“Been Hated On, Lied to, Stabbed in the Back…”: Popular Fitness Icon Who Was Once Bullied in His Childhood Comes Clean on His Only Ray of Hope

Joey Swoll, the 40-year-old bodybuilding icon, was a victim of bullying in his childhood. He took to lifting weights at the gym to overcome the trauma and soon realized his passion. So he got determined to become a bodybuilder and worked towards his goal. Later, he started the gym positivity movement that changed his life. Now, he is a social media icon with 2.6 million followers on Instagram.

The bodybuilder credits his gym routine for his positive outlook and tries to clean up the negative gym environment. The CEO of Gym Positivity recently paid tribute to his fitness temple by sharing a heartwarming video while working out at the gym.

Joey Swoll shared a heart-touching post

The bodybuilding maestro shared a workout video at the gym and captioned the post, “I’ve been hated on, lied to, stabbed in the back, cheated on, abused, and broken… And the gym has gotten me thru it all.” He added the “Under the Bridge” song by the American band Red Hot Chili Peppers.

The lyrics, “I don’t ever wanna feel like I did that day; Take me to the place I love; Take me all the way,” aptly suit the emotion of the bodybuilder, making the post even more beautiful.

With 324.4K views, the post was well-liked by the fitness community. Many followers of the fitness enthusiast resonated with his post and shared similar sentiments in the comments section. Joey Swoll turned his hardships into learning lessons and is now actively positively contributing to the fitness community.

The fitness icon overcame a tough phase of life during the pandemic

Joey Swoll was on painkillers after suffering an injury but soon got addicted to the opioids in them during the pandemic. He once opened up about his hardships and wrote that he was depressed and tried to kill himself. His addiction was not well-received by his family and friends.

“When I came out about my addiction many friends dropped me and my own family told me I ’embarrassed them,” he once revealed. But he decided to overcome his weakness and came out clean. He later took a break from social media and focused on his mental health.

Read More: “Enough Is Enough”: Fitness Icon Opens Up on What Drove Him to Become the CEO of Gym Positivity

A year later, Swoll came back strong, started the gym positivity movement, and is now enlightening gym-goers to spread positivity among the community. Throughout his ups and downs, the bodybuilder went to the gym to keep himself positive, which is inspiring.

Watch this story: “You Don’t Get to Selfishly Hog Equipment”: CEO of Gym Positivity Joey Swoll Slams a Girl’s Unacceptable Behavior at the Gym