Former IFBB pro bodybuilder Nasser el Sonbaty died in his sleep in the early hours of March 20, 2013 after being ill for several months. He was 47 years old. Guillermo Tom, his training partner and friend, told MuscleMag that Nasser had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure and kidney damage in November 2012. Nasser did not qualify as a candidate for a heart transplant and decided to spend his final days with his parents and sister in Egypt.
“In November [Nasser] was admitted to the hospital here in San Diego for breathing problems,” Tom told MuscleMag. “It was then that he was diagnosed with heart failure and kidney damage. He was on dialysis from that day on. “
Given that Nasser el Sonbaty admitted using anabolic steroids in a sport where steroid use is pervasive, many people predictably blamed Nasser’s death on his use of steroids. This does a terrible disservice to those genuinely interested in making sense of such a tragic early death. Blaming Nasser’s death on steroids doesn’t facilitate an understanding of other important factors that may have played a role in Nasser’s deteriorating health.
Did steroids play a role in Nasser’s death? Did other bodybuilding drugs? Did the modern-day “bodybuilding lifestyle”? Did his body size? Did genetic factors? Health is a complicated phenomenon. Those who are truly interested in understanding the cause(s) of Nasser’s death and helping others in similar circumstances avert a similar outcome will examine the entire constellation of events that could have precipitated the tragic loss of life.
Even worse than blaming Nasser’s death on steroids are those who seek to condemn Nasser simply because he was a steroid user who participated in the steroid-fueled sport of bodybuilding. In an article written by Keith McLemore, and reprinted in its entirety on the Taylor Hooton Foundation website, McLemore adamantly refused to offer condolences to the family of Nasser while withholding the usual wishes for eternal peace in the afterlife.
“We offer no kind words to describe [Nasser el Sonbaty]… The enormity of their structures was influential to young generations determined to initiate steroid cycles even though they would become too addicted to observe Nasser’s final outcome and deviate from their destructive behavior,” McClemore wrote. “For these reasons, we offer no ‘Rest In Peace’ sentiments. Rather, we say ‘It Is What It Is.'”
To compound the disrespect towards the late Nasser el Sonbaty, McLemore tastelessly posted a picture of a lifeless Nasser with significant discoloration across his torso. The picture showed Nasser lying with his eyes closed on his back in a hospital. The intended effect was obviously to give the appearance of a post-mortem Nasser. However, the photograph was actually taken six years earlier in late 2006 when Nasser underwent surgery to repair a hernia and to remove lymphomas.
What those who condemn Nasser failed to realize was that the former bodybuilder openly and honestly discussed anabolic steroids with anyone who asked about them; he also warned about the unhealthy lifestyle of a professional bodybuilder. Nasser’s candor about the risks faced by numerous competitors in their pursuit of a hypermuscular physique made him a particularly controversial figure.
In a multi-part interview with bodybuilding scribe David Robson, Nasser admitted using anabolic steroids, diuretics, human growth hormone (hGH), insulin, ephedrine and caffeine. He freely discussed anabolic steroids but seemed more concerned about the variety of other drugs that found their way into the elite ranks of pro bodybuilding.
But the bodybuilders are treated almost like racehorses. When a racehorse breaks a foot or a leg, then it is no longer profitable. It is shot right away. Bodybuilders do not get shot with guns (with exceptions like Ray McNeill) but get shot with needles. And in many cases you have to just wait for too many shots over extended periods of time to cause a casualty or these guys just drop out because of fear of more health issues, or they are so deteriorated from being used for too long without getting the proper reimbursement, which is often “only” a fair placement.
Either they (the bodybuilders) comply with the demands to look great (which means brutal diets and regular drug intake) in order to make money, or they deteriorate (which can be extreme after several contest years, combined with injuries and a general shutdown of their abused systems) or they just get out of the sport.
And then, after so many shows the “men in charge” – the despotism judging clique acts all surprised by incidents “involving the drug monsters” like Münzer, and many others. But the show must go on.
Nasser didn’t shy away from discussing the casualties of pro bodybuilding e.g. Flex Wheeler (kidney), Don Long (kidney), Tom Prince (kidney), Luke Wood (kidney), Mike Morris (kidney), Mike Francois (colon cancer), Dennis Newman (leukemia), etc. not to mention competitors who allegedly had life-threatening problems with specific drugs and/or were hospitalized e.g. Dennis James (insulin), Mustafa Mohammad (diuretics), Paul Dillett (diuretics), Mike Matarazzo (diuretics), Armin Scholz (diuretics), etc.
Nasser told Robson that a big part of bodybuilding success at the elite level was the ability to tolerate large amounts of bodybuilding drugs.
It is not only what your genetics are like if your aim is to turn pro or how hard you train or your consistency, it is also very important how your body reacts to all the different kinds of drugs you are ingesting for years and years. Not only the positive, anabolic effects but also the negative effects, the side effects.
You need to have a constitution like a horse. For example if Ronnie Coleman and now Jay Cutler didn’t have constitutions of a horse they would have been sick a long time ago and wouldn’t be able to actually continue competing like they are competing.
Nasser warned readers about the prolonged use of bodybuilding drugs especially in the absence of regular medical supervision.
I do not believe that it is healthy for the body to take, over long periods of time, drugs including prescribed medicines and antibiotics, or even vitamins or anything in that direction…
Using all of these drugs [Winstrol, Parabolan, Equipoise, Masteron, Primobolan, Oxandrolone, etc] for longer periods of time – like over many, many months with short breaks over many years – causes a negative balance of hormones in the body.
Adding calorie reduced diets to this with contests and guest-posing appearances where you want to look great is definitely not the smartest thing to do. And additionally adding thyroid hormone, GH, IGF 1 and Insulin can result in hormonal chaos within the system. All these things taken can have individually different side effects. Some people also have, for instance, an ulcer problem or a pancreas problem that they had not been (clearly) aware of, so things can get out of control, especially when not having regular medical check-ups by qualified doctors.
Nasser competed in over 50 professional bodybuilding contests yet he was never under the illusion that he was participating in a “healthy” sport. And he never missed an opportunity to speak out about the dangers of some of the practices seen in bodybuilding.
Regrettably, Nasser’s death and his discussion of the risks of bodybuilding polypharmacy will only be seen by anti-steroid crusaders as confirmatory evidence to support the demonization of steroids.
What relevance does long-term and extreme drug use by elite amateur and professional competitive bodybuilders have for the average steroid user? Not much.
Extreme drug use is rarely healthy no matter what the drug. Drugs that can be used safely can also be abused. The distinction between use and abuse is often overlooked by those with an anti-steroid agenda. Why should extreme examples of steroid use be used to demonize the average user of steroids?
In life, Nasser invited an intelligent and honest discussion of the health risks seen in competitive bodybuilding. In death, the complexity of Nasser’s life experiences should not be overlooked so that anti-steroid crusaders can conveniently assign blame to steroids.
About the author
Millard writes about anabolic steroids and performance enhancing drugs and their use and impact in sport and society. He discusses the medical and non-medical uses of anabolic-androgenic steroids while advocating a harm reduction approach to steroid education.
my friend Nasser whom I have met at many Mr O shows, expos and gyms was nothing other than a man of integrity and of high intellect..one of the past great gentle giants indeed…remembered fondly
You know in our sport of bodybuilding,you will never have great acceptance no matter what!.the author of the negative article regarding nasser is entitled to his opinion.alas it wouldn’t have hurt to be human at the same time.drugs are good and bad,be it as it may nasser was awesome and may almighty god have mercy on his soul!,
they never told you R I P but i have.
R I P NASSER.
I applaud Nasser for his honesty regarding the unhealthy bodybuilding lifestyle. He along with Andreas Munzer were two of the nicest guys in bodybuilding and both very intelligent with degrees. Unfortunately bodybuilding took a very unhealthy path in the early 90’s after Lee Haney retired with regards to mass. Some great aesthetically pleasing bodybuilders ruined their physiques trying to defeat Dorian Yates. For what it’s worth I believe Nassers physique was more complete than Yates, and Andreas Munzer never got the recognition he deserved.
The list of pro bodybuilders who have passed away young or who have suffered liver, kidney & heart problems is mind blowing. The only other sport this occurs in is wrestling and it’s no surprise that this is also a sport that requires the abuse of drugs. Even the bodybuilders from the 70’s are rarely living as long as your average person and many have health issues, which leads me to believe that even your average guy in the gym who’s cycling testosterone and Dbol etc on and off will pay a price later in life.
Nassers comments should be heard loud and clear. He has done bodybuilding a favour with his words. Unless bodybuilding takes a step backwards it will kill itself. In fact the word bodybuilding has become a very dirty word in mainstream.
Shame but if i remember correctly,Shawn ray smoked like a chimney,but i do guess this would have nothing to do with a fact if he had cancer and being a bodybuilder,yet people are the first to condemn bodybuilders and steroids,Another strange situation is bodybuilders like most fitness people drink protein drinks and most if not all protein drinks contain “SOY”,yes soy causes cancer,lets not forget those chocolate protein bars but again this would not have anything to do with bodybuilders getting cancer (sarcasm),maybe people like chris should start realising that it has more to do with our consumption of badly made food with cancer causing ingredients than to simple blame a hormone (steroids)…Corporate America protecting itself
Jeffrey, while the consumption of foods that contain some carcinogens can certainly contribute to cancer rates, it’s naive at best and flat out denial to claim that steroid intake is not playing a role in the repeated cases of untimely deaths of bodybuilders. You don’t think thousands of steroid users such as yourself haven’t tried to convince themselves that what they are doing isn’t dangerous or that these ailments won’t happen to them? But no matter how badly you want that to be the case, it doesn’t change the reality of the situation. That being said, I personally don’t have anything against one’s personal choice to use steroids….however, they should be realistic and educated about the pros and cons of using.
There are people who must assign the blame whenever something bad happens. And usually they blame extremes, which in bodybuilding are steroids. How about how much inspiration and beauty people like Nasser or Arnold brought into this world? That should never be overlooked. R.I.P. Nasser.