Pro Natural Bodybuilder Colin Congo gets honest about drug testing – claims no drug test can be 100% accurate.
With the Mr. America 2021 just around the corner, we are reconnecting with some pro natural bodybuilders from our time filming Generation Iron: Natty 4 Life. Colin Congo is a Men’s Physique pro natural bodybuilder set to compete at the Mr. America in October. We reconnected with Congo to discuss the realities of natural bodybuilding and drug testing in the sport. In our latest GI Exclusive interview, Colin Congo explains why he thinks the drug tests can be beaten.
Natural bodybuilding is often met with skepticism in the overall bodybuilding world. There is little evidence for that criticism except for gut reactions. Namely, that some natural bodybuilder simply look too massive and shredded to be possibly all natural. The biggest natural league in industry, PNBA/INBA, utilizes WADA drug testing for their events. This is the same drug testing used for the Olympics.
That’s a strong credibility to have for pro natural bodybuilding. So it seems the overall skepticism speaks to something bigger than just bodybuilding. In nearly all professional sports – fans believe that someone is getting away with using PEDs – whether there are tests or not.
But does this skepticism have any merit whatsoever? We asked this very question to Men’s Physique Pro Natural Bodybuilder Colin Congo. A featured athlete in Generation Iron: Natty 4 Life, we reconnected with Congo to dive deeper into his thoughts on drug tests and whether or not they are effective.
Colin Congo admits that he thinks that the WADA tests can be beat. That being said, he thinks that they ultimately do what they are meant to. Majority of athletes know they will be tested and have no interest in trying to beat it. And the WADA tests do catch PED users yearly in the league. The remaining small percentage of athletes who get away with it are a very small number.
That’s why Colin Congo doesn’t say anything even when he believes that there is a competitor on stage who is enhanced. Congo claims that he knows when he steps on stage, there will always be a chance someone is unnatural. In fact, he’s gone into competitions believing someone battling against him was enhanced. He never said anything. That person won the competition.
Colin Congo doesn’t see himself as the gatekeeper for drug testing. That’s what the federation is for. He also knows that many natural bodybuilders are often mistaken for being enhanced. Sometimes, it seems like something is impossible without the use of PEDs. But that’s the great thing about pro natural bodybuilding – they accomplish things that seem impossible. So Congo won’t call someone out without 100% evidence – because he could simply be wrong.
“This test can probably be beaten if I had to guess. And I know there are folks out there who are going to be on stage with me that are not 100% natural,” Colin Congo states in our interview. He continues:
“I know there are dudes out there that are 100% natural that just have absolutely gifted physiques. And they are going to look enhanced and they are going to just look like that. I’m not the gatekeeper for who’s natural and who’s not. I know I get up there and put my best physique on the stage. And I’m counting on the organization to hold those guys to the same standard that I’m holding myself to.”
Nothing can ever be 100% guaranteed. But a drug test on the level of WADA also helps create preventative measures that stop athletes from even thinking of trying in the first place. It’s like a sign that says, “You are being filmed.” Even if there is actually no camera filming – most people will assume that they are, in fact, being filmed and not steal from a store. Sure, some will call the bluff and cheat. But the measures in place help far more than nothing at all.
You can watch Colin Congo go into more detail about natural bodybuilding and drug testing in our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above!