In a recent episode of his podcast, Hany Rambod opened up and got serious about discussing the young deaths in bodybuilding and the role steroids play in these deaths. Rambod is a bodybuilding coach and legend in the bodybuilding community. Perhaps best known for his FST-7 training system and coaching 7x Mr. Olympia Phil Heath, Rambod’s knowledge is highly revered by athletes and fans alike. This makes his podcast, The Truth With Hany Rambod, a valuable window into his experience and insight of the sport.

Beyond training Phil Heath, Hany Rambod is also currently coaching the reigning 212 Olympia champion Derek Lunsford (who just might be moving up to the Men’s Open someday soon). Rambod also helped train the much hyped Hadi Rambod during his transition into Men’s Open at the Mr. Olympia.

After a small hiatus from the podcast, Hany Rambod returned with a truly powerful episode released on May 5th, 2022. In the episode, Rambod focused less on training techniques and coaching insight. Instead, he focused on the long list of deaths in the pro bodybuilding community. Particularly the young athletes who passed away tragically too soon.

Most recently, the sport was crushed to learn that Cedric McMillan passed away at 46 years old. This came shortly after the passing of Bostin Loyd, who was only 29 year old and openly admitted to testing mass amounts of PEDs on his body. Sadly, these deaths were just the tip of the iceberg as many, many young athletes have passed over the past two years. This also includes former Mr. Olympia Shawn Rhoden and beloved Men’s Open pro bodybuilder George Peterson.

Truly, these deaths have been weighing heavily on those in the bodybuilding community. And it appears that Hany Rambod is one of them. Which is why in his comeback episode of his podcast he jumped into detail about steroid use and health in bodybuilding. You can watch the full episode below:

RELATED: Bodybuilders Are Dying – An Investigation Into Modern Bodybuilding, Health, & PED Use.

While Hany Rambod is no stranger to the fact that steroids are frequently used in bodybuilding – he also wants to warn about the abuse side of PEDs that have become increasingly normalized in modern bodybuilding.

Rambod used Bostin Loyd as a key example of this. Loyd’s death, at an extremely young age, is representative of the problem that is happening in the sport today.

“People really need to understand that these are short term fixes and that’s all it is. You cannot sit there and take gear perpetually and think that it’s going to be okay. It’s not. You’re going to have long-term health consequences that could be in the very short-term majorly catastrophic health consequences. People used to have problems when they were in their fifties and sixties, and they’ve been geared up for a long time and they didn’t take care of their blood pressure, didn’t take care of all these other issues and end up having a heart attack and passing away in their fifties or sixties.

Now, you got guys in their 20s that are passing away! How old was Bostin Loyd? I think he was 29 years old and he’s another guy from the bay area. “At the end of the day, the kid just abused.”

Hany Rambod continues to explain that steroids is, in some ways, an inevitable part of bodybuilding competitively. However, Rambod echos what others have said about waiting as long as possible before using PEDs. See how far your body can be pushed naturally – and then jump into PEDs when you are older, understand your body more, and are more mature.

“Look. If you’re listening to this podcast, and you’re thinking of contemplating taking drugs. You should really consider the consequences. Turn around and say, how old am I? Do I want to work within my genetic potential? If so, let me wait until I’m in my mid 20’s before I gear up. If that’s something you decide to do when you’re 22, 23, 24…then you should do it. Then, you’re a little bit more mature.”

“This isn’t just for Trenbolone, steroids, I’m talking about when it comes to anything. Even when it comes to these peptides now, they’re big. SARMS and shit. All this stuff. When you’re older, you’re going to be older and a little more wiser and you’re going to be able to make better decisions when as you become older. But when you’re young and you’re doing these types of things, you just haphazardly don’t think about the consequences and the repercussions of your actions.”

Hany Rambod also reflected back at his time training Dallas McCarver. In some ways, McCarver was the first majorly shocking young death in the modern industry. Rambod reveals that Dallas McCarver was weighing in at 345 pounds at the time of his death. This was after Rambod stopped training him – as he stated he would only let McCarver push up to 285 pounds under his watch. On top of this, autopsy reports later revealed that his heart was three times the size of an average adult.

To see how much farther Dallas McCarver pushed his size truly angers Hany Rambod. He’s angry how far and fast young athletes are willing to push drug use and size – to the point where it has led to tragic young deaths:

“It’s like, I buried a lot of that anger, a lot of that emotion because honestly, I don’t even want to see myself get that angry but I am. I’m angry and very disappointed out there with what I’ve seen.” It’s time for people to realize that…you know, the rides gotta stop. The rides gotta stop.”

Hany Rambod truly gets passionate during this episode while discussing a powerfully sad situation that is arising in the sport. Rambod joins a growing chorus of experts, athletes, and coaches that are publicly warning young bodybuilders about the dangers of steroid and PED abuse.

Perhaps this is the start of a sea change in how the next generation will handle drug use in bodybuilding. However, it’s truly sad that these deaths had to occur at all. While many of the deaths cannot be directly connected to steroid use – it’s clear that health is on the minds of many in the industry. The main message: prioritize your health over being the best bodybuilder in the world. At the very least – when it comes to PED use.

Make sure to stick around the Generation Iron Fitness Network for more news and updates on all things bodybuilding, strength sports, and fitness.

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