21 Year Old Bodybuilder Sam Connolly

[Bio]

A lot of negativity here damn. Speaking truthfully he looks better that 90% of the board, myself included.

Kids young, extremely disciplined, and a great foundation.

Wish him all the happiness and success in the world.

Don't shit on the board! You don't know what 90% of the members look like.

I also wish him well. I'm sure the guys that are giving their honest opinion do as well.

 

[Bio]

Whenever I see someones reaction to aas like this, and I mean the acne being so bad, I seriously have to ponder at what is going on inside, are the organs being attacked this hard too? I don't know. I think his insertions are good. 'Good' - I also have 'good' genetics, there is a massive difference between 'good' and best of the best, and best of the best is what competitive pro bodybuilding is unfortunately.

That's ridiculous. He's someone who is prone to bad acne. Using hormones isn't helping. It doesn't have anything to do with his "...organs being attacked..."

 

[fisther69]

He reminds me of me…doesn’t have it for bodybuilding.

I found out really early on I’m built for strength, speed, and endurance and made a career out of it. Bodybuilding isn’t for everyone to thrive im

 

[plane]

That's ridiculous. He's someone who is prone to bad acne. Using hormones isn't helping. It doesn't have anything to do with his "...organs being attacked..."

Alright you may think it is ridiculous but certain types of acne are inflammatory conditions which can have an affect on the organs; the skin is the largest organ of the body isn't it? I'd say 90% of posts on this forum are ridiculous if we wanna throw the word around lightly. Either way, it looks fucking horrible - I wouldn't consider this person healthy on the outside, so I wouldn't be in the realm of being 'ridiculous' to make the pressumption his insides are suffering also.

 

[plane]

He reminds me of me…doesn’t have it for bodybuilding.

I found out really early on I’m built for strength, speed, and endurance and made a career out of it. Bodybuilding isn’t for everyone to thrive im

Besides the acne, of course he can bodybuild; there is nothing wrong with his insertions or anything - he just needs more size, he is only 21. Everyone in this thread is a bit TOO pessimistic, he is not the next mr olympia but he can compete at some stage in his life provided he keeps taking the drugs required and everything else alongside it. No?

 

[Bio]

Alright you may think it is ridiculous but certain types of acne are inflammatory conditions which can have an affect on the organs; the skin is the largest organ of the body isn't it? I'd say 90% of posts on this forum are ridiculous if we wanna throw the word around lightly. Either way, it looks fucking horrible - I wouldn't consider this person healthy on the outside, so I wouldn't be in the realm of being 'ridiculous' to make the pressumption his insides are suffering also.

Show me where this is in medical literature.

 

[fisther69]

Besides the acne, of course he can bodybuild; there is nothing wrong with his insertions or anything - he just needs more size, he is only 21. Everyone in this thread is a bit TOO pessimistic, he is not the next mr olympia but he can compete at some stage in his life provided he keeps taking the drugs required and everything else alongside it. No?

Maybe, but who knows how far he is already pushing it..

 

[Elvia1023]

I understand both sides but people are over judging and making assumptions. Whilst those assumptions may be correct I also can't help but think he is 21 years old and just going for it so there is no need for the negativity. Moreover, I am 100% certain if his body was acne free he wouldn't be receiving a fraction (apart from the form police) of the hate he is receiving. I am sure he is pushing things but I have seen acne like that with guys using tiny doses and guys using massive doses. Some people are just really sensitive to acne with any fluctuations in hormones.

He needs someone knowledgeable in his corner who can guide him. It was nothing like that but I remember getting bad acne the first time I came off hormones and I have also had it bad on very low doses and my body has been clear on very high doses so it's not just a case of loads of acne means you are blasting massive amounts. Acne 100% shows something is off but it doesn't mean his organs are failing or anything extremely bad Have you not been in school with anyone who had horrible acne going through puberty? Do teenage students in schools all over the country covered in acne have organs failing due to AAS abuse Nevertheless, he needs to get that acne sorted asap because it will leave bad scarring and he needs to make sure his hormones are manipulated so it's not a reoccurring problem. I left acne on my back for just a few months and have permanent scars because of it.

 

[rxfitness]

This Chinese kid has a lot of potential. Don’t know his age but he looks very young

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[livinlean]

Alright you may think it is ridiculous but certain types of acne are inflammatory conditions which can have an affect on the organs; the skin is the largest organ of the body isn't it? I'd say 90% of posts on this forum are ridiculous if we wanna throw the word around lightly. Either way, it looks fucking horrible - I wouldn't consider this person healthy on the outside, so I wouldn't be in the realm of being 'ridiculous' to make the pressumption his insides are suffering also.

Maybe you're on to something, maybe you're not. But the kids 21 and having acne isn't anything new. I was showering in dawn dish washing soap back at that age to help my acne lol.

 

[marssel]

His form is shit, genetics are average, big for 21 yea, but shit I didn’t start lifting til 21 and by 23 was past this and not with that awful awful skin. This video is supposed to be a hype video I guess but it looks like a cautionary tale to me. Only thing I saw that really impressed me was his traps in his rear dbl and yes his conditioning is good but you have to look past his skin to see it which is hard to do. This is the type of shit that makes our sport get a bad name imo. Wish him the best but I dunno……

 

[cage99]

If he slows things down and really works the muscle he could explode. He’d benefit from someone coaching him. He’s done well for himself though starting out.

Definitely needs to get on the Tane to squash acne moving forward!

Cage

 

[cage99]

Show me where this is in medical literature.

I’d like to see this as well. Cause I suffered with severe cystic acne at 26-28 with AAS. Had trouble with acne in puberty, but only on my face.

Acne has nothing to do with being healthy internally. It’s caused by excess oils, dirt, dead skin, etc on your skin clogging your pores. They become clogged and develop a small infection. Exogenous hormones tossed into the mix will produce even more oils if your prone. It exacerbates the issue.

Cage

 

[Gunsmith]

It sounded like he said his coach was "Alai" ??

Hopefully he can hire someone that will correct his training and drug protocols and he can make some gains and stay healthy

 

[Fit2Serve]

whoa! i read everyones comments n still didnt think the acne would be THAT bad!?! yikes!
like elephant in the room for no one in the vid to address it.
physique seems kinda average to me. but the acne is exceptional.

 

[BLang]

I’d like to see this as well. Cause I suffered with severe cystic acne at 26-28 with AAS. Had trouble with acne in puberty, but only on my face.

Acne has nothing to do with being healthy internally. It’s caused by excess oils, dirt, dead skin, etc on your skin clogging your pores. They become clogged and develop a small infection. Exogenous hormones tossed into the mix will produce even more oils if your prone. It exacerbates the issue.

Cage

That's ridiculous. He's someone who is prone to bad acne. Using hormones isn't helping. It doesn't have anything to do with his "...organs being attacked..."

Viewing acne as just a skin condition that's unrelated to anything internal is an out of date mentality and honestly, pretty ignorant at this point.

Acne can literally be caused by insulin resistance (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4565837/)

Probiotics that reduce inflammatory diseases of the gut have been shown to reduce acne (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5418745/)

There's even a name for the type of acne caused by Liver dysfunction (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32725250/)

We know that there is a strong link between oxidative stress and acne (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22648222/). In fact, it's pretty clear (yes, in the literature), that oxidative stress can be both a symptom and a cause of acne.

And, we know that acne is very often caused by IGF-1 elevation (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19932324/).

And that's ignoring micronutrient deficiencies that cause acne, which aren't related enough for me to dig up.

It's entirely possible that a young steroid users propensity to acne has nothing to do with any of these things, but there's at least a compelling reason to believe that a young steroid user who has very bad acne issues may also be the type of person who has a genetic propensity to struggling with the oxidative stress and inflammation caused by androgen use.

It's possible that said person could get around it with proper anti-ox strategies and hygiene, but either they can't, or they're not the type who will. Neither of which is a good sign for longevity.

IMO, it is also often a sign of someone using far, far more steroids than they need at a given time. They see progress, but IME they're always the ones suffering the worst at the cellular level, the ones who age the fastest and flame out before getting anywhere near an elite level.

The combination of those things (and honestly, Sam's training style) are all very good reasons for the "wow, this kid isn't going to make it very far" posts in this thread.

Hopefully he proves that theory wrong and I'm sure everyone in this thread would be happy for him if he does.

 

[Tomgrass]

He reminds me of me…doesn’t have it for bodybuilding.

I found out really early on I’m built for strength, speed, and endurance and made a career out of it. Bodybuilding isn’t for everyone to thrive im

That is called reality check applied so many still chasing the dream that will never happen, but this is how we evolve - we were chasing dreams.

 

[pesty4077]

Here is a young Romanian man at my gym who I became good friends with. I think he is same stats. 5'9" and 200 pounds. Same age, 21 or 22. Skin is clear. This is his bulking phase. Talk about genetics, his waist literally goes down to nothing when he is show ready.

 

[hawkmoon]

If someone makes a bodybuilding video and wants to be a competitor I'd expect some critical feedback. I don't think anything here has been terribly inaccurate.

I was also 21 once, and had competed by that time, was bigger, and didn't have that acne. I'm not saying that to toot my horn, only to set a baseline expectation for a young competitor. There were plenty who were much better than I was.

If he loves the sport he should do as he pleases, but I think some of the knocks here are fair if we are going to be objective.

I still remember 30 years ago when my training partner was a very good friend and really wanted to compete. He loved bodybuilding. About a month or two into his first prep we asked the opinion of our "dealer" who also competed nationally and supplied many local famous pros.

He took a look at my buddy and told him to go home and have a pizza. He didn't have what it took and no amount of training, diet or drugs (remember this is our source talking) would help him. Best thing to do was walk away and just enjoy training.

To this day I think that honesty is incredibly valuable, even if painful at the time. My buddy got over it and probably lived a better life because of it.

 

[cage99]

If someone makes a bodybuilding video and wants to be a competitor I'd expect some critical feedback. I don't think anything here has been terribly inaccurate.

I was also 21 once, and had competed by that time, was bigger, and didn't have that acne. I'm not saying that to toot my horn, only to set a baseline expectation for a young competitor. There were plenty who were much better than I was.

If he loves the sport he should do as he pleases, but I think some of the knocks here are fair if we are going to be objective.

I still remember 30 years ago when my training partner was a very good friend and really wanted to compete. He loved bodybuilding. About a month or two into his first prep we asked the opinion of our "dealer" who also competed nationally and supplied many local famous pros.

He took a look at my buddy and told him to go home and have a pizza. He didn't have what it took and no amount of training, diet or drugs (remember this is our source talking) would help him. Best thing to do was walk away and just enjoy training.

To this day I think that honesty is incredibly valuable, even if painful at the time. My buddy got over it and probably lived a better life because of it.

Did he stop competing? Or did he continue as a life/health endeavor to look and feel great?

Cage