– I receive messages from concerned parents who find asthma medicines for horses in their daughters’ bedside drawers. These have a slimming effect, but are life-threatening, says Tim Enersen to Dagbladet.
He also receives messages about 13-year-old boys who want to start using steroids as a quick fix, he says.
Enersen himself has used steroids for many years, and knows the reverse side of the coin. Now he wants to warn others.
He started taking steroids slowly in 2011, when he was 24 years old. In 2013, steroids became illegal in Norway, but Enersen says that he used them regularly until 2017.
– There was a lot of focus on the body when I was younger, and I have always been fascinated by people with muscles and strength, he says.
WANTED TO BECOME EVEN BIGGER: Enersen started comparing himself to the biggest in the gym, then he saw no other way out. Photo: Private
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Was always strong
Enersen was always the strongest throughout the kindergarten and school years, even though he was quite thin. Exercise has always been a hobby. Strength was the goal, never a six-pack, he claims.
– I was very strong before I started steroids, much stronger than most people my age, says Enersen.
He says he was aware that many felt a body pressure, but the only pressure he himself felt was his own.
SECOND PLACE: Enersen got second place in the world’s strongest man 2015, under 90 kilos. Photo: Private
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But Enersen gradually began to compare himself to the biggest guys in the gym – those who, according to him, stuffed themselves with steroids.
– I wanted to become Norway’s strongest, and then I had to be on par with the big guys, he says.
The desire became so strong that Enersen started on anabolic steroids.
He quickly got bigger and stronger when he started on steroids, and says that he found this motivating, and therefore started competing.
– I quickly became one of the strongest in Norway. Two years after I started competing, I won second place in Europe’s strongest. Then second place in the World’s Strongest 2015, says Enersen.
FELT PRESSURE: Increased steroid dosage led to increased awareness. People got used to his big muscles. To impress again, Enersen felt he had to double the dosage. Photo: Private
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Got depressed
Enersen, on the other hand, was not aware of the severe side effects the steroids would have on his body. Eventually he began to struggle mentally.
– I realized that something was wrong when I got anxiety from just going to the store. It was absolutely horrible, he says.
Enersen thought several times that he would give up, but felt pressure to continue.
– I was on TV and in the media almost every week, so there was a lot of attention around me. When I tried to quit for the first time, several people thought I had become ill, since I had lost so much weight. After all, nobody expected me to become “thin”, so I felt that I had to continue, says Enersen.
THE END: Enersen struggled mostly with the psychological side effects of steroids, it was only when he tore a tendon that he noticed the physical side effects and decided to stop. Photo: Private
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After another year of steroid use, Enersen was injured and had to stop.
Just before Christmas, Enersen, or @sterketim as he calls himself on social media, posted a TikTok to his nearly 100,000 followers. This has also been discussed in Smaalenenes Avis.
Owing to NRK
In the video, he opens up about his abuse of anabolic steroids, and the consequences it brought.
The response has been enormous.
Can’t help everyone
– I get several hundred messages a day from children under the age of 13, and I don’t have the opportunity to reply to even a fraction. They want everything from tips about steroids to help getting away from it, says Enersen.
STRONGMAN: Enersen says that there is no transparency in the strongman community about the negative effects of steroids. He kept quiet about the lows. Photo: Private
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Today, Enersen is working hard to answer as many messages as possible. But he says he absolutely does not have the capacity to continue like this.
– When I first have to help someone, I want to do it properly. I don’t have the opportunity to answer several hundred children who are struggling, even if I really want to, says Enersen.
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Body pressure
Morten Heierdal is a professional adviser at Antidoping Norway. He gives lectures at schools about body pressure and doping, and talks daily to young people who are struggling.
– Why someone starts or wants to start steroids often has a very complex explanation. But factors such as the environment, bullying or poor self-esteem are something we often see, says Heierdal.
WARNING: Heierdal warns against normalizing the use of doping. He says that if you think it’s normal, the road to get there will seem shorter. Photo: Private
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He points out that social media gives a false perception of reality, and that retouched images, correct angles and lighting can give young people unrealistic ideals.
Having to reach these unrealistic ideals, steroids can seem like a “quick fix”.
– Everyone is exposed to some form of physical pressure, but especially those who are not critical of the source of what they see online. Lack of a mastering arena is also something that we see can lead to dissatisfaction with themselves, which can lead them into the world of doping, says Heierdal.
LECTURER: Morten Heierdal travels around schools to talk about body pressure and doping, as many do not have enough knowledge about this topic. Photo: Private
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The consequences of doping can be serious.
– Although the side effects are individual, there are some common features we see in many: Serious psychological challenges, such as depression and addiction, and physical side effects such as muscle tears, back problems and cardiovascular diseases, says Heierdal.
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Strong call
Now former bowler Tim Enersen warns all young people, and strongly encourages them not to use anabolic steroids.
– Everyone talks about the effects of steroids, now it’s time to shed light on all the side effects. Friends of mine have been close to death due to steroid use, and I know of several who have had brain haemorrhages, says Enersen.
Enersen points out that a common denominator among everyone who contacts him is the lack of knowledge.
– The only positive thing about steroids is that you can get a T-shirt size bigger. I could write several pages about the negative aspects, says Enersen.
