Mike Thurston: Natural or on Steroids?

Mike Thurston is a popular bodybuilder who has a strong online presence. Many people wonder whether he is a natural bodybuilder or steroids are involved. In this article, let’s find out the truth.

Mike Thurston: Natural or on Steroids?

Mike Thurston is a bodybuilder and trainer from Leeds, England. As of 2020, he is 30 years old. He started gaining attention in 2013 when he started posting images of his ripped physique on Instagram.

Also, he is a sponsored athlete by EHP Labs. In fact, he is promoting the same supplements that are promoted by Jaco De Bruyn and Josef Rakich.

Mike Thurston – Stats

• Height: 6′ (6 feet)
• Weight: 205 lbs – 215 lbs

Mike is a very honest bodybuilder. He has openly admitted that he was a total party animal and would easily indulge in excessive alcohol during his university years.

During that time he was not very serious about weight lifting and bodybuilding but he still used to do it moderately.

Even after consuming too much alcohol, his body still supported and responded to his weight lifting efforts.

In a way, it is similar to Antov Antipov as he also had a habit of excessive drinking but that didn’t stop his gain.

So, how can bodybuilders maintain their gains while drinking large amounts of alcohol?

Or Mike has some superpowers or he got that physique by using anabolic steroids?

Let’s take a deeper look and find out the truth.

No Steroid Symptoms

Mike Thurston has a huge build with a lot of muscle mass. Even after having such a ripped physique, he doesn’t look artificial at all. His physique appears all-natural and there seem no signs of steroids.

If you see his physique, you will notice that all his body parts and muscle groups are in proportion with each other. His shoulders and traps do not look like they are made by using steroids. He doesn’t look too shredded or unnatural.

Also, his vascularity level is good but it is not extreme. When athletes or bodybuilders use steroids they have extreme levels of vascularity. So, it is an obvious sign.

The number of veins that pop-up on Mike’s body is reasonable for any natural bodybuilder.

Mike Thurston – Genetics

Genetics definitely plays an important role in bodybuilding. People who are naturally blessed with good genes find it a lot easier to pack on those muscles.

However, if your genes are not as responsive then no matter how much you lift weights, it is never easy to gain muscle mass. Therefore, many bodybuilders these days depend mostly on steroids.

That is why it is a little difficult to differentiate natural bodybuilders from the ones who use steroids.

But, there are always some clues that can help you decide whether a bodybuilder is natural or not.

If you see the images of the bodybuilder from during his puberty days then you can figure out whether his genetics helped him buff up or not.

The bodybuilders who were on the bigger side even during their growth years means that their genetics are capable of packing in those muscles.

On the other hand…

If the bodybuilder was relatively skinny and smaller during his puberty and he suddenly got bigger after turning 25… then there is a high possibility that steroids are involved.

Therefore, if the bodybuilder was always big even without lifting any weights, it means he is blessed with muscle-building DNA.

This is similar to Mike O’Hearn. He also looked like a beast even when he was just 14 years old. His amazing muscles and physique is a result of his genetics.

Now, let’s take a look at Mike Thurston’s childhood picture…

This picture was taken when Mike was just 10 years old. Obviously, a kid that young cannot be taking steroids to build muscles. So, it is proof that his muscles are real.

Even at the age of 10, Mike looks more ripped than a lot of grown-up men today.

The weird thing here is that he was not even lifting any weight at this age, so he got those muscles because of his DNA.

Also, take a look at his calves, they are so ripped without even working out. Many grown-ups have severely lagging calves, but Mike Thurston is different.

Gains Timeline

According to Mike Thurston, he started lifting weights during his initial college days when he was just 18 years old.

After just 1 year of moderate training, his body transformed and he looked like this:

In today’s world, a lot of people do not accept their flaws but Mike Thurston is different. He accepted that he was a heavy drinker during his college… more like a party animal.

At that time, he used to drink 3 to 4 times a week. However, this did not affect his bodybuilding. He kept lifting weights and his body responded positively.

Mike’s muscles got bigger even after not following a healthy lifestyle. This shows that his genetics helped him gain that muscle mass naturally.

When Mike Thurston was in his second year of University, he got more serious about lifting weights. So, he reduced his drinking and increased his workout. The results can be seen in the image below:

This change improved his physique even more. His muscles got bigger and thicker in size. Also, his arms got more jacked.

If Mike Thurston would have taken steroids to gain muscles then his arms would have blown up a lot more, but it looks like a more gradual and natural increase in size.

In natural bodybuilders, gradual gains is an obvious sign. Whereas, bodybuilders who take steroids get gains instantly and dramatically.

Below you can see a before and after picture of Mike Thurston’s bodybuilding journey:

If you see closely, then you can notice that his muscles do not look unusually large in the second picture. His physique looks more defined and polished, but he doesn’t look like an unnatural beast.

It is very common for natural bodybuilders to look more defined once they get a little older. They don’t look like a completely different person. Their body’s transformation is very proportionate, they don’t look made-up.

In the second picture, Mike is more shredded and that is why his muscles look much better.

Competition History

Mike Thurston is not a newbie when it comes to bodybuilding competitions. In the past, he competed in the WBFF.

Now, this leaves us thinking whether he is natural or not because WBFF does not have any page on their website related to their policy on drug testing.

However, discarding them just because of assuming that they do not do any drug testing is unfair. We are not sure what this federation thinks about drug testing.

You can obviously raise a question like:

If Mike Thurston is natural then why doesn’t he participate in the UKBFF or BNBF competitions?

Both these federations are known for being natural and having a strict drug testing policy. Also, they are UK based federations.

There are very few athletes from the bodybuilding community that troll Mike and claim that he uses steroids. However, they always fail to show any kind of evidence to back their claims.

Also, other bodybuilders like Simeon Panda and Donte Franklin get far more trolls than compared to Mike Thurston. So, there is no need for Mike to go out of his way to show the world that he is natty.

Many bodybuilders like to participate in competitions that help them get monetary benefits or give them exposure. WBFF federation is a perfect example of getting popularity in the fitness world.

When a bodybuilder participates in WBFF, it increases his chances of getting sponsorships or improving his influence among fans. This ultimately helps them make more money.

Verdict: Natural

Mike Thurston has genetics that helped him get jacked and his growth was obvious from the young age of 10.

He is actually very smart because he knows the capability of his body. He knows how to take advantage of his genes and he used that to build a full-time career.

Just by looking at his young age pictures, it is obvious that he is a natural bodybuilder.

Now, he is very serious about health and fitness and that is why he has quit partying and exercises religiously. He even has an online business for personal training.

His gains timeline shows that there are no visual signs of steroid use on his body. This makes it easy to decide that he is natty.

Best Steroid Alternative

If you also want to increase your muscle mass naturally without steroids then you can try a legal steroid alternative.

The best steroid alternative for Dianabol is Crazybulk D-Bal. It is 100% legal and made from powerful natural ingredients that do not mess up your test results.

Also, Crazybulk D-Bal is clinically tested and proven to give rapid results. It is available in the form of capsules.

All you have to do is just add it to your daily routine and continue lifting weights, within weeks you will experience amazing transformation naturally.