Steroid use is more widely accepted today than it was decades ago, and it’s had a significant impact on bodybuilding. In a recent video shared on Dec. 2, 2025, Joe Rogan and Derek of More Plates More Dates discussed old-school bodybuilders lying about performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). 

In a sport that awards muscularity and leanness, PEDs are king. While there’s inherent risks, athletes are willing to use them during preparations to display their best possible physique. Dosages today have gotten out of hand, whereas bodybuilders of the past vehemently claim they used a small amount to get the job done. To separate fact from fiction, Rogan and Derek laid out how the PED climate has shifted over the years. 

Joe Rogan, Derek MPMD Talk Bodybuilders Lying About Steroid Use 

In the video, Rogan first spoke up about the unrestricted supplement market, calling vitamin shops like GNC the ‘Wild West.’ 

“What’s crazy too is back then, it was proprietary blends on a lot of the products, and it was still the norm with no education available, no YouTube to really tell you what to look for. So, these companies would basically sell you for $50 a powder-flavored tub of just the stimulant. All the other ingredients for vasodilatation, they are like fuck you, you’re just getting DMAA, bro, that’s it, ” said Derek. 

“You were just getting straight meth, it was crazy,” added Rogan. “Those were the wild west days of GNC and local vitamin shops.” 

Derek explained that companies would use bodybuilding legends like Jay Cutler or Lee Priest to help peddle products. 

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“You need this combo that costs $250, and it’s literally pressed tablets of glutamine or something at a dose that doesn’t even help. They are telling me this is what Jay Cutler used to prep for the Olympia. Look at the before and after of Lee Priest. He lost 50 pounds of pure fat and kept all of his muscle from Cell-Tech.” 

Rogan said bodybuilders would lie about their gear use, emphasizing that it became deceptive for those unfamiliar with the sport. 

“That’s the dirty thing about those bodybuilders back in the day is that they couldn’t admit they were on gear. So they were all telling you they were taking this stuff, then they’d be spokespeople for it, god, it was so deceptive, so creepy. You’d have to know someone at the gym, oh I want to be like Lee Haney… no, that’s not how he got that way. You got to take the real stuff.” 

“So many people didn’t think that those bodybuilders were on hardcore steroids,” said Rogan. 

For these reasons, Rogan even likened the sport to a scam game of three-card monte. 

“It’s deception at a mass scale for sure,” said Derek. 

“The whole sport was a complete 3-card monte game,” explained Rogan. 

Fans believe it’s not just bodybuilders who lie about steroid use. They recently called out Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson for downsizing his physique. Given the dramatic drop in weight and muscle, fans have suggested that Johnson finally quit using gear. 

The stigma around steroid use has definitely changed from the 1990s. While they are still used in bodybuilding today, Rogan and Derek believe athletes aren’t as deceptive as they once were. 

Watch the full video from the PowerfulJRE YouTube channel below: