Beware, doping on social media! Czechs who trusted influencers have serious consequences. What can SARMS substances cause?
Doping has been in strength sports since the second half of the 1950s. However, it is only with the rise of social networking that doping has moved from the top sports to complete beginners in the last 10 years due to a few reckless individuals. And that's a problem. There is a huge difference between two people doping together in a client-dealer relationship, if they are both of age and know the risks, and publicly selling doping on the internet in front of children and young people.
In 2020 it went so far that an organized group of people set up an e-shop for doping and two well-known professional bodybuilders started to offer and sell doping PUBLICLY with discount codes on social media. They lied to tens of thousands of followers that SARMS were a healthier alternative to steroids, comparing them to protein and their toxicity to paraben. What's more, they publicly claimed it was all legal and "the cops are laughing at it." Many people may therefore have been under the impression that these were legal supplements.
In fact, they were experimental doping substances bought in China, which often carry far more serious health risks than steroids and some of them even cause cancer, and that is why their research was stopped. Other products then contained cheap toxic steroids or ordinary sugar instead of SARMS.
These professional bodybuilders often claimed to be doing doping education. But publicly offering and selling doping and counterfeit products with a discount code is not really awareness!
Informational support for the article was provided to our editorial staff by nutritionist and founder of the Institute of Modern Nutrition Lukas Roubik:
What is doping and what is its history?
Doping is the use of substances and methods listed on the List of Prohibited Substances and Methods in Sport and the violation of one or more anti-doping rules. It is therefore a violation of the principle of fair play in sport and also a threat to the health of sportsmen and sportswomen. The modern history of doping dates back to the second half of the 19th century, when doping was common in cycling races, with various literary sources stating that the first athlete died as a result of doping as early as 1886 in a cycling race in France. The first proven case of doping at the Olympic Games was in 1904 in a marathon winner who almost died and collapsed at the finish line as a result of doping, but was saved by doctors.
What does doping cause?
Doping, of course, on the one hand, causes an increase in athletic performance, such as an increase in strength, growth of muscle mass, improved endurance, increased capacity of the blood to transport oxygen to the working muscles, faster reaction time, incomparably better recovery after training or racing, faster recovery from injury, etc. On the other hand, of course, doping has serious health effects, whether the notoriously negative impact on the liver, kidneys, heart and cancer risk, or lesser known problems such as infertility, loss of erection, etc. We can also mention increased aggression and explosiveness.
Doping has always been talked about in the context of professional athletes, in various sports. Which ones in particular?
Doping has traditionally been and is most prevalent in cycling and strength sports. The importance of doping is even greater in sports where gross physical performance is involved. In sports where athletic performance consists of multiple parts and where technique and tactics are more important, doping may not give athletes as great an advantage. Doping will not teach anyone to play better hockey. But it can provide a huge advantage to recover much faster after a practice or a match.
But why is doping mainly addressed in strength sports? And let's get right down to what all strength sports involve. Because it's definitely not just bodybuilding...
Doping is present in strength sports because performance with and without doping is diametrically different in these sports. Strength sports are mainly bodybuilding and fitness, but also Olympic weightlifting, power triathlon, crossfit or the increasingly popular strongman. The human body, in short, is limited in how much muscle we can build by our genetics and hormones. Doping is used in other sports as well, but in bodybuilding you can see at a glance that someone with 120 kg of muscle in sculpted form simply couldn't achieve it without doping because it's simply not possible. So doping is most visible in strength athletes at a glance. On the other hand, the average layman can't tell if a cross-country skier, for example, is doping or not, it's not nearly as visible on them.
So is doping allowed in certain sports or situations?
In official sports federations (e.g. the Czech Football Federation, Athletics, Hockey, etc.) doping is prohibited and doping controls are carried out. That is why in recent years unofficial (not recognised by the state) sports federations have been created, especially in strength sports, where doping controls are simply not in place and athletes can happily dope there.
But even in some official federations of professional athletes there were no doping controls at all or still are not. Even in the world's most famous sports, such as American football or NHL hockey, there were no doping controls until recently. Guess why.
Does doping occur even among "normal" people?
Doping has been occurring in elite sport for virtually all of modern history, more than 120 years. However, it is only with the rise of social media in the last 10 years that doping has moved to the rank-and-file due to a few irresponsible influencers, as these "influencers" have started to publicly promote doping or even inject themselves publicly on YouTube. The peak was in 2020, when some influencers in the Czech Republic started to publicly sell doping on social media with discount codes, which is of course a criminal offence and now these influencers have already been punished and/or prosecuted.
I can imagine a young skinny guy/man who is taunted by everyone that he is just such a twerp who gets blown away by the wind, so he decides to change that and starts going to the gym, working out and gaining muscle. Does he have a chance? What are his options? A good trainer?
Of course he has a chance. That's how a lot of us started out - me too. The key is to learn how to exercise properly at the beginning and start eating right. If the beginner does things the right way, of course he will get results. But muscle growth simply takes time and no one without doping gains big muscles in a few weeks, it takes months and years of consistent training. It's also key for beginners to seek out informed information, educate themselves, find a quality trainer if necessary, and not listen to social media influencers who tell them nonsense on purpose to cause controversy and gain a following. I would also recommend not taking a bodybuilder who publicly admits to 15 years of meth use and has been convicted of lying numerous times as a source of quality information. Young exercisers in particular still believe such influencers.
And what if this young man sees men with huge muscles around him and wants them too, now?
Unfortunately, this is what happens, that some fitness influencer or bodybuilder-dealer tells such a beginner that he can have results and big muscles in a few weeks, with the understanding that he will sell him doping substances and advise him with everything. Today, unfortunately, high school students are no exception, who at the age of 16 use doping substances, which can damage them for life.
And we come to what you write at the beginning, that illegal doping substances have appeared on the market, but they are marketed as perfectly legal. What is their danger?
The main danger is lies. I honestly don't care if an informed adult buys doping from an adult dealer, it happens in gyms, just like drugs are sold in Wenceslas Square and everyone knows and sees it with their own eyes. However, there is a huge difference when one party is not of age at all, and on top of that, these underage athletes are being lied to by public figures that doping substances are not actually doping substances, but are legal supplements. In 2020, two well-known bodybuilders with tens of thousands of followers began publicly offering and selling doping substances from the SARMS group with discount codes on social media, lying to tens of thousands of followers that SARMS were a healthier alternative to steroids, comparing them to protein and their toxicity to paraben. They therefore recommended them to minors and women. Moreover, they publicly claimed that it was all legal and "the cops are laughing at it". A lot of people could therefore get the impression that these were legal supplements. Especially because they were selling these doping substances through a public e-shop. In reality, they were experimental doping substances bought in China, which often carry far more serious health risks than anabolic steroids and some of them even cause cancer, and that is why their research was stopped. Other products then contained cheap toxic anabolic steroids instead of SARMS, which are anything but suitable for women and minors. Or sugar. One of these bodybuilders was given a five-year suspended sentence, the other is still on trial.
How do you know if it's a doping substance or not? Where do I find out what's banned?
Anyone can find a list of doping substances with one click on Google. He types in "list of doping substances" or goes directly to the website antidoping.cz It couldn't be easier.
What is SARMS anyway?
Selective androgen receptor modulators.
What are the effects?
People who have unknowingly ordered "SARMS-only substances" have unknowingly become users of oral anabolic steroids. And among their side effects are listed, for example, manifestations of virilization (in the case of girls and women, this is not only an increased incidence of body hair, including facial hair, but also a coarsening of the voice, a negative effect on menstruation, etc.), disorders of liver function, stomach and digestive problems, edema, headaches, muscle cramps, restlessness, joint pain, degenerative changes in the testicles, etc. You can read more here.
What we are talking about here is that these substances are toxic and can cause problems for anyone. What are they?
Can cause liver problems, heart problems, fertility problems, sex problems, problems getting pregnant...
You've had a lot of people contact you about this case. Some who have made threats, but also some who have come forward with the problems they've had with these substances...
I first brought the whole situation to your attention in September 2020. I have faced a huge amount of threats, insults and public attacks on social media because of this, with the aim of discrediting me as much as possible so that the information that SARMS doping substances are doping substances with a lot of serious health risks and their sale is a criminal offence is not heard. However, as it turned out two years later, I was right all along. After the scandal broke this January, I heard from dozens of people who had serious health problems after taking SARMS, and unfortunately some of them have permanent problems and, for example, are still undergoing endocrinology treatment - two years after they stopped - because their bodies are not producing hormones properly, they are infertile or they have got cancer.
That's why we broke down the whole SARMS case in a comprehensive video, where we went through the legislation, mechanism of action and history of SARMS, detailed side effects, studies and case studies and explained why it's wrong to sell any doping publicly. The video can be found on the Institute of Modern Nutrition YT channel, there you will also find a detailed description of the whole case including personal attacks, threats.
Evil must be fought against. Truth wins. Thank you for your support!
