# What the hell is going on with this guys muscles? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 14, 2012, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-with-this-guys-muscles/631504 "2012-08-14T22:52:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-with-this-guys-muscles/631504/1 "2012-08-14T22:52:33Z")
[![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ic431K3bn8) What is going on with this guy? There’s no way, even with steroids, that his muscles developed in those grotesque spherical masses like that. I mean, look at his traps and the front of his shoulders. What did he do to himself and is there anyway for him to ever actually fix it? ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-with-this-guys-muscles/631504/2 "2012-08-14T22:56:38Z")
He got implants on his arms and shoulders. When you see him lifting weights at the end, you can see his real muscles flexing, and his arm implants just sitting there like bags of silicone. He could fix it by getting a doctor to remove the implants and some of the extra stretched skin. ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-with-this-guys-muscles/631504/3 "2012-08-14T23:00:33Z")
Synthol? ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-with-this-guys-muscles/631504/4 "2012-08-14T23:02:02Z")
Yeah, he’s probably had [URL"[http://artsyswag.com/what-went-wrong-synthol-victims/](http://artsyswag.com/what-went-wrong-synthol-victims/)"]synthol injections. ---
**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-with-this-guys-muscles/631504/5 "2012-08-15T00:05:52Z")
> [@Fubaya](#): > > Yeah, he’s probably had [URL"[http://artsyswag.com/what-went-wrong-synthol-victims/](http://artsyswag.com/what-went-wrong-synthol-victims/)"]synthol injections. Might want to check that link again; I clicked it and got a popup from my AV that [threats were detected](http://www.microsoft.com/security/portal/Threat/Encyclopedia/Entry.aspx?Name=Exploit%3AJava%2FBlacole.ET). ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-with-this-guys-muscles/631504/6 "2012-08-15T00:32:12Z")
Yep, that’s synthol for sure. There is a dude who has a column in _Muscular Development_ called the “Ramblin’ Freak” who used to have arms like that; until they got infected and he almost died. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-with-this-guys-muscles/631504/7 "2012-08-15T00:54:15Z")
_Why_ would someone do that to themselves? I mean that as a serious question. I can understand the mindset of a bodybuilder, even those who build to what I would personally consider grotesque physiques. That is to some degree a competitive mindset, proving to themselves and to others what they can accomplish, not too dissimilar to why an ultramarathoner wants to run even farther. It is not health; it is not fitness; it is the challenge for its own sake. I understand being competitive, with others, and with yourself. But _that_? It reminds of a normal breasted, moderate hipped 20 year old woman getting breast implants to make herself DDD or more. I just cannot grok. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-with-this-guys-muscles/631504/8 "2012-08-15T01:01:40Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > _Why_ would someone do that to themselves? > > I just cannot grok. Body dysmorphic disorder would be my guess. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-with-this-guys-muscles/631504/9 "2012-08-15T01:32:55Z")
They want to look like The Incredible Hulk. ---
**Author:** ![ASanders](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asanders/32/3367_2.png) [@ASanders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASanders)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-with-this-guys-muscles/631504/10 "2012-08-15T01:48:31Z")
Good lord that’s hideous. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-with-this-guys-muscles/631504/11 "2012-08-15T02:01:22Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Body dysmorphic disorder would be my guess. Thanks for that. That got me to [this article](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1627897/) which you might find an interesting read too. Muscle dysmorphia appears to be a particular subset of male body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) and particularly associated with greater psychopathology. 50% of those with muscle dysmorphia (in that study) had attempted suicide! Not good. But yeah that seems like a reasonable guess. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-with-this-guys-muscles/631504/12 "2012-08-15T02:26:54Z")
> [@Michael63129](#): > > Might want to check that link again; I clicked it and got a popup from my AV that [threats were detected](http://www.microsoft.com/security/portal/Threat/Encyclopedia/Entry.aspx?Name=Exploit%3AJava%2FBlacole.ET). Sorry about that, I use Linux and don’t have all that fancy antivirus stuff. Mods feel free to delete that post or link or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-with-this-guys-muscles/631504/13 "2012-08-15T03:24:15Z")
Anyone remember [this guy?](http://www.steroidology.com/blog/2009/03/03/anabolic-steroid-side-effects-and-addiction/) ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-with-this-guys-muscles/631504/14 "2012-08-15T03:46:07Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Anyone remember [this guy?](http://www.steroidology.com/blog/2009/03/03/anabolic-steroid-side-effects-and-addiction/) I believe he was on an MTV documentary called _The Man Whose Arms Exploded_ Oh, and this is the “Rambling Freak” that I spoke of earlier in the thread (in case anyone was reading it). ETA: This picture (or the headline) is an example of the scare tactics regarding steroids. It says: Steroids and their side effects. Then shows the picture of this guy all filled up with Synthol. Synthol is NOT a steroid. And last time I checked, synthol injections _weren’t_ a “side effect” of steroid abuse. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a87d85/32.png) [@A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Dodgy_Dude)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-with-this-guys-muscles/631504/15 "2012-08-15T04:06:14Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > They want to look like The Incredible Hulk. And they don’t want a woman in their bed. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-with-this-guys-muscles/631504/16 "2012-08-15T04:08:26Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Anyone remember [this guy?](http://www.steroidology.com/blog/2009/03/03/anabolic-steroid-side-effects-and-addiction/) Never mind, didn’t see your edit. But you can’t seriously be defending roids. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-with-this-guys-muscles/631504/17 "2012-08-15T04:26:35Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Never mind, didn’t see your edit. > > But you can’t seriously be defending roids. No, I’m decrying misleading information and sensational coverage regarding them, however. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-going-on-with-this-guys-muscles/631504/18 "2012-08-15T05:17:13Z")
> [@Cubsfan](#): > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ic431K3bn8&feature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ic431K3bn8&feature=related) > > What is going on with this guy? There’s no way, even with steroids, that his muscles developed in those grotesque spherical masses like that. I mean, look at his traps and the front of his shoulders. > > What did he do to himself and is there anyway for him to ever actually fix it? I thought the vid would be of the new traffic directing Geico guy. He’s pretty freaky looking, too.