A 16-year-old bodybuilding influencer named Braeden Brah has become the center of controversy after openly documenting his self-directed testosterone use, a case that lays bare how a teenager’s own explanations for starting “TRT” fall apart under basic scrutiny.
The story starts with a transformation between ages 13 and 14 that the teen has described as natural. Photos from that period show him going from an average-looking, slightly heavier kid to someone with visibly more muscle mass.
He was reportedly bench pressing 225 lbs (102 kg) for three reps at age 13. By 15, he was pressing 105 lb (47.6 kg) dumbbells, and by 16, he had moved up to 315 lbs (143 kg) for two reps.
His own account of his hormone history complicates the “natural” claim. He has stated he used MK-677 before ever touching testosterone.
In March, when he says he was not using anything, his testosterone level measured 250 ng/dL. When he later had blood work done at 15, the number came back at 228 ng/dL.
By his own description, he began self-administering testosterone at 200 mg to start, then raised the dose to 275 mg in July, an amount he later called “very high” in his own words. He has said he was not prescribed this by a doctor, explaining that his endocrinologist appointment was not available until March 2027 and that he “took matters into my own hands.”
Follow-up blood work showed testosterone at 1,100 ng/dL, well outside a normal reference range, with free testosterone measured at 366, more than triple the upper limit of the standard range of 18 to 111.
He has also said he went to a doctor after experiencing cardiovascular discomfort, telling the physician he was injecting every other day. According to his own retelling, he did not disclose this visit to his father. He later said he planned to lower his dose to 200 mg, and separately agreed that 100 mg was “probably where I need to be,” though he did not report making that reduction.
Among the reasons he has given for starting: difficulty getting morning erections, low mood, and a belief that environmental factors were suppressing his hormone levels. He has also acknowledged watching content from other influencers and being aware of at least one friend, fellow influencer Eric English, who was also using PEDs.
Taken together, his own timeline shows a self-diagnosed condition, a self-prescribed dose nearly triple what many adults use, no physician oversight, and lab results confirming levels far above any therapeutic range, an outcome that reads less like hormone replacement and more like a teenager talking himself into a decision doctors never approved.
