In this article, we will discuss if Mike Rashid has used steroids or he is natural.
He is a very famous bodybuilder and that is why many people want to know if his muscles are a result of pure hard work or he has been juicing.
Let’s find out everything…
Mike Rashid: Steroids or Natural?
Mike Rashid is a very well-known name in the world of bodybuilding.
Earlier he was a professional boxer and then he became a famous bodybuilder.
All the credit goes to his jacked body.
Now people want to know if he is a natural bodybuilder or not.
Mike is not just a bodybuilder but also a businessman.
He opened a gym (mainly for bodybuilding) in Florida. The name of his gym is Iron Addicts.
His other successful business ventures include a clothing line and a supplement range.
In addition, he has a solid social media presence with over 1 Million+ follower’s on Instagram, 60K+ followers on Twitter, 1 Million+ subscriber’s on YouTube, and 2 Million+ followers on Facebook.
In short – He is famous!
Another fun fact is that Mike Rashid and CT Fletcher are BFFL’s (Best Friends for Life).
Many people think that Mike’s physique is the perfect example of how much muscle mass a person can gain naturally.
If only the person is blessed with amazing genes.
While some people think that he is natty and has great genetics.
There are some people who doubt it and believe that he has been taking steroids.
If you are famous then it is obvious that there will be a lot of haters and trolls.
So, is Mike taking steroids, let’s find out the truth…
Mike Rashid – Stats
- Height – 5’11” (180 cm)
- Weight – 225 lbs (102 kg)
- Date of Birth – March 14, 1982
Mike Rashid was born and raised in the United States of America.
He started his carrier as a boxer and then went on to become a professional bodybuilder.
Is Mike Rashid Natty?
Mike has been labeled as a “fake natty”, but is that really true?
I did thorough research but I could not find Mike ever claiming that is 100% drug-free.
You can easily find videos where Mike has spoken that he doesn’t want his name to be associated with illegal drugs and steroids.
However, he has never even once officially said that he has never taken steroids.
Bodybuilders who are natty, take pride in talking about it and they never miss a chance to boast about it.
In fact, if possible, they would get a tattoo on their chest saying “I am natty” 😀
As far as Mike is concerned, how does he tolerate all the hate he gets online. People label him as a “Liar” and a “Fake Natty”.
Why does he never respond to them? Why is he taking all this slander?
This kind of patience and tolerance definitely raises some suspicion.
A natural bodybuilder wouldn’t take all this, he would address the topic once and for all.
He would say that “I am natty, I’ve never taken steroids”.
On the other hand, Mike told people to mind their own business.
But just because he is not stating officially that he is 100% natty, that does not make him a liar and a fake natty.
Also, people should not troll him because they are doubtful.
Steroids in Mike’s Gym
Mike Rashid along with Richard Rodriguez are owners of a gym known as Iron Addicts.
In February 2017, a huge controversy broke out surrounding Richard.
He was arrested for trading illegal steroids that were worth at least $10 million.
Now if you are famous, even a piece of small negative news will attract trolls.
And, busting this steroid trading news wasn’t small, so the trolls went all crazy.
People started slandering Mike.
They named him a steroid dealer.
The trolls were just getting out of control and they started saying that Mike’s gym is a place for illegal activities.
However, all these claims by the trolls were false.
After performing a detailed enquiring and search, the DEA confirmed that Iron Addicts gym has nothing to do with illegal steroids trading.
The sale and purchase of drugs never took place in Iron Addicts.
The DEA also confirmed that it was Richard Rodriguez, who has importing steroids directly from China.
After importing, he was processing them in a lab in Arizona.
Then the final product was sent to a Miami address.
Mike addressed this controversy saying that he felt something was fishy with Richard but he had absolutely no idea that drugs were involved.
In fact, he said that he would have never done business with Richard if he would have known about his drug dealings.
As it was Richard’s doing, Mike should never be blamed for it.
Just because your business partner is wrong, it doesn’t mean you are also wrong.
Mike Rashid’s Physique
Rashid’s body looks like he may not be natural and he may have used some steroids to gain that muscle mass.
His traps look extremely jacked and he has boulder shoulders.
It won’t be a surprise if he gets among the biggest arms in the bodybuilding world.
Also, he looks like he has an HGH gut or bloat.
In the case of natural bodybuilders, if you have good genetics and your muscles respond well to your training then you can get big traps and strong shoulders easily.
You just have to train those muscle groups diligently.
All your attention should be focused on that part of your body.
However, there is still a very clear symptom that distinguishes between a natty and a steroid user.
That symptom is HGH-gut.
HGH Gut, also known as Palumboism is a condition that affects people who use steroids.
Basically, the stomach starts protruding and it looks unnaturally bloated.
So, the bodybuilder will have a narrow waist with a bloated stomach.
It looks out-of-proportion.
Mike’s stomach looks a little protruding in many of his photos.
Mike Rashid – Body Transformation
Many people claim that Mike’s body transformation is due to steroids.
They believe that he used steroids to get ripped.
If you pay more attention to his transformation then you can see that achieving it without using any steroids is also possible.
Basically, Mike has lost somewhere around 8% of body fat, while still maintaining his muscle mass.
This is not something that a seasoned bodybuilder cannot do naturally.
However, this does not mean that Mike was completely natural while attaining this body transformation.
Steroids do help a lot in shredding body fat and also they help in increasing vascularity.
Bodybuilding Competitions
Mike Rashid has never participated in natural bodybuilding competitions.
He thinks it will be like a “big fish in a small pond”.
According to Mike, it is very easy for him to win natural bodybuilding competitions, because other athletes don’t even stand a chance in comparison to his physique.
It’s difficult to understand how he is assuming that he is better than other athletes without even competing against them.
The natural bodybuilders who participate in competitions like NANBF, INBA, and BNBF are well-built and have amazing physiques.
They can seriously give anybody a run for their money.
These organizations are legit and genuine.
They are strict about their rules and they are vigilant in catching guys who use steroids.
Also, these organizations keep conducting random tests on their athletes so that no one can cheat.
If you are 100% natty then there will be no issues in participating in these competitions.
However, Mike did compete in the WBFF.
On the website of the organization, nothing is mentioned regarding the no-drug policy.
So, there is no sure-shot guarantee that it is a natty competition.
Verdict
There may be a possibility of using HGH.
To know whether a bodybuilder has used steroids or not the best thing is to check their gains timeline.
It means you should look at their pictures from their growth years.
If they have gradual muscle growth then it means that they are natural and training helped them bulk up.
But, if they bulked up suddenly then it means that they have been juicing.
As far as Mike is concerned, there were no pictures from his growth years on the internet so, it is really difficult to judge him.
Human Growth Hormone (HGH)
When you look at Mike Rashid’s physique, especially his stomach, you can see that there are some bloating symptoms.
These symptoms suggest that Human Growth Hormone (HGH) may have been used.
Usually, when an athlete uses HGH, he gets bulging/bloating in this stomach.
This bloating looks very odd and unusual. This condition is commonly known as HGH gut.
In natural bodybuilders, there is no problem like the HGH gut.
They just don’t have it.
Basically, when you take HGH, it enlarges your intestines.
This gives that extremely bloated appearance. Unless you suck it in while taking pictures, it looks bulging.
Even many Mr. Olympia bodybuilders including Phil Heath have this.
As we do not know whether Mike has suddenly bulked up or it was a gradual gain, we cannot claim that he has used steroids along with HGH.
However, there is a high possibility of HGH use.
Even if he uses HGH, he still trains like crazy. He spends hours in the gym and trains rigorously.
So, his gains are a result of hard work and everyone should appreciate it rather than calling him a fake natty.
Achieving that kind of physique is not easy, it takes dedication and time.
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References:
- Images are taken from Mike Rashid’s Instagram
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