Christian Bueno once built a successful career as a bodybuilder, winning competitions and being compared to the superhero Wolverine, famously played by a very ripped Hugh Jackman.
However, he told the New York Post that a decade of steroid usage had produced a rather visible side effect after he'd started as a bodybuilder at the age of 20.
He'd started out on a high protein diet and tough training regimen, but after he won his first gold he said he was advised that if he wanted to continue succeeding then he ought to think about using steroids.
Bueno said: "I didn’t know much about it, but these people looked like they knew what they were doing, so I followed their instructions."
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The first steroids he got were free and he soon ended up gaining mass, which translated into further success in his bodybuilding.
Bueno told the Post that at the time he was 'young' and 'stupid' and the steroid use 'wasn't taxing his body', but these were still the early days before the side effects started to show themselves.
He did something called 'cycling', which is not where you get on a bike and pedal but instead a process of taking steroids for six to 12 weeks and then go through a 'cleansing' phase where he'd try and get his body back on an even keel.
After a couple of years, he decided to drop the cleansing phase as he'd 'lose his size' when he wasn't on steroids and he didn't want that to happen.
Eight years into his steroid use he was spending $2,000 (£1,450) a month on the habit and the side effects were starting to take a toll on his appearance, with his hair falling out and him developing acne, while he also suffered from depression and anxiety.
The main side effect that he really felt was on his chest, which became sensitive with his nipples itching and getting larger.
He was suffering from a side effect known as gynecomastia, where a man's breast tissue overdevelops, and steroid usage is considered one of the main causes of the condition.
"I wasn’t even able to take my shirt off because I literally felt like a dog who just had six puppies," Bueno said.
Even after he injured his elbow and had to stop training he was taking steroids, and a doctor told him his body's natural testosterone production had shut down, with his levels comparable to that of 'an 80-year-old'.
After trying to fix his gynecomastia through his lifestyle, he eventually decided in 2023 to get breast reduction surgery where solid lumps of tissue were removed.
The personal trainer has since ditched the steroids and said he'd learned his lesson.
Topics: Health, Drugs, Mental Health
Joe Harker