In recent years, steroids and doping have become pretty ugly words. There’s been a whole heap of controversy due to Russian athletes in particular who’ve partaken in a systematic doping program. The Olympic Games and other athletic events have become tarnished because of it. But steroids have always received a bad press. They’ve been used by athletes for decades in various sports, and even just by people for recreational use. But use them in a sport where they’re a banned substance, and you’re asking for trouble. There’ve been numerous athletes who’ve done just that, who are essentially cheaters, people who’ve tried to get an unfair advantage, as most of the people on this list have. We all know by now why they did it, why people juice. Steroids make you bigger, stronger, faster, they can essentially make you a machine. They also make a person look different.

An increase in strength generally means an increase in muscle mass. This means you can normally tell when a guy’s been on the juice – they suddenly start walking around like they’re Adonises. It makes before and after pictures – pics of these individuals before and after getting on the juice – truly staggering, pretty interesting viewing. These are 15 athletes who have taken steroids, and before and after pics of them getting on the juice.

15 15. Ryan Braun

The sport of baseball has been plagued by steroid scandals. There have been some big names in the sport who seem to have gotten some help from the anabolic substance. You wouldn’t exactly call Ryan one of baseball’s greats. But he’s still a big player, is still rated highly. In 2011, Braun had one of his urine tests leaked to ESPN. It revealed that he’d tested positive for a banned substance and that he had elevated levels of testosterone – steroids are basically synthetic versions of testosterone. He was suspended for 50 games, but due to the test being leaked, it was deemed that the test hadn’t been appropriately handled, so the suspension was overturned. Initially, Braun said it was a mistake. A couple of years later he came clean and admitted to using steroids throughout his NL MVP season. Braun wasn’t exactly massive. But he became leaner, and more ripped. Going on the juice definitely affected his game and his physique.

14 14. Gregg Valentino

A lot of people might not be aware of Gregg Valentino. You’ve probably seen his body, because it was once so freaky looking, that it’s been used in various different pics – celebs have had their heads put on his body etc. Gregg was once a famous bodybuilder. But he didn’t really achieve fame as a bodybuilder. He rose to fame as being the guy with the largest arms in the world. Gregg was just ridiculous, he was massive. He was natural – i.e. drug free – for over two decades. Then he began dealing steroids, and subsequently began taking them. His body responded tremendously, and his arms grew to freaky proportions. These pics are real by the way, there’s no photoshopping involved. He was built before taking steroids, but as you can see, steroids took him to the next level in terms of size and mass.

13 13. Ken Shamrock

The person deemed to be the world’s most dangerous man, has tested positive for steroid use. He tested positive for anabolic steroids at Bellator 149. He also tested positive when he lost to Kimbo Slice. If that wasn’t bad enough, his brother has said that Ken’s been on steroids for pretty much his entire life. Look at him, and it’d be hard to disagree. If it’s true, that’s truly disappointing. Not only is it against the rules, is he cheating, but he partakes in a combat sport, and that’s one sport where steroids have no place – they could turn someone into a killing machine, which nobody wants.

Look at Ken from his younger days and he’s still pretty built. Those muscles are covered in a layer of puppy fat, but he’s still built. Then he became leaner, harder, more ripped. It’s something that could be attributed to steroids.

12 12. Mark McGwire

Former MLB player and current bench coach, Mark McGwire, is one athlete who’s actually come clean regarding his steroid use. Not that he really needed to come clean though. It was evident that he was juicing due to the transformation that took place over the years. When he first started out, Mark wasn’t exactly ripped or muscular. He was of normal build, and actually a tad chubby. But then in the 90s, he transformed into an Adonis. The guy got massive, and people started seeing Mark like they’d never seen him before. He appeared in ad campaigns for milk and other such food and drink items, acting like it was the milk that got him strong and muscular. It wasn’t milk, but it was the juice, although a different kind of juice.

11 11. Barry Bonds

The case of Barry Bonds and his supposed steroid use is an interesting one. It’s one of the biggest steroids scandals in sports. He’s always denied juicing, but at the time, various reports were constantly surfacing, people claiming they know what Bonds was up too. Whether he really did or not, perhaps we’ll never know. But plenty of people have already made their minds up, and consequently, Bond’s name is synonymous with the word steroids. The fact that he gained massive amounts of muscularity over a relatively short space of time, hasn’t helped him in his attempts to deny juicing. Before he supposedly took steroids, he looked like an average guy. After supposedly juicing, the guy bulked up massively. He gained a barrel chest, and his head ballooned.

10 10. Jason Giambi

Jason Giambi is a former MLB player who started his pro career in the early 90s. He’s yet another baseball player who was found to be juicing, and he’s someone who’s actually held his hands up and admitted to using performance enhancing drugs – not that his admission makes what he did any better of course. When the FBI started an investigation, the BALCO Scandal, he admitted to juicing between 2001 and 2003, using anabolic steroids and various other hormones. It certainly had an effect on the designated hitter. Juicing affected his game, and the way he looked. He got built, and quickly. Beforehand, he was just a skinny, scrawny kid. When he started juicing, he packed on muscle mass like never before, and we soon learnt the reason why.

9 9. Brady Anderson

Okay, let’s put it out there first that Brady Anderson has never been found guilty of using performance enhancing drugs. But there’s always been plenty of speculation and plenty of rumors, that Brady was at one point on the juice. Brady became known for taking his shirt off and showcasing his ripped physique. He couldn't have been too pleased with people attributing that physique to steroids – again, if he never took them. In 1996, he hit 50 home runs, and people began talking about him being one of the greats. That’s when the rumors of steroid use began to build momentum. Right away, his stats declined, leading people to believe he’d come off the juice.

In terms of his physique, Brady was always in shape. But there was one point where he was ripped and chiseled beyond belief. That certainly didn’t help the rumors die down.

8 8. Jon Jones

Jon Jones is regarded to be a great MMA fighter, or at least he would be if his career in the cage hadn’t been overshadowed by controversies out of it. The guy can only be described as a walking disaster, and is one of the most troubled fighters in the sport. He’s been arrested numerous times, his life’s been littered with controversy, and he’s been the subject of plenty of doping allegations, and with good reason too. He’s tested positive for steroids and other drugs on the banned substance list. Although Jon might not have gotten massive on steroids, he’s certainly gotten more ripped. You can see that Jon became shredded. Sure, that could be attributed to a proper diet and hardcore training. But some steroids would always help, and Jon’s been found out, he’s tested positive for such drugs.

7 7. Alex Rodriguez

Former MLB player Alex Rodriguez, was one of the greatest players in history. But his career’s been tarnished with talk of steroid use. It wasn’t just talk. He failed drugs tests. Alex has always maintained he was innocent, that he’s never taken steroids; he’s maintained this stance in public anyway. There are all kinds of rumors that he’s admitted steroid use behind closed doors, has told the authorities everything in exchange for immunity from prosecution. If he did take steroids, the drugs certainly had the desired effect. Once upon a time he was lean, and I mean really lean. Then Alex got big, was still ripped, but got big too. The changes are noticeable and Alex certainly benefitted from juicing, not in terms of his career perhaps, the way he’ll be remembered by a lot of people, but in terms of his baseball.

6 6. Sammy Sosa

Sammy Sosa’s changed a hell of a lot over recent years. If you’ve seen any pics of him, you’ll know what I mean. He’s changed in more ways than one, but for the purposes of this article, let’s focus on the changes brought about by juicing. He tested positive for PEDs in 2003, but has never admitted anything. But looking at how his physique changed and developed, people made their own minds up. Sammy was a skinny outfielder, but then morphed into a big, built hitter who was chasing records and tearing up the stats’ book. The guy got huge, and due to his positive test, and what went on at the congressional hearing, it’s safe the assume he didn’t get big naturally, that he had a bit of help.

5 5. Jose Canseco

Jose Canseco is actually someone who’s been very open about his steroid use. You’ve probably gathered by going through this article that an awful lot of baseball players have been implicated in steroid scandals. Jose Canseco has divulged that the majority of players in the sport were on juice. He revealed all in his book: Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big.

Jose was found guilty of steroid use in 2003 and was actually arrested. He subsequently wrote his book in which he admitted to juicing. He later went on to reveal that he regretted writing the book and that he had a really tough time getting off the juice. That’s understandable, because looking at his physique, we can assume that he was on steroids for quite some time, or that he was taking pretty high dosages.

4 4. Brian Cushing

Brian Cushing’s a big guy, and has always been into his fitness. You kind of need to be if you play in the NFL. This has meant he’s always been faced with accusations of steroid use. Well, in 2009, we discovered that they weren’t just accusations. He failed a doping test, yet was still allowed to finish the season, and ended up being named as NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year – work that one out! The NFL got a lot of heat because of that. Cushing and his coach came up with a pretty creative reason for the failed test; overtrained athlete syndrome, the premise being, that overtraining can build up testosterone levels.

Anyway, look at Cushing and he certainly looks jacked. He looks more like a powerlifter. By the way, notice the man boobs. That’s pretty odd, because it’s usually in the after picture that you would see man boobs, because that’s a side effect of steroid use.

3 3. Marion Jones

Here we’ve got our one and only woman on this list. Lots of female athletes have taken steroids over the years. But because of their biological makeup, women can’t build muscle as easily as men, even with steroids, and so the results aren’t always evident. But in the case of disgraced former track and field athlete, Marion Jones, you can tell that she’s been on a little something, a little something more than just multivitamins and other over-the-counter supplements. What was so big about this case, is that Marion had always denied steroid use, claiming that people were out to get her. Then she held a press conference, broke down and admitted everything. It’s safe to say people weren’t exactly sympathetic. Marion got ripped on steroids. She got lean, shredded, lost that puppy fat, and it made her into a running machine.

2 2. Ronnie Coleman

Bodybuilding gets a bad rap. That’s because although for some reason the various bodybuilding federations try to hide it, steroid use is a massive part of the sport. Look at the top bodybuilders in the world, and people instantly think steroids. Of course, there’s more to the sport than that, but people can’t see past the steroid use which is rife in bodybuilding. Ronnie Coleman is arguably the greatest bodybuilder who’s ever lived. The guy was a mass monster, plain and simple. To be a top pro, genetics play a huge part. Ronnie had the genetics that allowed him to pack on size, as you can see from this pic of him as a natural. Then when he finally took the plunge and took to juicing, steroids took him to the next level, transformed him into a mass monster.

1 1. Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger is the poster boy for steroids. He was of course blessed in the genetics department, worked his butt off, but steroids were also involved. His autobiography states that he was juicing as a teenager, and this meant that he was able to kick on and win all those titles, rule supreme over the world of bodybuilding for all that time. Some people, even though he’s admitted juicing, still dispute the fact he did. But look at him from back then. Do you think that physique was as a result of God-given genetics, or that maybe he was on something?

Arnold, if he’s to be believed, was never a hardcore user. He popped a few pills, had a few injections now and again, but didn’t really cycle as competitors do today. Imagine if he did do proper steroid cycles, just imagine how freakishly big he would have been!