My bodybuilding journey actually started with the Power Lifting Team of Miami. They use to train at the very first gym I was ever a member of which lucky for me happened to be walking distance from my house. I made friends with guys on the team and soon enough was invited to train with them. Between lifting heavy weight and the comradery that came from training with the team, I became hooked. Funny how the biggest guys in the gym usually tend to be the nicest and most willing to impart their knowledge, at least once you get past the hard exterior lol. Anyhow, I trained with them for some time although I never actually competed. See, I could never take powerlifting seriously enough to allow myself to put on the weight necessary to lift as heavy as possible. The reason I started going to the gym was for the same reason I think most 17 year old boys go... I wanted to get laid, and I realized very quickly that a power lifter's physique wasn't gonna help me rack up the body count lol. So as much as I loved power lifting, and even incorporate many of those movements in my training to this day, I set my sites on bodybuilding.

Like many dumb kids in the early 2000s who were aspiring bodybuilders on their way to becoming the next Ronnie Coleman, my main source of info was Muscular Development magazine and the resident gym bros at my local gym. On gym bro advice, I first dabbled with gear when I was 19. It was suggested that I take 400mgs of a test blend, and 300mgs of deca for my first ever cycle. Within the first month I was repping 365 on bench like it was nothing. I remember checking out chicks in the middle of my sets while I was doing it. That deca had the bar moving like butter with no shakes to speak of. I was a monster! Then one day, while giving my girl the business, I busted a nut and went into atrial fibrillation for the first time. Not fun to say the least. I learned then that not only am I a hyper responder to almost everything known to man, but that I'm also a sensitive little bitch lol. Luckily my heart was fine after the episode and a couple more episodes which followed, but needless to say I had to re-evaluate my gear usage. I stayed off everything for some time, only messing with pro hormones a few years later, which honestly were like taking PEDs anyway lol. Methyl 1 test was my shit, I was heartbroken when they banned it. Didn't do anything for some time after that, and the last time I tried anything was a cycle of pharma grade anavar at 30mgs a day. I shake my head when people say anavar's weak. I got ridiculous gains off an 8 week anavar only cycle and was super hard and almost freaky vascular. Stuff had me barbell shoulder pressing 315 for 6 reps. Anyways, not too long after that my life took a pretty crazy turn.

At 29 I was diagnosed with Hodgekin's Lymphoma. Definitely wasn't the best year of my life, but if I'm being completely honest, it served as the catalyst for some of the greatest things to ever happen to me. Nonetheless, I once again had to re-evaluate things. I'm confident that my dabbling with AASs had nothing to do with my cancer, although I've never been given an answer as to exactly what may have caused it. In my opinion, I believe a combination of stress and just unhealthy living as a fallout from the enormous stress I was under at work were the main culprits. They weren't lying when they said "stress kills". Also, before I got sick I never realized how much sucralose was in many of the things we consume, especially its prevalence in just about all fitness supplements. I can't say for certain that sucralose had a part to play in my diagnosis, but I figured removing it from my diet all together couldn't hurt. I'm glad to say that after 6 months of chemo, I've been cancer free ever since, having celebrated 10 years of remission December of 2021. In all that time, I never once though about using any AASs, that is until my 40th birthday lol.

In my older age I recognized that I wasn't recovering as well I use to, nor was I putting on strength like I use to from what seemed like the same amount of intensity and strictness of diet. I did a ton of research and was convinced that TRT may be a good idea, and boy has it been. I'm taking a very slow and steady approach to my AAS use and have definitely adopted the philosophy of minimal effective dose. I just started TRT 5 weeks ago and have already noticed huge benefits, especially from a recovery aspect. I was prescribed 200mgs per week, which I administer sub-q eod. Still haven't had bloods done since my initial bloodwork to know exactly how a 200mg dose is effecting me, but it's obvious the stuffs working. I've definitely caught the bug again, but am hoping to be a lot smarter than that dumb 19 year old was while also deploying the patience and wisdom my 40 years on this planet have provided me. I'm also super grateful that forums like this exist that allow us all to support each other on our personal fitness journeys. I look forward to being a contributing member on this site, and appreciate everyone on here who share their knowledge and experiences to make sure that other dumb 19 year old kids like most of us were have a knowledge base we could've only dreamed of back then.