Hello fellow readers, today I wanted to make an article. We will talk about Anthony Mantello. Anthony has a very aesthetic and lean shape – but is he natural? Is it possible to achieve his physique naturally?
These are the questions I’ll be focusing on covering today.
Table of Contents
Is Anthony Mantello natural?
This article is not just about another natty or not “call out”, but the answer to this question is that it does seem Anthony Mantello is using some sort of performance enhancing-drugs or SARMs. There are some photos which show signs of use that we rarely see in natural trainees.
Anthony Mantello does not seem to claim natural easier, which is an honest and respectable move. Greg Doucette himself made a video stating that in his opinion, yes Anthony as an IFBB pro is using something.
Is Anthony Mantello’s physique achievable naturally?
If Anthony is using something, does it mean his physique in not achievable naturally?
Anthony Mantello’s physique is very aesthetic, but isn’t crazy. In fact, I think that in some of the photos you see of him on the internet, his physique is naturally-possible.
I’ve been quite frustrated lately. My frustration comes from the fact that we all seem to be forgetting what is naturally achievable. Since I believe Anthony Mantello has an attainable physique naturally, I wanted to use his case to illustrate my point!
I will differ in my opinion from for example, Greg Doucette’s opinion. I feel like he might be giving a bit too much credit to Anthony Mantello when he says his physique is extremely hard to achieve even with the use of PEDs.
While Anthony’s physique is certainly aesthetic and shredded, I think this physique is naturally achievable – at least in most of the images we see of Anthony.
Yes, his physique at 17 years old of age might be hard to achieve and require good training, but it’s far from impossible if you are one of them young, motivated natural bodybuilder starting at 13-14 years old!
Now when it comes to his genetics and abs structure, hist proportions, etc. Of course not everyone will be gifted with the same insertions – and thus aesthetics. Most of the aesthetics you see from guys like Anthony are built around their genetic proportions and insertions. However, in terms of both muscle mass and bodyfat %, this is definitely an achievable physique.
If you look at Vincent’s interview on the blog, this guy is fully natural. His genetics in terms of muscle shape and body-structure are great. His condition was awesome at only 18 years old. Imagine what he would have looked like if he had taken PEDs!
It’s great to see this side of the fitness industry, too, to get reliable standards of natural excellence. Natural bodybuilders need natural role models!
In today’s fitness industry, I feel like there are two sides of the natural bodybuilders.
First, the people who are skeptical and think that everyone is on steroids. On the other hand, there are people who set their expectations so high that they think anyone can achieve anything.
The natural bodybuilders with low standards
I feel like in the modern fitness industry, a lot of people admire enhanced athletes for their physiques. I agree some are impressive. People should admire all kinds of athletes, and there are many who should be admired. I love watching enhanced athletes like Larry Wheels, and I appreciate the limits these guys are pushing. I also appreciate their honesty about drug use.
Here is the thing about natural bodybuilders with low standards, while they’re right that they’ll never look like Ronnie Coleman, they’re wrong when they think they can’t achieve an elite level naturally. And by elite natural level, I mean physiques that the average population would consider as non-achievable naturally.
We see it all the time, a lot of fake naturals/people on performance-enhancing drugs who have achievable physiques naturally, but because they’re not actually natural, people think that they can’t achieve these physiques naturally. Some fake natties/people on performance-enhancing drugs physiques are definitely not achievable naturally, but some are.
That is why there is then this movement of natural bodybuilders who will set low standards for themselves and think this kind of physique is unattainable without drugs which is not true.
Drugs like winstrol or trenbolone make you dry as hell. They make you drier than you can get without them, and with less strictness and discipline! A lot of PED users are able to maintain ridiculous physiques with a worse diet all year around, since they’re buffered by the extraordinary support of these chemicals.
The extreme lean condition around might be hard to sustain naturally, but the muscle mass guys like Anthony Mantello present, fairly easy.
Natural bodybuilders with high standards
Then there will be the side of natural bodybuilders who think they can probably achieve the Olympia stage without drugs, which is not true either. It is certainly better to be in this frame of mind as you will push yourself to train hard, but this can lead to bigorexia, other related mental health issues, injuries, and trying to live your life like an elite, gear-using bodybuilder.
Many people do not realise the massive benefits performance-enhancing drugs gives to certain bodybuilders when they want to get shredded or put on size (in competitions for example). Heavy duty gear does a lot of work! Even by being very hard-working, a Kevin Levrone physique naturally isn’t achievable
I have been in this position where it is never big enough… and that works, in a way. You always want more and always spend more time in the gym. It’s just that it can get tiring and at some point, you have to come to realization that a Calum Von Mogger physique just is impossible to reach naturally.
What was the goal of this article on Anthony Mantello?
The goal of this article was to remind people who start their bodybuilding/natural bodybuilding journey to not forget what they are capable of naturally.
We do not give enough credit to these natural bodybuilders hidden in the local gyms who train 2 to 3 hours a day and have exceptional physiques.
The goal was not to point the finger at those who take PEDs either, we are a community as a whole. This article was not just a critic against Anthony Mantello, I just believe that we have natural bodybuilders of that age in the world with the same type of physique – and they deserve more visibility.
We do have some true natural monsters hiding all over the places who are very impressive!
