This article is about Jo Lindner, aka Joesthetics – a bodybuilder/fitness ambassador for Vanquish Fit. Many of us already know Jo from his YouTube videos – and his clips that are all over fitness Instagram.
This article is about the recent videos he made on his “natty or not” status. It’s about his drug use – but also what the rest of us can take from it.
1- Jo Lindner has revealed not being natural
Here’s the main point: Jo Lindner has admitted that he is not natural.
He told his audience about his drug use because he was tired of people discussing it. This article is here to say the same thing: Jo is clearly on gear, as he’s got a freaky combination of size and conditioning.
Jo reminds us that you have to pick 2 out of these 3 options:
- Big
- Shredded
- Natural
Joe’s results show that he’s “picked” being jacked and shredded. You usually can’t pick all 3, unless you’re an advanced natural bodybuilder who trains hard and smart!
Jo specifically mentioned that you could hear a bit of everything in his case. It talks to the wide range of concerns that go into using steroids.
The people who are “in the know” already knew Jo was using – but the point is that this video was what it took for the rest of the world to catch on. It should have never gotten to the point of people trolling him about his use, or calling him out for using “very high” doses of steroids, but it’s good in a way that people pushed him to be honest about his use.
Jo also goes on to say that he doesn’t recommend it to anyone, and that it’s specific to his case. He didn’t come out telling everyone that steroids are great, or that newer bodybuilders should take them recreationally.
2 – What is good about Joesthetics steroid announcement?
My favourite thing about Jo Lindner and his speech is that he tells the truth. He highlights the key points that warn viewers of the potential dangers steroids represent.
One thing which can be quite problematic is when influencers reveal their non-natty status and don’t say anything further about it. They act like that’s enough – while hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of fans watch.
Joesthetics doesn’t do that. Jo highlights that he wishes he’d not made that choice and that he got into it through naivete and peers who were just trying to get paid by selling him steroids.
In some ways, his story is one of success – he made a significant amount of money and gained millions of followers due to his physique. But, and this is key, Joesthetics is the exception – for every steroid user making money from their physique, there are ten struggling with side-effects and millions who don’t profit from it.
And even if you could gain significant amount of money and gain a lot of followers by using products, think about it, is it worth your health? Probably not.
Joesthetics regrets his steroid use, and insists the “average Joe” 😉 shouldn’t use them.
So, why doesn’t Jo Lindner just stop using steroids?
Firstly, it’s not that simple. Once you’re on, you can’t just stop cold turkey – your body’s hormonal system needs support. Once you use gear, you’ve made changes to your body that shut down the natural production of hormones like testosterone. It’s a very difficult, fine process to come off.
At the very least, Jo would need to remain on TRT in order to maintain proper health after having used steroids. Or he would need to come off completely but that would take a lot of effort and would probably mean for him stopping his social media activity, since it’s not sure he’d maintain a freaky physique.
Secondly, and this makes a lot of sense, he’s not using a ton of gear. He’s using small doses relative to some of the more common bodybuilding mass-monster steroid cycles you might be thinking about.
The Joesthetics brand is built on being aesthetic, meaning a better balance of mass and conditioning, and proportions. At this point, we could think he might not see a point stopping when using TRT has become important to maintain his health and that he’s only using small amounts of gear.
Finally – and this puts the pieces together – Joesthetics as a brand now depends on Jo keeping his physique.
His business and sponsorships are built around being a big, shredded guy, which is hard to maintain as a natural 24/7. This is, again, a very specific and niche reason for him to stay using steroids, knowing he will have a hard time getting back to normal testosterone levels naturally.
There’s no comparison to most of our lives – if you’re not depending on a steroid-built physique for a living, it’s not something you should do. And even if you’re depending on a steroid-built physique for a living, you should consider stopping for your health.
Jo also reminds us that your genetics are also important in terms of how well you will respond to the drugs. Some people will never achieve his physique because they simply do not have the right genetic response to last in the long term using steroids. It is a Russian roulette game that you do not want to play!
Also, Jo Lindner does spend a lot of time in the gym daily and trains a lot – while I might disagree with some aspects of his training, the guy is not just the guy using performance-enhacing drugs sitting on a couch, he seems to train pretty hard.
3- What we should remember from Jo Lindner’s YouTube video
- PEDs are not safe, taking them is probably not a good idea
- The influence to take PEDs is powerful, so watch out
- PEDs do help people with good genetics, but not everyone will respond well (and long enough using them)
- PEDs can get addictive or impossible to stop once you’ve encountered health issues
- Jo Lindner is not natural but has a very aesthetic physique, which he mentions you can still have naturally on a smaller frame if you work hard
Let’s be clear: I don’t have any ill will towards people who use steroids. That’s for them to decide and it’s their body to choose with. I don’t hate steroid users just like I don’t hate alcoholics or smokers.
However, as a natural bodybuilder I will admit I used to be frustrated seeing people “cheating” their products and reputations. They would use steroids while claiming to be natural so they could sell terrible products to impressionable beginners.
The things we choose to do with our bodies are up to us, but lying to audiences are something else.
I don’t really like those people – they’re scummy. But the message today is that Joesthetics is the kind of steroid user that I appreciate: he tells the truth about his own journey and fairly covers the risks associated with those choices.
We have our experiences in life and we all choose different paths. What’s important to ensure is that everyone who considers steroids needs to know the drawbacks and risks – and nobody makes those same choices out of naivete that Jo recounts led him into steroid use!
If you’re in a case you’ve been influenced and get stuck with a steroid addiction, we’re sorry. But know you can still decide to stop using them. You just need to accept the process and work towards a better health again.
Stay safe and think twice!
