Is Chul Soon Natural or Taking Steroids?

Chul Soon has never been publicly caught using steroids. His own website once billed him as a natural bodybuilder, and he made his name in Musclemania, a federation that markets its shows as natural. Even so, his photos show a big jump in size between 2011 and 2014, after years of training, and his extreme muscle fullness makes many observers doubt the natural claim. Photos alone cannot settle the question either way.

Hwang Chul-soon, known internationally as Chul Soon, is a South Korean bodybuilder and the 2016 Musclemania Universe pro champion. He has also worked as a fitness model and appeared in TV adverts in South Korea.

His look is unusual even by bodybuilding standards. His muscle bellies are so full and round that they seem to pop out of his frame, and people online have accused his photos of being photoshopped, until they see that he looks the same on video.

Below is an honest look at the public evidence: what Musclemania testing does and does not prove, his gains timeline, the physique markers people point to, and which compounds get named and why.

Chul Soon at a Glance

What Chul Soon Has Said About Being Natural

When this article was first written, his official website, ChulSoon.com, described him as “among the most popular natural bodybuilders and sports models in the world”. That is the clearest public natural claim connected to him.

We are not aware of any failed drug test, admission of steroid use or first-hand account of him using drugs. That matters, because many natty-or-not debates rest on nothing more than how big someone looks. “He looks huge, so he must be on steroids” is not evidence. The fair approach is to look at what can actually be checked: the testing he has been through, how his physique changed over time and how strong each physique marker really is.

Musclemania Drug Testing: What It Proves and What It Doesn’t

The federation an athlete competes in can say a lot about the testing they face. Musclemania promotes its shows as natural bodybuilding. Its rules, as published when this article was first written, required the top five finishers to give a urine sample straight after competing. A positive result meant disqualification and a ban of at least two years.

That is real testing, but it has a well-known weakness: the date is known in advance. Many short-acting compounds clear the body within days to weeks, so an athlete who stops in good time can pass an event-day test. Others, such as nandrolone, can be detected for months, so a clean test makes those less likely.

Stricter natural federations and Olympic-style anti-doping programmes add unannounced out-of-competition tests throughout the year. Those are much harder to beat. So the honest reading is this: competing and placing in Musclemania does not prove Chul Soon is natural, and it is not evidence that he uses steroids either.

Chul Soon’s Gains Timeline

The gains timeline is usually the most useful evidence in a natty-or-not analysis. Natural lifters gain fastest in their first one to two years, then progress slows to a few pounds of muscle a year at best (see our guide to realistic muscle gain per month). A lifter who has clearly plateaued after many years and then suddenly gets much bigger raises fair questions.

2008

He is already in very good shape on stage in 2008. This is not a beginner: the development suggests several years of serious training before this photo.

2010-2011

In 2010 and 2011 he looks much the same as in 2008. That is what you would expect from an experienced natural lifter: two to three more years of training, but no dramatic change.

2014

By 2014 he looks far bigger and fuller, especially through the shoulders, chest and arms. The original version of this article put the gain at “at least 50 lbs of lean mass”. That number cannot be measured from photos, and we have removed it. What the photos do show is a large visible change after a long period of looking much the same.

What the Jump Does and Doesn’t Show

A late jump in size after years of slow progress is one of the classic red flags described in our guide to steroids vs natural bodybuilders. It is the strongest point in the case against Chul Soon being natural.

There are other explanations that can shrink the gap between photos:

• Photo conditions: pump, lighting, tan, camera angle and lens all change how big someone looks.
• Body fat and season: a lifter carrying more food and water looks bigger; a fully peaked, lean athlete looks more detailed and “3D”.
• Training and diet changes: a better programme or more food can restart progress, though rarely by this much this late.

These can explain part of the difference, not all of it. The jump remains a reasonable point of suspicion, but it is not proof.

Since 2016

His 2016 Musclemania Universe pro title remains his best-known contest result, and his public profile since appears to rest mainly on fitness modelling, adverts and social media rather than a long contest career. As of 2026 we know of no result in a federation with year-round random testing, no failed test and no admission either way.

The comparison photos in this article stop at 2014. For anyone weighing the question, later photos are the fair test: natural development predicts he would hold roughly that size with small changes, while further big jumps would strengthen the case against him being natural.

The 3D Shoulders

Much of Chul Soon’s “3D” look comes from his shoulders. His delts are very large and round compared with his waist, and they stand out from his arms and chest even when he is relaxed.

The original article called 3D delts “a strong indication of steroid use” because the shoulders supposedly have more androgen receptors. The evidence for that is thinner than it sounds. Small muscle-biopsy studies have found more androgen receptors in the trapezius (upper back and neck) than in a thigh muscle, which is where the “traps and delts grow most on steroids” idea comes from. It does not make big shoulders a test for drug use.

Natural lifters with favourable muscle shape, a narrow waist and very low body fat can have strikingly round delts, and leanness, tan and lighting exaggerate the effect. Delts like his are more common in enhanced physiques, so they add to the suspicion, but they are not evidence on their own.

Has His Face Changed?

In this comparison he looks noticeably different, and the original article took that as proof that growth hormone had enlarged his skull and nose. That claim goes too far.

Long-term excess growth hormone in adults, as in the medical condition acromegaly, does gradually enlarge the jaw, brow, nose, hands and feet. But it takes years of high levels, and face shape in photos changes for many ordinary reasons: body fat and water, age, lighting, expression, hairstyle and how close the camera is (a phone held close makes the nose look larger). Two photos cannot diagnose growth hormone use.

The original article also argued that growth hormone explained some bloating in his midsection. His physique is known for a small waist under very wide shoulders, not for the distended “bubble gut” often linked to heavy growth hormone and insulin use (palumboism), so this marker does not point anywhere either.

Our Assessment: Is Chul Soon Natural?

On the public evidence, we cannot say Chul Soon uses steroids. The case for doubt rests mainly on the 2011-2014 jump and on muscle fullness at very low body fat that sits at or beyond the top end of what is usually seen in natural lifters. The case for natural rests on his own claim, years of documented training and the lack of any failed test or admission.

Event-day testing leaves the question open, and only stricter testing could settle it. For comparison, see the athletes in our list of the best natural bodybuilders, who compete under tighter drug-testing rules.

Which Compounds Get Named, and Why

The original article listed growth hormone, testosterone, Equipoise and Deca Durabolin as drugs he had “almost certainly” used. Nothing in the public record supports that certainty. These are simply the names that come up whenever an enhanced physique is discussed, and none of them can be identified from photos.

Testosterone

Testosterone is the base of nearly every steroid cycle, so it is the default guess for any athlete suspected of use. It builds muscle across the whole body; it does not create a particular look.

Growth Hormone

Growth hormone is named because of the facial comparison, which, as above, is weak evidence. It is also a weaker muscle builder than many assume: a 2008 systematic review in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that growth hormone raised lean body mass in healthy, physically fit adults but did not improve strength. More on how it is used and its risks in our guide to HGH for men.

Nandrolone (Deca Durabolin) and Boldenone (Equipoise)

These two get named for “thickness” and for chest and shoulder development. Users often report a fuller look on nandrolone, partly from water retention, but no steroid targets specific muscles. The old claim that Equipoise builds the chest and delts in particular has no evidence behind it. As noted above, long-acting nandrolone is also one of the compounds most likely to show up on an event-day test.