I’m a bodybuilder and agonizing steroid boils left me scarred for life: Know what you’re doing
These are not the gains this bodybuilder was seeking.
Weight lifter Dave Hartrey is imploring doctors for help after rampant steroid use left him with horrific acne wounds — which rendered him housebound for nine months until they scarred over. A disturbing TikTok video detailing the muscleman’s misery first surfaced in August, but is now going viral around the globe, amassing 6.4 million views as of Friday afternoon.
“The dermatologists and doctors described it [the acne] as something they’d never seen before,” Ireland-based Hartrey, 24, lamented in the clip on his TikTok account, which he started to “raise awareness” regarding the perils of using steroids.
“This acne was not like normal spots. It used to come up like a boil, and when that boil popped, it used to leave open wounds on my back, chest and face.”
Accompanying stills show the gym shark’s welt-riddled back, which evokes the disfigured flesh of horror movie icon Freddy Krueger from “A Nightmare on Elm Street.”
‘I’ve worked with top coaches in the industry … There is more benefit from learning how to train properly and eat properly than taking steroids — when you don’t know what you’re doing.
Dave Hartrey, who aims to raise awareness of the risks
The Waterford native had his first fling with the synthetic muscle enhancers after entering the world of bodybuilding.
“When I was 20 years old, I started training with a bodybuilder, and I really enjoyed training with him, so decided to go down the bodybuilding route, too,” said the self-proclaimed fitness fanatic, who has been working out since he was 16. “When you go to the gym and start making progress, people accuse you of taking steroids, and as bodybuilding is a short career, I decided to just go for it.”
He added, “I got mine off a guy in my gym, which I wouldn’t recommend doing whatsoever, because you could be taking anything!”
While the Irishman definitely saw results, bigger muscles weren’t the only things that ballooned up on his body. “I ended up having my first breakout on my back midway through 2020,” Hartrey explained.
Despite the unsightly sores, the tricep sculptor didn’t cease his chemical regimen as he was “working towards a bodybuilding show” which he’d “already put years of hard work into.”
Instead, Hartrey simply dialed back the dosage, explaining: “I consulted some of the best coaches in the business. I trusted them, and I trusted their advice, and we tried to come up with a cycle where I wouldn’t break out.”
This regimen backfired after he experienced a second breakout in 2021 with “a lot more boils in new places.”
“Now I had them on my back, chest, face, and arms,” described Hartrey, who nonetheless didn’t stop using steroids as he was also building serious muscle.
“Around the same time, I got invited to train with some of the top bodybuilders, and for me, this was massive!” he exclaimed. “I’d be training with some of my biggest heroes.”
Unfortunately, by that time, the bicep embellishers had taken their toll. “By this point, I realized I was neglecting every part of my life, and my back was covered in boils,” he said. “The pressure from normal day-to-day things made them pop, and I was in agony.”
Hartrey’s back-ne got so bad that he decided to pull out of the competition and stop taking them — only for the boils to return with a vengeance.
“When I had my final breakout, it was the worst!” lamented the boil-covered bodybuilder. “I had so many open sores on my back, I had to stay in the house for nine months while they healed.”
Hartrey is currently awaiting treatment from doctors.
“I’m now on a waiting list for a consultation about having the scars lasered off or injected, but I don’t have any concrete plans as of yet,” he said. “To get it done is going to cost me 250 euros [$260] per session, and at present, I’m not exactly sure how many sessions I’ll need!”
He added, “I can’t sit here and say I’m 100% happy with myself. I’ll probably have these scars for the rest of my life.”
Hartrey ultimately wants to use his plight as a cautionary tale against trying to artificially enhance one’s physique with steroids. “Unfortunately, this could happen to anyone,” he warned. “Some people have the genetics to get away with taking steroids, and some people don’t. It’s as simple as that.”
“I’ve worked with top coaches in the industry. I’ve coached hundreds of people myself, believe me, when I say this,” Hartrey added. “There is more benefit from learning how to train properly and eat properly than taking steroids when you don’t know what you’re doing.”
