he had hoped for, which he said was caused by a lack of fundamentals. Speaking with Flex Lewis, Joey revisited his time in the sport.
“To be successful as a bodybuilder at any level, first off if I’m gonna do something I’m gonna do something to win…If I’m gonna do a show I’m gonna do a show. I’m gonna take gear, I’m gonna prep right, I’m gonna do everything right. And I want to, I want people to not want to stand next to me on stage. I wanna embarrass everybody on stage. You know what I mean? Like I wanna go up to the best to win. You don’t wanna do it just to do it.”
Swoll knew the commitment would take years and he wasn’t willing to continue given all of his other ventures.
“You gotta dedicate six months to a year to do this right so, with that like you have to be very selfish and I just over the past 10-12 years whether its taking care of my parents, my family, building businesses, I wasn’t able to give the time and selfishness that requires to be as successful as I want to be.
For me I still consider myself to be a bodybuilder even though I haven’t competed in 10+ years. I love the gym, I love to train, it’s my second home” Joey Swoll said.
Joey Swoll is dedicated to seeing gyms change. He’s watched firsthand how social media has affected the landscape, and not necessarily for the better. Though he has the best of intentions, not everyone on the internet believes Swoll’s efforts are meant to help others.
“Man I get people that send me hundreds of videos every day and tag me in hundreds of videos every day of this negative bullying culture, like do you know what that does to me mentally to sit here all day and see that? Like I wish I never had to do another single video.
Like the day that comes that I don’t have to do another video because people are acting right in the gym and treating people the way they should au revoir man. I’ll ride off into the sunset happy like I don’t do this stuff because I want like I said the views or the attention I’m glad that it does because it brings awareness,” Swoll shared.
Joey Swoll Discusses Dangers of Social Media
Swoll worries that social media has impacted the way in which people process anxiety, depression, and other emotions. He added that social media has gotten to a point where people use it for a cheap dopamine rush.
“This is my problem with social media, and I don’t say this in terms of trying to attack people. I say this because I want to help people and I really mean this. Society today is people, especially in these young men and women, and I’ll say women because I think women have it harder in this sense.
They equate their self worth, their self love to their likes, their views and the attention they get on social media. They can be in a house full of a loving family, great friends, people that adore them, but they are so concerned about that dopamine rush, about that high, about that gratification they get from social media that’s how they see themselves as bring somebody that has value.”
No one is immune to this sensation, even Joey Swoll admits to feeling the rush from social media.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’ve fallen down that rabbit hole too where listen I put a post up and it gets a lot of engagement where I’m flexing or I’m in the gym and people are like ‘does it feel good?’ ya it feels good! But to do this at other people’s expense to get those likes to get those views all for what man? So you can feel good for a couple hours until the next video goes viral and everybody forgets about you and that person’s life is destroyed, that person’s life is destroyed, that person doesn’t ever want to go to the gym again.”
Joey Swoll Talks Suicide Attempt & Mental Health Struggles
Next, Swoll discussed some of the ramifications of his drug addiction, which he said led to a suicide attempt.
“I was going through a lot of battles business-wise, personal relationships, and I got to a point, I remember a night I was sitting at my place, completely by myself, and I was just like, ‘Fuck it man, what’s the point? I’m done. I’ve had a great life. I’m sick of this. I’m sick of feeling like… you know, I give and I give and I give… and there’s nobody there for me when I need them.”
“A lot of people turn their backs on me, a lot of people have put knives in my back. I was just tired. I remember I put a post up that night, saying, ‘Hey, if I ever die young, just know I lived a great life. Don’t mourn me. Celebrate my life.’ I wrote this long basically suicide note.”
“Had a beer in my hand, took every pill I had… then my phone rings. It’s my mom crying. What’s wrong, something’s wrong, I just saw your post. ‘Mom, I’m fine, it’s just a post, I don’t mean anything by it.’ My mom says ‘I know something is wrong, you’re not yourself.’ She had no idea what I was going through as far as the drugs and stuff.”
Then, Joey opened up to Flex Lewis on the personal growth he’s achieved while changing his life for the better.
“It’s been incredible. My advice to people would be like I said, one day at a time. I understand you can feel like you’re in a prison. I can understand that it feels like there’s no hope but if you try to win the day, that builds up. That was the biggest thing with me. That was my mentality.
Build up a string of days where you’re having good days where you’re not doing it and get yourself off. That became my path. That was how I achieved getting clean and really anything that I’ve done,” said Joey Swoll.
Swoll’s story is an inspiration for many, especially those with substance abuse issues. However, his actions have also caught the attention of former seven-time Mr. Olympia Arnold Schwarzenegger. “The Austrian Oak” recently thanked Swoll for his movement to elevate fitness and for making gyms more welcoming for everyone.
While it’s an uphill battle against toxic gym culture, Swoll’s latest interview will no doubt inspire his millions of followers to keep promoting positivity.
Watch the full video below:
Published: 28 August, 2023 | 5:02 PM EDT
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