The Liver King Lie: Why It Matters for Your Health

His message? Ditch modern life and embrace his “Ancestral Tenets” – eat, sleep, move, connect, fight, sun, cold, bond, and have fun.

And he wasn’t just talking about it. His body looked like living proof. Massive muscles. Year-round shredded abs. He swore it was all natural – no steroids, no shortcuts. Just primal living.

Then came the bombshell.

In late 2022, leaked emails revealed that Liver King was spending more than $10,000 a month on anabolic steroids and other performance and image enhancing drugs (PIEDs). The man who made millions claiming to be “natty” was exposed as anything but.

Why the lie hits harder than the weights

So what? Another influencer lied?

Here’s why it matters. When someone with millions of followers sells the idea that their body is built naturally – while secretly on steroids – they’re creating an impossible standard. Young men and boys see that physique and believe they can get there with raw meat and discipline alone. When they fall short, the result is frustration, low self-esteem, and sometimes a decision to try risky substances themselves.

There’s a ripple effect.

The tricks of the apology game

When Johnson finally came clean in a YouTube confession, he didn’t just say “I lied.” Instead, he justified it. He blamed his insecurities. He insisted he was “monitored by a doctor.” He said he wasn’t competing, so “who was he really cheating?”

These are classic ways of dodging responsibility – downplaying the harm, blaming the pressure, pointing fingers elsewhere. But for his followers, the damage was already done.

The bigger health picture

Steroids and other PIEDs aren’t new. Plenty of athletes and bodybuilders have admitted to using them. The real danger comes when they’re hidden. Social media has supercharged body ideals, with influencers holding up physiques that simply aren’t achievable without enhancement – and then pretending otherwise.

That gap between what you see online and what’s actually possible is where problems start. It feeds body dissatisfaction. It pushes people toward extreme diets, overtraining, or secret steroid use without medical guidance.

And here’s the kicker: research shows that when people do use steroids, they’re far more likely to turn to friends, coaches, or online forums for advice than doctors. Which means misinformation spreads faster than good health advice.

Where we go from here

The Liver King saga is a reminder that honesty in fitness matters. If influencers were upfront about what they’re taking, they could actually help reduce harm by sharing safer practices. Instead, too often, the truth only comes out when they’re caught.

At Anabolica, working with Tim Piatkowski, PEDTest, and RoidSafe, we believe in cutting through the noise. By sharing clear, evidence-based information – and amplifying real voices from the community – we can give people the facts they need to make informed choices.

Because at the end of the day, the biggest lie isn’t just about steroids. It’s about selling the fantasy that you can have it all, naturally, if you just try hard enough. And that’s the myth we need to leave in the past.