Muscles, chemistry and social networks: a dangerous combination that hooks young people

At the end of last November, news completely shook the Spanish-speaking fitness community: Villano Fitness died at the age of 30.

Oliver Thansan
Oliver Thansan
17 January 2024 Wednesday 10:18
9 Reads
Muscles, chemistry and social networks: a dangerous combination that hooks young people

At the end of last November, news completely shook the Spanish-speaking fitness community: Villano Fitness died at the age of 30. Alfredo Martín - his real name - was an influencer who shared his knowledge about the world of gym and training. He was one of the most popular in the sector and had earned the affection of practically the entire community for his humor and honesty. of the.

He was one of the few content creators related to the gym theme who openly acknowledged being a consumer of chemical substances to improve muscular performance and even joked about it, but always warning that it was not advisable to do so and highlighting that he himself did not. was no example to follow.

Although his loss was immediately linked to a possible excessive use of substances of this type, these circumstances have not yet been publicly clarified and those closest to him have wanted to respect the memory of Hero/Villano Fitness (he had two different public accounts) by stopping talk about the topic.

However, Martín's death has reopened the debate in recent weeks about the impact that the use of these substances can have on the human body and especially on the youngest people, who mostly consume content from these creators on platforms such as TikTok. and Instagram.

Bodybuilding and the world of fitness have been experiencing a sweet time in terms of popularity in our country for years with the emergence of figures like Joan Pradells, inspiration for many teenagers when it comes to taking their first steps in the gym, but also a declared chemical consumer.

It is increasingly common that in these social networks where figures like Pradells have exploded, new phenomena appear that show bodies that are questionably achievable without the use of chemical substances but that at the same time serve as a lighthouse for millions of young people.

This trend has generated a whole open war between different profiles in the fitness world: on the one hand there are those influencers who claim that their bodies and progress have been merely the result of good training, privileged genetics, strict diet and supplementation. Other prominent figures in the community have taken a stand against these “false naturals.”

And in all this whirlwind there are millions of teenagers who are beginning to bet heavily, in some cases, on an extreme vision of bodybuilding that leads them to turn to chemistry from a very young age. This is the case of the tiktoker @thefocusedplan, who at only 16 years old openly publishes how he injects doses of anabolics.

Another controversial example is that of the influencer @lifeofstogie -more than 300,000 followers and 12.2 million 'likes' on TikTok-, who directly creates 'edits' or clips glorifying the consumption of these substances and sarcastically attacking other visions of training. : “All you need to have your body healthy is rice, chicken and creatine” he titles in one of his videos, and then demonstrates that his physical change is really due to the consumption of chemicals.

All these factors come together with a growing presence of young people, whether minors or adults, in gyms. The National Federation of Sports Facilities Employers (FNEID) stated in its latest report that minors represent 6% of users in gyms, while this figure grows to 30% if young people are counted as a whole.

The growing interest of young people in the gym, the impact of social networks on their vision of this sport and the dangers they entail require professionals such as personal trainers, sports center technicians and nutritionists with adequate training to show them a healthy way of train.

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