Connor Murphy’s Struggle With PED Use in Bodybuilding

Fitness influencer Connor Murphy was among the most popular personalities in the online fitness space from 2016 to 2018. The bodybuilding enthusiast’s content struck the YouTube algorithm goldmine, and he would revive millions of views for showing off his impressive physique online. What started with surprising strangers on Omegle moved to Murphy doing it live on the street.

However, during his prime, the bodybuilder also started attracting some criticism. While bodybuilders and fitness influencers may have become more transparent today, that wasn’t the case in the late 2010s. So, while Connor Murphy originally claimed he was a natural bodybuilder, many people started grouping him alongside other influencers they categorized as fake natty. However, to understand why the fake natty tag stuck with Murphy, we must look at his rise and fall.

The rise and fall of a fitness influencer

Connor Murphy made a name for himself with his first video, ‘Natural body transformation’ on YouTube. The bodybuilder showcased his journey of transforming from a skinny teenager to a chiseled 21-year-old, documenting years of progress in one video. However, Murphy’s popularity skyrocketed when he attached himself to the modern aesthetics movement in bodybuilding.

Murphy’s views and subscriber count on social media also started climbing with his ‘Aesthetics on Omegle’ video series. The fitness influencer then evolved his content to surprise unsuspecting strangers by going shirtless on the streets. However, after 2018, fans and other influencers noticed that the bodybuilder looked downsized. This is when the fake natty accusations got more intense.

Connor Murphy stated that he had gained body fat. He also said that unflattering lighting and the lack of a pump made him look more flat in the photographs. His physique continued to deteriorate. However, things blew up when Derek from More Plates More Dates gave his opinion on Connor Murphy’s physique.

Connor Murphy the fake natty?

Derek was among those who believed that Connor Murphy didn’t achieve his prime physique naturally. In 2019, the respected YouTuber released his speculative opinion on why he thought Connor Murphy wasn’t a natural bodybuilder. Derek, who had the experience of using ste***ds and PEDs, cited Murphy’s hair loss. The YouTuber speculated that ste***ds accelerated it.

Derek said that the bodybuilder had to periodically cycle off of PEDs to prevent his hair loss from progressing rapidly. However, by 2019, Murphy’s hair loss had accelerated to the point where he needed to stop using PEDs completely. Derek from MPMD cited that this struggle with hair loss due to PEDs also led to Murphy losing a lot of muscle mass.

During the early months of 2020, Murphy had lost a drastic amount of muscle mass, further fanning the flames of his fake natty accusations. However, it would take the bodybuilder one more year before he formally revealed his PED usage. While Connor Murphy denied using anabolic ste***ds, he admitted to using other PEDs, including SARMs, to build muscle to fellow fitness influencer Kenny K.O.

However, the lockdown in 2020 and the following year was rough for Connor Murphy. During this period, Murphy suffered from severe mental health-related problems and even got hospitalized. He also lost his muscular physique almost entirely. However, the bodybuilder would resurface as a fitness influencer once again in 2022.

Connor Murphy invents the natty+ protocol

After coming clean about his natty status, Connor Murphy started talking about PEDs on social media. The fitness influencer believes that PEDs exist on a spectrum of natural performance enhancers to anabolic ste***ds. So, after making a return to the online fitness space in 2022, Murphy spoke about a muscle-building protocol he had designed.

Murphy explained that while he had started his journey as a natural bodybuilder, he switched to taking certain PEDs. In a June 2023 video, Murphy explained that many of his struggles seemed from trying to maintain his jacked physique as a natural. However, Murphy said he regained his physique thanks to the natty+ protocol.

The bodybuilder also started regularly posting physique updates that showed that he had put on the muscle he had lost from 2019 to 2021. However, this time, the bodybuilder didn’t hide any of the substances that he took to help him achieve the physique. Connor Murphy admitted to taking testosterone boosters, SARMS, and Growth Hormone secretagogues like MK-677.

While these substances do not fall under anabolic ste***ds, they do have anabolic effects by manipulating the body’s hormone production. Hence, while Connor Murphy is no longer as popular as he used to be, today, Murphy openly admits to using PEDs. At least for now, he also seems to have conquered his struggles.