Larry Wheels is a world-record-holding powerlifter and fitness influencer who built his body and career as a response to childhood trauma, bullying, and growing up without stability — but the same drive that made him one of the strongest men on earth also led him into severe steroid abuse and a devastating porn addiction that cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars and thousands of hours of his life.
Childhood and the Roots of His Drive to Be Strong
Larry grew up in the Bronx in deep instability: his father left when he was one, his mother lost custody of him at age seven due to abusive relationships, drug use, and housing instability, and he spent time in foster care.
He was bullied because kids assumed he was rich and privileged — in reality, his mother was a low-wage bartender — and sometimes literally robbed.
At 14, out of boredom and pain, he built his first “barbell” from a broomstick and cinder blocks and began training at around 90 lbs. Within six months of calisthenics and improvised lifting, he was visibly more muscular and noticed people treating him differently.
The core belief driving him: if he got bigger and stronger, bullies would respect him and leave him alone, and he’d be able to fight back. This worked, and the confidence shift kept him training.
He dropped out of school in 8th grade, spent time out of the country, got his GED at 16, and only began training in a real gym at 16–17, where he immediately noticed he was lifting more than the biggest guys there.
Recreational Drugs, the Turning Point, and Choosing Steroids
In his mid-teens in the Bronx, Larry was using recreational drugs. A close friend who introduced him to both steroids and powerlifting became addicted to crystal meth and lost everything — despite being a hard-working veteran with three jobs.
Watching his friend’s life collapse was the wake-up call. Larry went cold turkey on recreational drugs and went all-in on steroids and powerlifting.
His reasoning: recreational drugs had no positive outcome, but steroids at least offered a possible path — a world record, sponsorships, a living — even if his “insides might be rotting.”
Steroid Use, World Records, and How He Responded to Gear
Larry responded extremely well to steroids. At 17 he struggled to bench 405 lbs; within a year he was benching 550 and pulling 700/765/550 in squat/bench/deadlift.
His first world record came at age 21: an 810 squat, 573 bench, and 826 deadlift at 242 lbs bodyweight. He went on to hold records at 242, 275, and 308.
His early-20s stack included Anadrol, tren, high-dose testosterone, Halotestin, NPP, and HGH — sometimes a gram of testosterone and 500 mg of tren per week plus daily Anadrol. He acknowledges this level of abuse was “rotting him from the inside.”
He now runs a much more moderate protocol: 300 mg testosterone, Anavar, and growth hormone — dose-dependent, and he believes at this level most people will be fine.
A key misconception he addresses: more drugs does not equal more gains. There are diminishing returns, and genetics determine response. He’s known guys running tren year-round who can’t bench 350 lbs because they don’t respond well.
The Pump as the Most Addictive Part of Steroids
For Larry, the most addictive aspect of steroids wasn’t strength or size — it was the pump. A steroid-level pump is unachievable naturally, and he describes it as “orgasmic,” the best feeling in the world.
To get a skin-splitting pump requires high-volume, high-intensity bodybuilding-style training (12–20 reps, slow tempo, short rest), not powerlifting-style training.
Insulin took the pump to another level entirely. Pre-workout insulin with a dirty diet (apple pie, pizza, burgers, 10,000 calories) made him gain ~30 lbs of fat in 14 days for a Dubai show, but the pumps were so extreme he couldn’t finish leg or back workouts — his lower back would swell to the point he couldn’t stand and had to lie with his legs up for 20 minutes.
He now uses insulin only on arm or machine-only days, never before heavy squats or deadlifts.
The Dark Side: Steroid-Driven Libido and Porn Addiction
The darkest side of steroid use for Larry was the libido escalation. Exogenous testosterone turned already-high young-male libido into something obsessive — his mind defaulted to sex and porn whenever not occupied.
He began watching porn at 14, and online messaging at the time that porn was healthy and normal reinforced the habit. He didn’t realize it was a problem until money got involved.
What escalated it: he started paying for custom videos to act out specific fantasies, then live cam sessions. The spending reached hundreds of thousands of dollars. He describes it as chasing a high — needing increasingly extreme content to get the same rush, just like any addiction.
The money loss was devastating, but the worst part was the time lost: thousands of hours in his youth spent isolated in front of a screen instead of building businesses, spending time on relationships, or developing himself.
He notes that not every person on steroids has a libido problem, but many do, and if someone already struggles with porn addiction, adding high testosterone makes breaking that addiction much harder. High testosterone has been linked to compulsiveness.
Porn as the Bigger Threat to Young Men
Larry believes porn is uniquely dangerous because it teaches the brain that reward requires zero effort — unlimited pleasure, free, on demand — which kills motivation to pursue anything that requires work.
He sees it as more damaging and less discussed than nicotine, video games, or doomscrolling, partly because of shame: people hide it from the very ones who could help them, keeping them trapped in the cycle.
He points to AI girlfriends and hologram technology (referencing Blade Runner 2049) as a coming escalation — men are already getting hooked on AI companions, and the technology is progressing rapidly.
Recovery, Accountability, and His Wife
Larry credits his wife Sheila with helping him break the addiction. When he confessed the extent of his spending and behavior, she was shocked but empathetic and gave him a chance.
He gave her access to his bank statements as an accountability barrier — knowing she can see everything prevents him from acting on impulses.
He also stopped hiding relapses, being transparent with her when he slipped, which he says is the opposite of how most addicts behave (shame and secrecy).
He quit steroids for a period and was on TRT (bare-minimum testosterone) for a few years to stay functional and avoid crashing into depression.
He had a porn addiction before steroids, but steroids made it far worse. Now abstinent from porn, he says steroids haven’t negatively impacted his marriage outside of the addiction.
Marriage, Social Media, and Their Relationship
Larry and Sheila met in Dubai via DMs, met for dinner at a shisha bar, and have been together for five years. She is his best friend.
They stream together and discuss their relationship online, which many people — including friends — told them never to do. The online hate was intense and focused on painting her as a gold digger who disrespects him.
They coped by drastically reducing time on social media and especially comment sections. In person, the reception is entirely positive — at the Arnold in Columbus, a two-hour line of thousands of fans, not one person said anything negative.
Larry says he married her without a prenuptial agreement because she is non-confrontational — the most valuable quality to him. He’d been in multiple prior relationships defined by screaming matches and says peace in his household is priceless.
He has no wandering eye. He says when you’re happily married, you don’t think about other women — it’s not a burden or resistance, it simply doesn’t cross your mind.
What He Teaches and Believes About Success
The lesson he wants to pass on: work on your passion, because the day you can monetize it, you never work a day in your life. He tried college (criminal justice) for one semester, was bored out of his mind, dropped out, and pursued powerlifting. It took four years to make money from it, but he’s now been doing it for over a decade and can’t imagine doing anything else.
The fitness influencer industry’s dark side: influencers invent obscure exercises to sell programs to novices, and kids as young as 14–15 are getting on steroids thinking that’s their ticket to financial freedom through content. He wishes someone had told him to build a coaching business helping people rather than chasing freakish physiques.
The influencers who make the most money are not the biggest guys — they’re the smartest communicators. He cites Derek (More Plates More Dates) as someone who sounds educated and trustworthy and will sell anything successfully, while a big guy posting only lifts can’t convert viewers into buyers because there’s no trust or substance.
His best advice: “You versus you.” Self-accountability. Nearly every shortcoming in his life came from his own poor decision-making, and he only gained momentum when he stopped blaming others and circumstances.
Notable Personal Details
He trained with Hafþór Björnsson (Thor) and Andriy Smayev, both of whom he considers the most impressive people he’s met — Thor for his sheer presence and strength, Smayev for unrealized potential across bodybuilding, powerlifting, and arm wrestling.
He slapped influencer Dean the Great at a dinner after two hours of disrespect toward him; he doesn’t regret it, and his wife was entertained and grateful.
He does not want to join WWE — told he’d have to start from the bottom with a 300-day travel schedule, and the injury risk and lifestyle aren’t worth it given he already makes plenty of money.
His father is an alcoholic who reappeared in his life only to ignore him and ask for money to buy liquor; Larry has had no contact with him since.
