I am writing this post because of things I have observed over the past couple of years with a good freind of mine, and it's made me take a step back and look at my own experiences as well. About 2 years ago I was in an out of town gym training and saw this guy come in, the guy was huge, he had some of the biggest arms I had ever seen in my life. I couldnt stop looking at this guy, he was just massive and had veins sticking out everyplace like garden hoses. Anyways, I finally got up the nerve to talk to him, and the conversation steered towards anabolics. I didnt have a source and hadnt done steroids in few years, and basically he ended up becoming my new reliable source, but more importantly, over the past couple years has become my best freind. This guy grew up in the Golden era, lived out in Cali,and he knows alot of the greats personally. He has told me things about some of the pros including Arnold Schwarzenegger you cant find in a magazine or book. Anyways, when we first started getting aquainted and hanging out, this guy had money, alot of it. It seemed like he was never conservative with it, and if he wanted it he'd buy it. He had juice he was selling and running like a madman, we arent talking like the guy you give your money to and he orders it for you, we're talking like the big man who had 200 bottles at his crib to sell ya. The guy had quit his job and basically dealt for a living. His juice, grocery bill, and GH habit probably cost him twice what the average person makes a year, seriously. Anyways, last year his sights were set on just one thing, a huge contest coming up that year, and I'm not mentioning which one. From what I've observed knowing him, and gathered from our conversations, this guy has become so consumed with bodybuilding he's ****ing his life up. He's pushed away people who were close to him, including his family which he hasn't spoken with in years. This guy spends Christmas, Thanksgiving, even his own birthday, ALONE. I just got off the phone with him earlier, and he told me how his lifestyle and everything he has done is catching up with him and he is about to lose what little left that he does have, including his house. This guy has done almost nothing but eat, sleep,and breathe bodybuilding for the past 30 years, it's like the only way he knows how to live. But he has paid a hefty price to live this way, and so many times has he told me recently about things getting bad, but "Something will happen, I'll pull through." Well, this time he might not pull through, he needs to come up with several thousand within the next 2 weeks or so, or he's screwed. I got off of the phone with him, and took a few moments to think about the way I've lived myself the past year. I've spent alot of money I didnt have to spend on juice, eating out, etc, money I could have used for better things until I had the extra money for steroids. I'm trying to come up with a few grand myself to pay for my wedding now, I could have had it paid for twice if I was smarter with my money last year. I ended up quitting my job and getting into stripping for my income and juice, and I made damn good money doing it. However, I also cheated on my fiance several times and started to live a double life. I've straightened up alot within these past few months. I've landed a good job and quit stripping and cheating, things going good with my girl, got my sights set on the future. All the bad shit is behind me now, and I just want to live a good life. I was starting to go down the same road as my buddy has, and I was so consumed by this sport I refused to realize it. I'm not telling you guys not to use steroids , and I'm not saying that you cant be enthused about bodybuilding. All I'm saying is every once and awhile take a look at where your at and what you've accomplished with your life. Dont get consumed by this sport so much that you start to make poor decisions, and use money you cant afford to spend on things like juice. But most importantly, just remember that the easy way out is not always the best way, and in the end we all pay for our mistakes in life. Dont be my buddy. I hope he can get out of this mess, he's a great guy who has just made some poor decisions.