Fitness influencer and former bodybuilder Chuck “Kali Muscle” Kirkendall continues to issue warnings about the dangers of steroids. In a recent YouTube video, Kali Muscle discussed performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) and the repercussions that follow sustained abuse.
Over the last three years, the foundation of the bodybuilding community was rocked by multiple deaths. In 2021, former Mr. Olympia Shawn Rhoden suddenly passed away from suspected heart troubles. Meanwhile, George Peterson, a standout 212 bodybuilder, also met his untimely fate face down in a hotel room, once again, from heart complications.
Last April, less than one month before the 2022 Arnold Classic, Cedric McMillan died at 44. In addition to the former Arnold Classic champion, the sport mourned the deaths of IFBB judge Jerry Ward and German IFBB pro Andreas Frey.
Considering the trend, multiple bodybuilding personalities have underlined the dangers associated with PEDs. Among them was Kali Muscle, who shared a cautionary tale that saw him suffer a heart attack around the same time Rhoden passed away. In an effort to deter PED abuse, Kali Muscle is again highlighting the dangers in a recent YouTube appearance.
Kali Muscle Reflects on 13 Yrs of Steroid Abuse, Takes ‘Small Dose’ Now to ‘Sustain’ Physique
Kirkendall admits he ignored warning signs from doctors regarding his use of PEDs.
“You clogging everything up then I was getting warnings… doctors would be telling me, ‘Your blood pressure elevated for years.’ I’m like, ‘Man, look at me I’m fine.’ Then would use the electrical blood pressure machine, I’m like, ‘No you have to use that manual,’ right? I kept on just putting it off.”
“My feet and ankles swelled up and would just stay swollen, I’m talking abnormal. So I would wear compression socks and all that, just my right foot, so I’m like, I blamed it on Vegas, it’s got to be the heat or something in this air man. I lived in Vegas four years going through this.”
In addition to blood pressure issues, Kali Muscle noticed his body was retaining extra water only on his left side.
“When we did IBF, I went to the doctor and got a physical and all that, they told me that blood pressure is elevated and I just shunned it off. I’m like, but I was always scared of that; I knew something was wrong with my body because I was puffy.
Even when I did bodybuilding shows I would take diuretics and my left side would dry out but my right side was still holding a film of water. So, I was always weary of that, you know. Always scared of that. Yeah, I just didn’t take action on the signs,” said Kali Muscle.
Kali Muscle states that he’s used steroids for 12-13 years straight but finally stopped following his heart attack. He listed trenbolone as the worst compound he’s used but also said ‘deca, anadrol, and dbol’ clogged up his arteries over time.
“When I was 34 I started, 34… to when did I do my last show, no, so I really didn’t stop until the heart attack. Yeah, but all those years I would get off three to four months. So I caught myself cycling off and I’m thinking I’m not doing what these other guys are doing because I was already genetically gifted but you had times bro – that’s why that HGH, IGF fuc**ng Insulin, bro that’s clogging you up. They tell you, you know what I mean, that hardens your arteries or whatever they used to say.”
“Yeah, 34 till when I had my heart attack, so 13 years off and on… 12 years off and on,” added Kali. “If you don’ty get a EKG or a PET scan to look at your arteries, you don’t know what’s going on. That’s what I recommend to everybody. Getting an EKG, a PET test at least once a year when you’re hitting 40 at least once a year.”
“Tren is the worst. Tren, deca, anadrol, dbol, they the worst. They clog you up so fast. Insulin will kill you! I remember I tried that and damn-near died. You got to eat like a 1,000 grams of carbs on it. I was about to fall out and have a diabetic coma. Just experimenting too, don’t know what the hell you doing. It’s all an experiment, that’s what I tell people in videos, you’re giving data to my kids’ generation on what to do and what not to do.”
According to Kali Muscle, steroids have value in society because they can help people suffering from AIDs and cancer. He specified that he’s taking a small dose of testosterone which amounts to 250 milligrams per month.
“Roids help people, AIDs, cancer patients — it helps them. But when you abuse it, that’s when the problems arise,” added Kali. “A small dosage [is what I take now] I do a half a CC every other week. So, you’re looking at I do about 250 migs a month. That’s just to sustain.”
“I don’t do it for big muscles or nothing because I want to live bro. I’d get off totally if they tell me to. Yeah [testosterone], just some test. I feel great.”
Looking ahead, Kali Muscle is excited about new anti-aging measures.
“Keeping people young… they have a lot of new research. I love it. I look at it like this, if we didn’t have what we have in place now, I would be dead. Back in the day, they wouldn’t of been able to figure out as fast as they did what was wrong with me. By that time, the blood would of shut down to my brain and organs.”
Given the consequences he’s endured from years of steroid abuse, Kali Muscle hopes to inspire safer practices, especially for those who intend to pursue a career in bodybuilding.