Robby Robinson shares his thoughts about possibly drug testing pro bodybuilding in the IFBB.
With the release of Generation Iron: Natty 4 Life right around the corner (available on digital July 31. You can pre-order here!), the topic of drug testing bodybuilding feels more vital than ever. We’ve explored deeply the world of natural bodybuilding in our new film – but can pro leagues like the IFBB implement drug testing as well? Will it hurt or help the sport as a whole? In our latest GI Exclusive interview, Robby Robinson shares his thoughts on drug testing in pro bodybuilding.
In our previous interview segment with Robby Robinson, he described how his first time trying steroids almost led to his death due to an undiagnosed illness. This opened Robby’s eyes and led to a massive change in managing his health. Suddenly, being healthy was the most important goal beyond being a successful bodybuilder. With that in mind, we wanted to know if he was in support of bringing drug testing to bodybuilding.
In 2019, Arnold Schwarzenegger publicly stated his wish for pro leagues like the IFBB to have mandatory drug testing. It’s unlikely this will happen but it did spark an internet-wide debate in the bodybuilding community.
Surprisingly, despite Robby Robinson’s commitment to health first, he doesn’t necessarily think that pro bodybuilding should be tested. His reason? He doesn’t think the leagues should be telling the athletes what to do or how to achieve their goals. He does worry about the massive overuse of drugs in bodybuilding – but thinks that leagues shouldn’t regulate drug use as a solution.
While Robby Robinson doesn’t have a specific solution, he does believe the problem is more in the mentality of the athletes. Robby brings up Ronnie Coleman again as an example of how too many athletes are sacrificing health for success. Worse, top bodybuilders like Ronnie are rewarded for it by the fans as legends.
Robby also brings up the tragic passing of Dallas McCarver. While it was never directly proven that drug use caused his death, many speculate that heave steroid use or even insulin could have contributed to his untimely passing. Robby Robinson claims that the news of Dallas’ passing broke his heart. He thinks it’s completely avoidable – but only if athletes put health first for bodybuilding.
In a perfect world, Robby Robinson sees bodybuilding as a health driven sport. The desire to sculpt and transform the human body shouldn’t be pushed to freaky levels. Instead, it should be health focused to show what the human body can achieve in a safe but determined way.
Ultimately it seems that the fans don’t fall in line with Robby’s thinking. He admits that fans in bodybuilding want to see the freaks. It propels the athletes to try and push their bodies to new heights – at any cost. Sometimes that cost is negative health effects. Even worse, sometimes it can be more drastic and lead to death.
Robby Robinson looks to athletes like Lee Haney and Dorian Yates – how they left bodybuilding and transitioned into healthy living. That’s the kind of life Robby has tried to create for himself as well. He hopes to see more young bodybuilders do the same in the future of the sport.
You can watch Robby Robinson’s full comments in our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above!
