Lee Priest addresses the haters.

Bodybuilding legend Lee Priest has finally been released from a 9-day stint in the hospital. Endocarditis, infection of the heart’s inner lining, was the cause, and Priest has been keeping fans updated via Instagram.

One post read.

“Update to all my fans writing me. I’m slowly getting better those 9 days in ICU was probably the sickest I’ve every been. Thank you for all you prayers and well wishes. I try to reply to as many as I can. If I didn’t reply sorry but I do appreciate your messages. So still taking it easy but improving.”

In another post, he addressed fan speculation that steroids were the cause of his health issue:

“I’m alive and healthy. I’m also a professional bodybuilder. A profession is known for the use of steroids and in which many die searching for their dreams.

And why I’m still here training hard every day..? Many don’t want to believe the truth. Many want to believe that this is all about steroids and not years and years of hard training, diet, and determination. I can’t make them change their minds. But I can tell everyone who wants to become professionals, which takes a lot more than a “full of magic” Syringe to become a bodybuilder.

Unfortunately, I’m sure they don’t want to hear it, believe it or understand it. I’ve touched this subject so many times, I’m tired of him. I’ve been more honest than anyone else. I have been asked hundreds of times why I am talking about this so openly and I always give them the same answer. It’s because the truth is easier to remember and can help many young people before they make a big mistake.

Steroids are not a miracle shortcut for someone to be a top bodybuilder or conquer fame. They’re a simple help. Steroids can’t make a regular physicist become the physique of a champion. He can’t develop muscle mass for you and will never be your passport to the pro card. If you think steroids are your Holy Grail, I’m terribly sorry. You’ll never have a successful life even with your pro card.

To succeed in life you must first believe in yourself and not let your faith turn around pills and injections.

At, I still didn’t know that I wanted to be a professional, I didn’t even have any idea that there was such a classification. The only thing he knew was that he had found something he really loved: training. I loved the feeling of forcing my body to where I never imagined it would be possible. I loved the way I started to look and I really liked this to give me a purpose.

That feeling never left, it didn’t matter how many competences involved or how many times he didn’t get the first place. There were times when I knew I deserved to have won and in others, when I won, my passion for bodybuilding would never was. My curiosity about my body and how I could change it, never left.

What never happened to my mind at that time, when I lost or when guys much bigger than me were staying with the first place, was that I needed to use more steroids. I never thought I needed to use more to win, to be stronger than them or to do better on stage.
Despite how well you saw me on stage on the day of the competition, the result was not just about me. I did everything I had to do, nothing could have changed.

The decision whether I was good enough for the title, depended on others. That’s why at the end of the day no matter how much he’d used, those judges didn’t care. So why complicate me using more than it made me feel comfortable..?

I’m never gonna get into something that I’m not really. I never saw myself and wanted to see something that wasn’t there.

Many times boys and even adults who think they have the potential to become professionals, but they do not realize that genetically they do not have the necessary qualities and because of that disappointment they start using large amounts of steroids, convinced that the license pro is ” a The turn of the corner ” if they make the ” regime ” correct of the substance.

I’m very frustrated to know how many people think this is all about drugs and the obsessive conversations they have on steroids. I think this will never change. The Internet has facilitated the creation of the magical powers of supplements and steroids. The media has made believe that all elite athletes are so good thanks to the use of steroids.

You don’t talk about extraordinary talent anymore. Apparently the only talent it takes these days is to know how to manipulate a syringe. With the right drug, anyone can be a super athlete, what garbage..!

Since I’ve never been able to change that mentality, ask yourself: “are you willing to die for bodybuilding..?”. I’ve never been and I won’t be.

If you were born to be good at this, you won’t need drugs to see results.

And if not, no amount of steroids will make that change.”

Earlier this year, Priest went underwent surgery for nerve damage that almost ended his training career. He has long been an honest and candid voice in the IFBB community.

What’s your thoughts on Lee Priest and his candid statement?

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