Exploring the Normalisation of Image and Performance Enhancing Drugs (IPEDs) in British Gyms and its Connectivity with Social Media

New drugs and markets are an important focus for research into normalisation. Needle and syringe programmes (NSP) in the UK have reported that a majority of clients are now image and performance enhancing drug (IPED) users. This chapter examines the normalisation of these drugs in contemporary fitness cultures, drawing on findings from two immersive ethnographies conducted in British gyms that show IPED use and supply are increasingly socially accepted within contemporary gym cultures, and related digital spaces.This exploration considers first, the degree to which IPEDs are socially accommodated within gym environments, including increasing awareness of use and knowledge of drug effects, as well as tolerance of use in these spaces. It then considers the normalisation of enhanced bodies in digital fitness spaces, and the ways in which social media interplays with enhancement drug use and its acceptance.Access and availability are then examined, exploring the degree to which social supply is the norm for IPED access within fitness cultures, as well as the increasing availability of these substances through easily accessible digital channels, especially social media.Finally, potential limits to utilising the concept of normalisation in relation to IPEDs are considered. looking first at the limits to socially acceptable use, and how ‘sensible use’ is understood and reinforced within fitness cultures, before turning to the gendered stigma attached to women’s enhancement with steroids, and how this potentially limits suggestions of their normalisation.</p

Click, click, buy: The market for novel synthetic peptide hormones on mainstream e-commerce platforms in the UK

In recent years there has been an increasing focus on the potential public health risks attached to human enhancement drugs (HEDs). While much work has explored the use and supply of HEDs, the market for these compounds is constantly evolving, with new substances being created and sold, and access becoming increasingly simplified through digital platforms. However, one area that has yet to receive scholarly attention is the availability of ‘grey market’ novel synthetic peptide hormones (SPH) through sellers on the mainstream e-commerce platforms Amazon, eBay, and Alibaba. This piece therefore sets out to uncover this burgeoning corner of the broader HEDs trade in the UK market.Findings indicate that SPH are readily accessible over these e-commerce sites, with sellers evading restrictions by claiming that the substances are ‘not for human consumption’ or ‘for research only’, while simultaneously advertising their products as wellbeing supplements. Labelling practices are further identified as a point of concern, since packaging is not necessarily reflective of product quality or true location of origin. Finally, discussion centres on the enhanced legitimacy offered by selling through mainstream sites like Amazon, the capacity for counterfeiting and misrepresentation, and the public health implications of this substantial grey market.</p

Click, click, buy: The market for novel synthetic peptide hormones on mainstream e-commerce platforms in the UK

In recent years there has been an increasing focus on the potential public health risks attached to human enhancement drugs (HEDs). While much work has explored the use and supply of HEDs, the market for these compounds is constantly evolving, with new substances being created and sold, and access becoming increasingly simplified through digital platforms. However, one area that has yet to receive scholarly attention is the availability of ‘grey market’ novel synthetic peptide hormones (SPH) through sellers on the mainstream e-commerce platforms Amazon, eBay, and Alibaba. This piece therefore sets out to uncover this burgeoning corner of the broader HEDs trade in the UK market.Findings indicate that SPH are readily accessible over these e-commerce sites, with sellers evading restrictions by claiming that the substances are ‘not for human consumption’ or ‘for research only’, while simultaneously advertising their products as wellbeing supplements. Labelling practices are further identified as a point of concern, since packaging is not necessarily reflective of product quality or true location of origin. Finally, discussion centres on the enhanced legitimacy offered by selling through mainstream sites like Amazon, the capacity for counterfeiting and misrepresentation, and the public health implications of this substantial grey market.</p

Exploring the Normalisation of Image and Performance Enhancing Drugs (IPEDs) in British Gyms and its Connectivity with Social Media

New drugs and markets are an important focus for research into normalisation. Needle and syringe programmes (NSP) in the UK have reported that a majority of clients are now image and performance enhancing drug (IPED) users. This chapter examines the normalisation of these drugs in contemporary fitness cultures, drawing on findings from two immersive ethnographies conducted in British gyms that show IPED use and supply are increasingly socially accepted within contemporary gym cultures, and related digital spaces.This exploration considers first, the degree to which IPEDs are socially accommodated within gym environments, including increasing awareness of use and knowledge of drug effects, as well as tolerance of use in these spaces. It then considers the normalisation of enhanced bodies in digital fitness spaces, and the ways in which social media interplays with enhancement drug use and its acceptance.Access and availability are then examined, exploring the degree to which social supply is the norm for IPED access within fitness cultures, as well as the increasing availability of these substances through easily accessible digital channels, especially social media.Finally, potential limits to utilising the concept of normalisation in relation to IPEDs are considered. looking first at the limits to socially acceptable use, and how ‘sensible use’ is understood and reinforced within fitness cultures, before turning to the gendered stigma attached to women’s enhancement with steroids, and how this potentially limits suggestions of their normalisation.</p

Anabolics coaching: Emic harm reduction or a public health concern?

This article investigates the phenomena of ‘anabolics coaching’, which describes the practice of providing support and guidance on the appropriate and effective use of image and performance enhancing drugs (IPEDs), either as part of a more general PT relationship or as a stand-alone service. Building upon van de Ven and Mulrooney's (2017) notion of the ‘steroid mentor’, we utilise digital and offline ethnographic data as well as interviews with several anabolics coaches and their clients to shed light upon this practice and interrogate the nexus of harm-reduction, IPED normalisation, and the health and fitness industry. The article first examines the anabolics coaching market, before addressing coach and client motivation, as well as the troubling crossover between coaching and supply of IPEDs. It concludes by posing the question of whether anabolics coaching represents an ‘emic’ form of harm reduction, or whether it undermines and contradicts the public health efforts to promote safe consumption practices, where we ultimately argue that, although not unproblematic, anabolics coaching has the potential to bolster safer consuming practices and reduce IPED-related harm.</p

Down the greasy slope: the fatal contradictions of anti-doping

 This article seeks to critically question the internal logic and coherence of ‘anti-doping’ through the case study of advantage-seeking practices in the sport of Brazilian Jui-Jitsu (BJJ). We provide an analysis of the recent controversy between high-profile fighters Gordon Ryan and Nicky Rod involving the relative morality of image and performance enhancing drug (IPED) use compared with ‘greasing’, whereby BJJ athletes apply substances, such as oil or lubricants, to the body to make it harder for opponents to establish a grip or maintain control during grappling exchanges. We employ this case study to highlight the impasse between the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) ethical foundation of the ‘spirit of sport’ and the anti-doping industry’s ‘anti-policy’ stance. We then query why a host of non-chemical advantage-seeking practices are normalised and overlooked within the rigid and constrictive systems. Ultimately, we characterise WADA as a myopic compliance system that stifles moral debate around advantage-seeking in sport and is hamstrung by an ethical discord between anti-policy and the neo-Aristotelian ideal of the spirit of sport. We close with a call for a holistic ethical understanding of advantage-seeking in sport and the need to encourage stakeholders to ‘think institutionally’ in order to establish a malleable and reactive response to doping. </p

Anabolics coaching: Emic harm reduction or a public health concern?

This article investigates the phenomena of ‘anabolics coaching’, which describes the practice of providing support and guidance on the appropriate and effective use of image and performance enhancing drugs (IPEDs), either as part of a more general PT relationship or as a stand-alone service. Building upon van de Ven and Mulrooney's (2017) notion of the ‘steroid mentor’, we utilise digital and offline ethnographic data as well as interviews with several anabolics coaches and their clients to shed light upon this practice and interrogate the nexus of harm-reduction, IPED normalisation, and the health and fitness industry. The article first examines the anabolics coaching market, before addressing coach and client motivation, as well as the troubling crossover between coaching and supply of IPEDs. It concludes by posing the question of whether anabolics coaching represents an ‘emic’ form of harm reduction, or whether it undermines and contradicts the public health efforts to promote safe consumption practices, where we ultimately argue that, although not unproblematic, anabolics coaching has the potential to bolster safer consuming practices and reduce IPED-related harm.</p

Emerging anabolic androgenic steroid markets: the prominence of social media

Background: There have been notable shifts in the acquisition of anabolic androgenic steroids over time, with face-to-face (within gyms) and online supply (e.g. internet forums, crypto-markets/darknet, and pharmacies) being popular locations to source and acquire these drugs. Fresh evidence suggests that social media facilitates the supply of anabolic androgenic steroids, however, no study has exclusively examined this phenomenon.Aim and method: This investigation sheds light on the supply of anabolic androgenic steroids over two major social media platforms: (i) Instagram; and (ii) TikTok. Digital ethnographic observations were conducted to identify and observe marketing strategies and supply methods.Findings: The findings reveal: (1) public sale and advertisement of anabolic androgenic steroids via two distinct supplier types (i) direct suppliers (individuals and laboratories/shop accounts); and (ii) influencers (referring custom to third-party websites); (2) marketing techniques, including images of products, flash-sales, and discount codes; (3) delivery methods; (4) messaging platforms; and (5) payment.Conclusions: Social media platforms facilitate the supply of anabolic androgenic steroids, increasing accessibility to these drugs. This, we argue, disproportionately affects younger, more vulnerable, and less informed populations. These findings ought to be considered within wider discussions related to harm reduction, providing policy makers with evidence to strengthen such calls.</p

Emerging anabolic androgenic steroid markets: the prominence of social media

Background: There have been notable shifts in the acquisition of anabolic androgenic steroids over time, with face-to-face (within gyms) and online supply (e.g. internet forums, crypto-markets/darknet, and pharmacies) being popular locations to source and acquire these drugs. Fresh evidence suggests that social media facilitates the supply of anabolic androgenic steroids, however, no study has exclusively examined this phenomenon.Aim and method: This investigation sheds light on the supply of anabolic androgenic steroids over two major social media platforms: (i) Instagram; and (ii) TikTok. Digital ethnographic observations were conducted to identify and observe marketing strategies and supply methods.Findings: The findings reveal: (1) public sale and advertisement of anabolic androgenic steroids via two distinct supplier types (i) direct suppliers (individuals and laboratories/shop accounts); and (ii) influencers (referring custom to third-party websites); (2) marketing techniques, including images of products, flash-sales, and discount codes; (3) delivery methods; (4) messaging platforms; and (5) payment.Conclusions: Social media platforms facilitate the supply of anabolic androgenic steroids, increasing accessibility to these drugs. This, we argue, disproportionately affects younger, more vulnerable, and less informed populations. These findings ought to be considered within wider discussions related to harm reduction, providing policy makers with evidence to strengthen such calls.</p

Big business: The private sector market for image and performance enhancing drug harm reduction in the UK

This article draws on three mutually independent ethnographic studies to explore the private sector market for image and performance enhancing drug (IPED) harm reduction in the UK, specifically examining (1) steroid accessory supplements; (2) blood testing services; and (3) bloodletting services. After contextualising the work with a discussion of IPED use and harm reduction and the substantial growth of the global health and fitness industry, each private sector provision is critically interrogated with the following questions in mind: what is the role and utility of these services compared to public sector provision? Why has the private sector begun to deliver IPED harm reduction products and services in the UK? And how does this provision relate to the health and fitness industry more broadly? The paper concludes with some reflections about the future direction of IPED harm reduction, the importance of community-led services, and the need to think innovatively if we are to best protect users’ health and wellbeing.</p