Gregg Valentino describes the slippery slope that led him from natural bodybuilding into complete steroid abuse.
Gregg Valentino has said it before and he’ll say it until the day that he dies – he is not against steroids. He believes it’s a necessary tool for bodybuilders on a pro level. That being said, looking back on his life, he also understands that the level upon which he took steroids was too much. It was abuse and he wouldn’t want young bodybuilders to follow in his footsteps. In our latest GI Exclusive interview, Gregg Valentino explains the slippery slope of steroid use. Before you know it – you can be way farther past the line you never wanted to cross.
Gregg Valentino has always been an open book. Not only about his past steroid use but about his time selling steroids illegally as well. He’s regaled the bodybuilding industry over and over with his insane stories. But during our sit down interview with Gregg, we wanted to cut the core question that is often overlooked – why did he start doing steroids in the first place?
The easy answer is to get big. That’s a major reason for many bodybuilders. That certainly applies to Gregg. But that also over simplifies it. Gregg Valentino goes into detail about how a casual curiosity turned into full blown steroid use. Eventually that use turned into abuse in Gregg’s own opinion looking back. While there may be some bodybuilders who are hungry to juice up right away and build massive size – for many bodybuilders like Gregg, it’s more of a slippery slope. Like any drug – it starts off small and turns into something more.
While Gregg Valentino wouldn’t call steroids a physically addicting drug, he does believe it’s mentally addicting. He describes the euphoric feeling of taking the drug and seeing the results. That feeling makes you want to see what happens if you push it further. Then further and further after that. Eventually logic goes out the door and what could be considered “safe” steroid use turns into total overuse.
This is all easy for Gregg to see looking back now. A younger version of himself might not have called it abuse at all. But now that Gregg is out of the weeds, he looks back at the younger generation of bodybuilders with worry. He’s previously stated that the physiques of bodybuilders have become grotesque. He also thinks that the drugs have become more universally overused.
There’s an old saying, “Do as I say not as I do.” It appears that this phrase perfectly describes Gregg Valentino’s outlook on steroid use. He’s not against it completely. But he would never want a young bodybuilder doing it to the extent that Gregg pushed it.
You can watch Gregg Valentino’s full comments on why he took steroids in our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above.
