Bodybuilder and four-time Mr. Universe champion Mike O’Hearn sat down with Ariel Helwani and addressed one of the longest-running questions surrounding his career: whether he has ever used PEDs.
O’Hearn did not hesitate when Helwani asked him directly, “True or false, you’ve never taken PEDs?” According to O’Hearn, the debate no longer exists because people can now see the genetics behind his physique.
“That’s not a debate anymore,” O’Hearn said. “It was a debate before I had a kid. Now they see and they go, ‘Oh, there’s genetics.’ By 13, 14, I was already winning bodybuilding shows and powerlifting. By 15, I was 280 lbs. And my son is further ahead than that. At seven, he looks like a mutant.”
O’Hearn explained that throughout his bodybuilding and powerlifting journey, he always valued consistency and hard work over shortcuts.
“My choices for my entire powerlifting, bodybuilding, or anything has been I love the work,” he said. “I don’t mind doing it. I don’t mind dieting all year. And I knew my career would have been over in the late ’80s, ’90s if I followed the path.”
He then recalled advice he received from legendary bodybuilding promoter Joe Weider early in his career. After photographing O’Hearn alongside several Mr. Olympia competitors, Weider allegedly encouraged him to stay natural and continue on his current path.
“Don’t change what you’re doing. Don’t be like those guys,” Weider told him. “Keep doing what you’re doing. This is what you love and you have a niche. So continue your path like this.”
According to O’Hearn, he eventually understood exactly what Weider meant.
“You destroy yourself as a youngster, you’re not going to be here as an adult,” he said.
O’Hearn pointed to his longevity in the sport as proof that his approach worked. He noted that he has been competing since the early 1980s and still trains and performs at a high level today.
“I started competing in ’83 and it’s what, 2026?” O’Hearn said. “And it’s like I’m still doing this. I’m still training with the strongest men in the world. I’m still on stage guest posing.”
When Helwani mentioned that many people automatically assume someone with O’Hearn’s physique must be using PEDs, the bodybuilding veteran pushed back and criticized many of the people making those accusations.
“The guys that talk about it or say that I am, you ever seen them?” O’Hearn said. “They’re decades younger than me and they’re already destroyed and they’re already broken. So you got the guys that are saying it, but they’re destroyed.”
He continued, “I started 20 years before them and I’m still here after 20 years. Are you telling me that st**oids are great for you? They’ll keep you injury-free, they’ll keep you youthful, they won’t hurt you? Because all I’ve heard is if you do it, it’s a bad thing… The guys that talk about it look like sh*t now and they only lasted five or six years.”
O’Hearn also emphasized that the Mr. Universe competitions he won involved mandatory PED testing. He added that he had been tested throughout multiple stages of his athletic career, including bodybuilding, powerlifting, and even television appearances.
“I’ve been tested more than anybody because I had to be tested in my teenage years,” he said. “Gladiators is a game show, so you’re tested. All my powerlifting, all my bodybuilding was tested.”
He further claimed that he regularly competed in both tested and untested divisions at the same time, often outperforming athletes competing in the so-called “drug shows.”
“I’d always do the natural show or the bodybuilding show and then follow it up with a d**g show,” O’Hearn explained.
While discussing PEDs and injuries, O’Hearn also shared his perspective on why ste**id users often experience physical breakdowns over time.
“St**oids don’t develop connective tissue,” he said. “They don’t do bone density. It builds muscle. Now you got this strong muscle and these weak connective tissues. You keep lifting heavier and heavier. Snap, snap, snap.”
As for whether he can identify PED users just by looking at them, O’Hearn admitted that he cannot always tell. “No, I can’t,” he said. “I just know there’s too much genetic gifts.”
