There’s no doubt that Shannon Sharpe’s football career was helped by his impressive muscular physique. And a physique like Shannon’s always draws attention from people who immediately say it’s all down to steroids.
While anabolic steroid use is not uncommon in the NFL, I find that making such claims without any substantial research is unfair to the guy.
That’s why I’ve spent the last few days going through his Twitter and social media accounts to see if there’s any truth to the claims that his physique isn’t natural.
Here’s what I found.
Is Shannon Sharpe On Steroids?
There’s no conclusive evidence to suggest that Shannon Sharpe has taken steroids. In fact, in a Twitter argument in 2018, he was willing to bet $10 million dollars that a blood, hair, and urine test would prove that he’s natty.
If you don’t believe Shannon, then there are a few features of his physique which suggest that he is indeed natty.
Let’s take a look at these in more detail.
Reasons Why Shannon Sharpe Appears Natty
Minimal Vascularity
Most bodybuilders desire popping veins. They’re a good indicator of how much muscle and how little fat you have.
But certain types of steroids will produce those vascular veins even if you’re not working out.
Looking at recent photos of Shannon, you can see that he only really has veins popping out his forearms and biceps, which suggests that he’s natural.
Minimal Signs Of Hair Loss
One of the most common problems with PEDs is that they can increase facial hair while decreasing head hair. Many steroid users hide this with a tightly cut trim.
Looking through Shannon’s Instagram, it’s clear to see that his head hair is still well intact (albeit short) and there are no signs of baldness/hair loss.
This is another reason that suggests he’s natty.
Natural Shaped Pectorals
Ironically, anabolic steroids which increase testosterone and growth hormone have also been linked to men developing enlarged breast tissue.
It’s important to clarify that enlarged breast tissue and ripped pecs aren’t the same thing – here, we’re talking about soft breast tissue in the form of fat.
Looking at photos of Shannon from over the years, there’s no evidence that he’s suffered from enlarged breast tissue, or gyno.
Proportional Shoulders
One of the most common signs of steroid use are oversized shoulders. This is because the deltoids and traps in the upper back have a large number of androgen receptors.
As a result, you often see steroid users with shoulders which are out-of-proportion, and Shannon’s shoulders seem to be proportional to the rest of his body.
No Evidence of Acne
In adolescents, acne is often caused by fluctuating hormones, like testosterone. And the same thing can happen to people who take anabolic steroids.
With steroid use, the skin change is quite sudden and noticeable and not easily hidden, especially if you’re famous who’s on camera a lot of the time.
It doesn’t look like Shannon Sharpe suffers from skin problems, hinting that he doesn’t take steroids.
Reasonable Body Fat Levels
One of the easiest ways to catch out a fake natty is to see how their body fat levels change when they bulk up.
No matter how gifted your genetics are and how much you train, bulking up while maintaining a sub 10% body fat is nearly impossible.
The fact that Shannon seems to hover around 15% body fat level after bulk suggests that he doesn’t take steroids.
He’d be much leaner if he did.
Lack of HGH Gut
Many people include human growth hormone (HGH) in their steroid stack. One of the side effects of this is that organs can swell up, and that pushes out the so-called HGH gut.
Looking at various photos of Shannon over the years, there’s no evidence that he suffers from HGH gut, which suggests that he doesn’t take HGH.
Is It Possible To Bulk Like Shannon Sharpe Naturally?
I believe that it’s possible to achieve a physique like Shannon Sharpe naturally.
While it will take many years (Shannon has been training for decades), it’s not out of reach.
You can clearly see that Shannon eats a clean diet and trains consistently, so with the help of natural supplements and some good genetics, there’s no reason why he couldn’t have achieved his physique without steroids use.
Conclusion
In summary:
- Shannon Sharpe claims to be natty and he was willing to be $10m to prove his natty status.
- Looking at the totality of evidence, his physique appears natural, so I believe his claims.
- Despite his claims and natural looking physique, Shannon has never actually posted any drug test results to prove his claim.
That’s all for Shannon Sharpe, but is MaxTaylorLifts natty? Or is Gabe Deutsch natty?
Hope this helped!
Sources
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10664066/
I’ve been in the fitness and strength training industry for nearly a decade. In that time, I’ve gained 30 pounds of muscle, written hundreds of articles, and reviewed dozens of fitness supplements. As for my educational background, I’m a currently studying for my Active IQ Level 3 Diploma in Personal Training.