Rich Piana –charismatic or controversial?

Ex-Mr. California Rich Piana has become a household name in the bodybuilding and fitness industry and has made a name for himself as a cult figure due to his active social media presence and no-holds-barred attitude.

A marketing genius, Piana knows what the fans want to see and his mansion-sized house, the cars, the tats and of course the muscles have endeared him to bodybuilding fans worldwide.  Rich no longer stands on stage but his presence and fan following in the industry tops that of a lot of the professional athletes. His booth at the expos are often the biggest and most popular and his friendly persona sets him aside from the stereotype of the brain-dead, gormless, arrogant muscle men.

With an Instagram following of 542k and 530k YouTube subscribers whatever Rich Piana says in his posts takes off into the internet stratosphere and almost immediately begins trending.

Rich Piana’s recent activities on his social media pages have been the focus of a lot of attention in recent weeks with a number of prominent figures in the fitness industry and YouTube Vloggers broadcasting their views.

Already weighing in at about 280 pounds, the mass monster recently expressed his desire to put on at least 30 pounds of muscle in 3 months, using a vigorous training program, diet and steroid cycle which he is set to begin in the coming months.

Rich Piana, a known and self-proclaimed steroid user has never shied away from the fact that he has a love affair with steroids. In his videos he states that he began self-administering the drugs in his teens and has been cycling on and off for over two decades. He regularly speaks about his views on different steroids and his preferences but for many, he took it a step too far when he posted his 4-month cycle on Instagram which he’s set to use for his mass-building program in the next few months.

On a follow- up YouTube video, Piana explains his cycle and choice of steroids but never advocates or encourages anyone to follow his cycle. He urges natural bodybuilders to follow his 3-month program, which he plans to document on his YouTube channel, but stresses them to stay true to themselves and remain drug-free throughout.

Despite this, his antics have come under intense scrutiny and criticism from others in the industry which has forced other well-renowned figureheads such Jerry Ward, Gregg Valentino and the man known as Vegan Gains to post videos expressing their views.

Won’t he be getting a visit from the police? …Many people have commented on Piana’s post saying that he must be stupid to put his steroid cycle up on the internet. Since steroid use and possession is illegal in the U.S, stating that ‘this is the cycle I am going to use’ is bound to land Piana in trouble. But as Jerry Ward responded in his video, saying on camera ‘this is what I am going to do’ does not give someone probable cause. The police would not be able to get a warrant based on a YouTube video; they would need to see Piana taking the drugs, know where they are in his house, know who he’s buying them from for them to even entertain the possibility of obtaining a warrant. So unless Piana openly shoots up steroids on camera, it’s safe to say that he won’t be getting a visit from the authorities any time soon.

Kids mimicking what Rich Piana is planning to do is a strong possibility and a concern, although Rich disclaimed in his video that people shouldn’t attempt his cycle. Rich is a near 300 pound mass monster and the steroid cycle that he is planning to administer will have very different effects for his body than for a teenager for example. A teenager attempting Rich’s cycle may experience far more adverse effects in comparison to an experienced athlete on the juice but nowhere on social media is Piana advocating the use of steroids for his 3 month programme.

Whatever your views on Rich Piana may be, there’s no doubt that has a huge fan following and is one of the most respected figures in the bodybuilding fitness industry. Love him or hate him, if you’re someone that’s obsessed with muscles, you can’t help but follow him and although his recent antics have come under plenty of scrutiny, his fan base is only likely to grow over the coming months.