A court case from the UK has shed light on the presence of steroid use in gyms on these islands. One of Britain's top bodybuilders Nathan De Asha yesterday received a 12-month suspended sentence after admitting to distributing £10,000 worth of illegal anabolic steroids to the Pain and Gain gym in Devon.
De Asha is one of Britain's leading bodybuilders and was expected to attend the Mr Olympia bodybuilding event in Las Vegas but had to stay in the UK to attend yesterday's court session.
Judge David Evans had strong words for De Asha in delivering his verdict, and called him a 'disgrace'.
"As a regular competitor on the national and international stage, who has done well in bodybuilding, you are a disgrace to the sport and it is doubly sad, given how well you have done to overcome past behaviour and adversity.
"What makes your behaviour more disappointing is that you project yourself as an ambassador for the sport to children.
"I hope you can make good the damage which you have done to your own reputation and to the sport."
At a time when doping in rugby is under severe scrutiny, its certainly worth taking a deeper look at the use of illegal steroids outside of organised sport, and in gyms. It's worrying when experts in bodybuilding admit to distributing steroids to ordinary fitness goers.
De Asha issued the following statement on Instagram and used the hashtag 'vindicated':
