The Hidden Risks of Starting Steroids Young
In a Nutshell
Steroids taken as a teen can permanently limit adult height through early growth plate closure, impair lifelong impulse control and executive function by disrupting prefrontal cortex development, and increase the risk of erectile and sexual dysfunction. These effects are largely irreversible and far more damaging than typical adult warnings about acne, baldness, or heart risk, which teens often dismiss. The core message is that waiting until at least age 25 to use steroids—after natural growth, brain maturation, and training foundation are complete—avoids these major downsides while still allowing for substantial gains.
These notes were generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies.
Steroids cause impressive gains. However, there are three downsides of steroids that are less commonly discussed and should be considered before deciding to use them. Steroids can interfere with the development of the prefrontal cortex. Steroids are much safer and cause much less harm when used after most maturation is complete. On the other hand, erectile dysfunction is a negative outcome.
Dr. Mike from RP Strength discusses three mostly untold risks of steroid use specifically for teens. Most adults provide curated, formalized, and sterilized warnings about steroids. This presentation will deliver direct information without exaggeration or lies. The speaker is currently on steroids, trains, and has trained since age 14, making this a different discussion than typical warnings.
Many standard side effects of steroids are known but may seem less concerning to teens. Steroids can cause significant acne, though medications can counter this to a large extent. Steroids can cause baldness, but this occurs much later in life and baldness can be viewed positively. Steroids can increase cardiovascular stress and the risk of stroke and heart attack, but keeping blood pressure down, eating healthy, and monitoring blood work greatly reduces these risks, which occur much later in life anyway.
Teens may reasonably dismiss many of these standard risks presented by adults. Some adults also claim that the beneficial effects of steroids are greatly overrated, but this is not true. Steroids do cause impressive gains.
Lying about or understating the benefits of steroids will not prevent use. The three downsides that should be known before deciding to use steroids are as follows.
Height Limitation
Steroids can cap adult height. High estrogen levels from conversion of most steroids in the bloodstream lead to early growth plate closure. This is one reason females are naturally shorter than males due to higher estrogen levels causing earlier growth plate closure. Anti-estrogens could hypothetically counter this, but they negatively impact health in a massive way and interfere with brain development even more, possibly worse than steroids. They also require constant blood work for precise estrogen monitoring. Teens using steroids without parental permission would have difficulty obtaining comprehensive blood work and interpreting results.
Using steroids can result in inches off of potential adult height, even if started late into the teens. Being shorter is greatly overrated. Females especially value adult male height, with the ideal preferred height being 6-foot-3, and every inch matters. The speaker is 5-foot-6.
Prefrontal Cortex Development Interference
Steroids can interfere with the development of the prefrontal cortex, the decision-making executive control center of the brain. This can lead to greatly reduced impulse control, similar to being half drunk all the time, and a reduction in executive function, which is key to deploying intelligence at scale to real-world projects.
Taking steroids as a teen can cap functional intelligence and the degree of emotional impulse control for the rest of one's life. Being smarter makes one better at everything, including success with women and making money. Intelligence is one of the most important variables for future income. Work ethic and the ability to maintain steady attention also matter significantly for income, and using steroids as a teen can interfere with core intelligence, emotional control, and work ethic.
Erectile Dysfunction and Sexual Dysfunction
Some types of steroids can cause erectile dysfunction. Even types that do not directly cause erectile dysfunction can cause it when coming onto or coming off of them, along with other forms of sexual dysfunction. Androgen and estrogen ratios that are off-kilter, which will almost certainly occur with steroid use especially as a teen, can make glandular tissue excessively moist or excessively dry, resulting in negative physical characteristics.
Steroids are much safer and cause much less harm when used after most maturation is complete, at about age 25 or above. At that point, steroids can be used intelligently with a doctor and a coach to achieve massive gains with minimal downsides if done properly.
As a teen, natural growth occurs readily with smart training, good diet, and plenty of sleep, and this growth comes with zero side effects or risks when drug-free. The more muscle packed on before starting steroids, the better the steroids work to produce further gains.
The speaker started at age 27 with injectable testosterone and considers not starting earlier one of the best decisions made.
Many adults view teens as impulsive, short-sighted, and sometimes dumb, and make lighthearted jokes about this behind their backs. Taking steroids as a teen and experiencing resulting baldness, shortness, reduced intelligence, and erectile dysfunction would prove those views correct.
Alternatively, being smart, strategic, and calculating by training hard, eating right, sleeping adequately, and studying hard to become smarter allows one to wait until age 25 or older. By that time, new drugs in the current pipeline will provide one-tenth the side effects of steroids with two times the muscle growth effects, potentially allowing one to skip steroids entirely while still achieving significant results.
The decision is left entirely to the viewer.
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