Interview with Alex Nonymous: Steroids, Stereotypes, and Bodybuilding

Alex Nonymous stands at six feet, three inches, with an imposing physique weighing over 250 pounds. One can easily imagine this appearance when speaking to him on the phone; his voice is deep, gruff, and laden with a thick Latvian accent. Nonymous is a self- proclaimed body builder. His involvement in the subculture came about when a friend in Latvia, where he spent the first 18 years of his life, mentioned that he had a good body for the sport. Nonymous says initially he aimed only to "gain a little bit of muscle mass, then it just kept going" when he found he enjoyed weightlifting.

He won his first competition at 18, and by 19 he competed again and became the Latvian national champion.

When he came to the United States to study abroad in 2002, Nonymous decided to stay permanently, and went on to earn two Bachelor's degrees, one in physical education and one in exercise science, all the while continuing to compete. Now, he lives in Virginia, a convenient phone call away for an interview.

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Going into the interview call, I expected Nonymous to be cautious and guarded about any discussion regarding drug use in the bodybuilding subculture, but to my surprise he brought up the use and abuse of steroids by bodybuilders on his own, even admitting to his own use in the past. He noted, though, that this openness is not typical in the United States bodybuilding community, in which he says, "people will not admit they use because it is illegal and there will be judgment".

This unwillingness to discuss does not mean that use is not widespread. Nonymous even goes so far as to say that in "Olympus and NPC don't test [their competitors for drug use] and they all use." Olympia is a world-renowned series of bodybuilding competitions, and NPC (National Physique Committee) is a United States bodybuilding championship.

In Latvia, on the other hand, drugs were readily available and openly used by "anyone and everyone. [You could] walk into a doctor's office, be big, and they'd know you want steroids and give you a prescription." Nonymous does not align himself with typical bodybuilders, who he typifies as the biggest, habitual steroid users who "use drugs big time;" he says what separates him is that he does “natural bodybuilding," meaning he does not use any enhancement drugs, because he wishes to reach maximum muscle mass organically. In natural bodybuilding competitions, competitors are subject to urine and polygraph tests before the events begin to ensure they have not used.

Nonymous's willingness to discuss steroid use in the subculture speaks both to how widely accepted steroid use is in Eastern Europe, where steroids were legally available without prescription until the past decade or so, and to how widespread steroid use in general is in the subculture. So many members of the subculture are known to use steroids that Nonymous said his friends back home in Latvia do not believe that he is a natural bodybuilder because they cant imagine being as big as he is without the help of unnatural enhancements.

Of the stereotypes Nonymous and I discussed together, Nonymous was most vehemently opposed to the idea of bodybuilders as innately aggressive people. Bringing up the Chris Benoit murder-suicide of 2011, Nonymous cites the case as a prime example of how incidences blamed on steroid use always have other components involved, such as concurrent alcohol or drug use.

Steroids can make you aggressive sometimes, he says, but "it's only for a second." Nonymous claims most false negative stereotypes about bodybuilding stem from jealousy of nonmembers, who "want to look good, but eat like shit, look like shit, feel like shit, all wanting to look like me.” This statement perfectly encapsulates some of the forced narcissism that my research has suggested bodybuilders rely on to be constantly driven to succeed; Nonymous's confidence in himself and his appearance seems to give him the motivation to continue to be better physically than the general population. In my research, an interest in bodybuilding often comes hand in hand with insecurity with one's self, with the development of abnormal musculature acting as a mask for the insecurities.

On the other hand, his admission of the widespread use of steroids falls in line with bodybuilding subculture stereotypes quite well. Although he used steroids for a short period, less than 18 months, Nonymous attributes his personal success in the sport to hard work and dedication. When prepping for competition, he works out six days a week for at least an hour each day, and cuts out all sugar and "most all" carbs in his diet. When prepping, he will lose as much as 50 pounds in the span of a few months to ready himself for competition. An assumption many make related to steroid use is that is means automatic success for the person who takes them; in reality, Nonymous explains that it's all about genetics, because one's genetic makeup determines how much or little steroids can help.

For instance, Nonymous "got very big" with the help of steroids after only a few months, but knows many men who have taken three times his dose and had minimal positive side effects. On the note of side effects, Nonymous mentioned that even his acquaintances that have used steroids cyclically for twenty-plus years have had no discernable side effects from the drugs, other than easily remedied erectile issues. This lack of side effects does not align with the research I have conducted thus far; although Nonymous stressed that if steroids are used in carefully timed months-long cycles, the effects can be avoided, the medical journals I have consulted point to long term testosterone imbalances and other physical ailments attributed to steroid use. In the United States subculture, steroid use is widespread but kept private, so the long- term effects of said steroid use may be kept from the general public by subculture members as well.

Nonymous has not competed in an official bodybuilding competition since 2013, but says that bodybuilding is still a “big part of my mind and thinking.” His priorities now are "family and Lifetime [the gym at which he is employed as a personal trainer]," and he works out about four times a week for an hour at a time.

Although his life is focused on things other than his personal fitness, if he does not workout regularly he feels "very guilty, like I am not bodybuilder." This guilt seems to signify that he feels he must prove himself as an ongoing member of the community, and that mindset alone is not enough to identify with the bodybuilding subculture; to be accepted, it seems that one must continue to devote large amounts of their time and brainpower to the sport and maintain the expected imposing musculature.

Throughout the interview, Nonymous was open, full of anecdotes, and candid about the darker facets of the bodybuilding subculture. He is quick to defend the personalities and reputations of his fellow bodybuilders, insisting most character stereotypes are false, but puts on no false airs when it comes to drug use and abuse. Nonymous was eager to share his experiences, stating, “talking about it makes me love to body build more." Like with most subcultures, Nonymous is proud to be a part of his community of bodybuilders, and trying to share and teach bodybuilding to the general public is an important and fulfilling part of membership.