<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
This is the part about being a journalist in the fitness industry that I hate the most, having to wake up with a heavy heart after going to sleep the night before hoping that the news was just a bad dream. I couldn\u2019t bring myself to write this article last night when I first became aware of the news of the passing of Connor Murphy. Connor was very much one of the O.G.\u2019s of fitness on socials. He was one of the pioneers that put working out on the social media map. And he didn\u2019t do it by competing or by posting a whole bunch of training videos or supplementation videos, he did it through entertainment, through abdominal reveals, through interactions with the everyday public, through humor and maybe even a little bit of shock value thrown in for good measure. He talked about eating, fasting, and posing. But if you were to deconstruct and reconstruct his work, if you were truly to analyze it, it would essentially amount to reaching people. He reached millions. He inspired people of all ages and his legacy will undoubtedly carry on because we will make sure it carries on. But before we talk about the future, before we talk about his lasting impression, we can\u2019t gloss over the fact that we lost this truly tremendous individual at just 32 years of age. Imagine the pain and suffering his passing will cause to his friends and family. Imagine his parents having to bury their child. No parent should ever have to experience that. This is truly a tragedy.<\/p>\n
Freedom is a beautiful thing. We just celebrated our country\u2019s 250 year anniversary on July 4th. Believe you me, I\u2019m not going to be the one to say that we need less freedoms. I will always advocate for more. Unfortunately many bodybuilding enthusiasts are going to Thailand to experiment with drugs that they cannot experiment with here in the United States or in the western world. Thailand is a beautiful country with beautiful people. It has a rich history and is a driving force in southeast Asia economically and philanthropically. I don\u2019t want to throw any shade at this wonderful country. It truly is a wonderful country because it embraces freedom. There are less restrictions on what people can do to truly live happy lives. I know countless individuals that live in Thailand and are very happy. Unfortunately, there are also many bodybuilders that go to this beautiful country to experiment with all sorts of compounds, not just the ones used to compete on bodybuilding stages.<\/p>\n
That term experiment<\/em> is very ambiguous. It\u2019s a very general term that encompasses many different things. The word itself speaks to the recklessness involved when it comes to drugs. recreational drugs, psychoactive drugs, muscle building drugs, drugs that aren\u2019t even drugs. I mean we are all familiar at least in the journals and the message boards with exotic compounds. Compounds that haven\u2019t even been researched on any level on humans. Many of these compounds have not been tested on animals, either. They might be laboratory concoctions by underground chemists looking to put out the next party drug or the next diuretic. I mean if bodybuilders will use DNP, which is a pesticide, there\u2019s no telling what they will put in their body. Bodybuilders want an edge, but sometimes it isn\u2019t even about bodybuilding, maybe they want an upper or a downer. Who really knows? But that\u2019s just it, it\u2019s become almost carved in stone that if you want to try your hand at powders or pills or injectables Thailand is the place to be. What a sad reality for that country and what a sad reality it is for those in our industry that go there looking for no holds barred when it comes to sampling all kinds of chemicals.<\/p>\n Far be it from me to ever glamorize Big Pharma. To me when it comes to Big Pharma,\u00a0 there\u2019s no difference between them and an organized crime family. They\u2019re not in the business of healing, they\u2019re in the business of making money. And if people die in the process, people who don\u2019t have the means to acquire the lifesaving drugs they make, then so be it. I don\u2019t have any admiration for Big Pharma, but I do have to admit that the drugs they bring to market have been highly researched, tested, and analyzed. The drugs that are being purchased in Thailand could come from bathtub \u201clabs\u201d or street chemists with zero to no moral integrity. It\u2019s not bad enough that the drugs themselves can have dire consequences but those selling the drugs could be selling anything from baking soda to rat poison. Can you really expect any kind of moral compass from a drug dealer? I mean to each their own, but looking for humanity from street-level criminals is beyond naivety. It\u2019s stupidity \u2013 plain and simple. But I say this to you, I would never say this to somebody who is deep in the throes of addiction. Again we don\u2019t know what Connor was experimenting with, we just know of the Thailand promoted by guys like Tony Huge, guys who look at it as an oasis for those who are legally restricted in their home countries from leading certain lifestyles. Whether that be drugs, whether that be the party lifestyle, whatever it may be, Thailand has been marketed as the place to go to live life, to live your (alleged) best life. It\u2019s a great place for many, but it wasn\u2019t a great place for Connor.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n