Connor Murphy is a modern-day bodybuilding prankster/entertainer. For those who don’t know Connor, he’s the dude who makes a (phenomenal) living on YouTube by pulling girls and coming up with inventive ways to troll people.
Connor appeals mostly to skinny college guys who want to attract 9/10 girls, by getting ripped to shreds.
With over 512k followers on Instagram and 1.5 million subscribers on YouTube, it’s fair to say Connor’s physique has attracted a lot of attention online.
Fact: Connor Murphy makes up to $15k a month from his YouTube videos (1).
So, has Connor Murphy taken steroids, helping him pull more women than Barney Stinson…or is he just naturally swole brah?
Claims to Be Natty
It’s always a good sign when someone comes out on video and addresses steroid accusations. This is a positive sign because if you’re secretly taking steroids and people are throwing accusations, the last thing you’d want to do is go on camera and have to lie (unwanted stress).
However, there IS evidence to suggest some people who’ve gone on camera have lied about their natty status – including David Laid and Ulisses Jr.
With others who are taking steroids, when they’re on camera they tend to deflect and can’t openly come out and say “I’m natural, I’ve never taken steroids”.
However, Connor gets straight to the point in the video and says “I am natural, I’ve never taken anything”.
This is what’s called a ‘reliable denial’. Aka it’s a strong indicator he’s telling the truth, especially when using the past tense. He’s also honest enough to say that “not everyone can for sure build a physique like me because there is that genetic factor”.
…Whereas other bodybuilders naively state that it’s possible for anyone to look like them if they train hard and eat smart, which isn’t exactly true.
Genetics are huge in bodybuilding and have an even bigger effect on muscle growth than steroids.
This is why you often get natural guys in the gym, who are way more jacked than the dude you know’s been juicing their nuts off for the last 3 years.
Body Composition
There’s usually many warning signs that someone’s juicing…just from looking at their body.
Flushed skin, boulder shoulders, paper-thin skin with veins for days…
Connor has none of these.
Not only is there a trace of steroids when looking at Connor’s body but there’s even evidence to suggest he’s natty by looking at his proportions. Not to criticize the guy but his shoulders are weak in comparison to his biceps/triceps.
As you probably know, steroid-user’s shoulders often turn into cannonballs when they start cycling. This is because the deltoids have a high number of androgen receptors, so they’re more susceptible to muscle growth than other muscle groups.
Because his shoulders aren’t very well developed for his overall size, this is why his muscle definition in this region isn’t great, despite being very lean.
His muscles also look smooth which is a sign of a real natty. They aren’t too smooth, so he’s not retaining a lot of water but they’re certainly not dry. Guys on diuretic steroids like trenbolone or winstrol are easy to spot because they’re dryer than a 7 year old cream cracker.
Gains Timeline
How has Connor’s physique changed throughout the years?
Was he a skinny runt, who within the space of a year got suspiciously swole…or does his gains timeline look natural?
At 17 years old he was already a beast weighing a lean 185lbs.
Then he plateaued for 3 years.
Then he gained another 20lbs in a year, to get up to 205lbs.
We know that after a natty experiences their newbie gains, their growth is very limited; as they would’ve pretty much fulfilled their genetic potential. However, in Connor’s case he gains another 20lbs in weight.
Connor’s explanation for this weight gain is the following:
- It wasn’t all lean muscle. He gained body fat as he was bulking and got taller as he was still growing.
- He changed up his training, going from a routine that consisted of a full body workout (which lasted 45 mins) every other day; to a 3 day split; effectively tripling his volume.
Taking all of these factors into consideration it’s very reasonable to believe this extra 20lbs was gained naturally.
5-10lbs of it could literally have nothing to do with muscle. And if you triple your training volume you’re always going to blow up.
The fact that Connor was only doing a full body workout every other day is a testament to his genetics, because this is such little volume, yet doing this (at 17 y/o) was still enough to get him jacked.
Also it wouldn’t make sense for Connor to have taken steroids after the age of 17, because he wouldn’t have gained a measly 20lbs; he would’ve gained roughly 65lbs (taking into consideration he was still growing and simultaneously bulking).
Competition History (Drug Testing)
Connor Murphy once competed in the Men’s Physique category with the NPC.
Does the NPC test for steroids and is it a legit natty federation?
The short answer is no.
…I mean they do ‘test for steroids’ but it’s not legit.
Steroid-users can easily pass their drug tests in their ‘natural’ classes, as they conduct tests on specified dates. In which case, it’s easy for a steroid-user to cycle off in time for the test, letting any steroids clear out of his system.
Legit natty federations won’t give you the date of the test and will instead conduct random tests throughout the year.
However, just because Connor’s competed in the NPC doesn’t make him a steroid-user; it just means he’s likely competing against guys on the sauce. Also there isn’t a lot of genuine natty federations around, where all bodybuilders on stage are 100% natural; so it is common for natural bodybuilders to compete in non-natty events.
Credible natural organisations do exist, but they’re few and far between.
Verdict
We found no evidence to suggest Connor Murphy has taken steroids.
Connor’s gains timeline is typical of a natty bodybuilder, he gave a ‘reliable denial’ in the video in regards to taking steroids; and has no steroid symptoms at all.
Connor Murphy is a case of awesome genetics.
It’s also worth noting that although Connor looks BIG without a shirt on, with one on he doesn’t look that impressive. This just shows that if you’re lean you can look jacked, even if you’re not a mass monster.
References
