Though he is totally drug free, 2004 Mr. Universe Rev. Charles Hawkins, aka, The Hawk, is in a sense a victim of the steroid mentality. Whether he’s walking into the gym or just walking down the street, people look at him with the thought that no way is a dude that big and buff drug free. People have expressed this doubt to him countless times, and to me as well.

Now if these people really knew the man and his work ethic and discipline, they might not be so doubtful. Neither would they be so skeptical if they knew how to recognize some of the signs of steroid and other performance enhancing drug use and abuse. With the Hawk there is no extended abdomen so common amongst so many of today’s bodybuilding competitors - the Hawk’s waistline is always small and tight, even off season, no facial puffiness or rash of acne on the back and shoulders. Nor is there the occasional marked loss of muscle size and strength experienced by the steroid users when they go ‘off’ for awhile. Hawk is never ‘on’, so if circumstances dictate that he slacks off his training for awhile, there is little if any difference in his appearance or his performance.

A friend of mine who is a bodybuilder and a world class power lifter related that when he entered drug free contests everyone from competitors to judges to audience doubted his drug free status. In fact, a number of the competitors asked not about his training or diet or other facets of his contest prep but rather what he did to beat the drug test!

We don’t know which is the saddest and most disturbing: the fact that the general population equates physical excellence with steroids and other drugs – or the fact that so many athletes and competitors are convinced that drugs are the key to success.

What we do know is that we somehow have to shift the emphasis back where it ought to be: on proper and consistent training, on attention to good nutrition, on maximizing recovery, on the right mental attitude.

To be a Natural Champion you don’t need drugs – You need heart!

Arley Vest