Fitness influencers linked to illegal steroid market on social media

Fitness influencers who publicly represent a global wellness brand are involved in running an illegal steroid market on social media, the Guardian can reveal.

Gencore Global presents itself as a UK-based health and wellness company and has recently appeared at FitXpo North West, a fitness event in Greater Manchester. It has also sponsored a racehorse, launched a UK combat sports and influencer boxing promotion, and is set to attend the National Running Show in Birmingham next year.

Its website sells skincare products, hair-loss treatments and supplements, and describes itself as a “revolutionary movement” offering consumers access to supplements, cosmetics, coaching and health checks.

However, the Guardian has identified a dozen Gencore ambassadors, affiliates and employees – with a collective following of more than 180,000 on TikTok and Instagram – who are also promoting steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs through an underground Telegram network, initially operating under the name Rohm, which was shut down, now renamed Anabolic By Nature.

ANONYMOUS: Is Rohm anabolics connected with this chat?

GENCORE AMBASSADOR: Yeah this is Rohm, just rebranded the chat.

Gencore ambassadors are actively recruiting people to join them, with experts warning that the line between fitness culture and illegal drug promotion is becoming increasingly blurred.

GENCORE AMBASSADOR: Anyone here make content? Have connections? Would like to learn how to make commission and money online and from home? Message me.

Anabolic steroids are synthetic versions of the male sex hormone testosterone, used to increase muscle growth, strength and recovery. They work by boosting protein synthesis in muscle cells, which can lead to faster gains in size and improved recovery after training. However, they come with significant health risks, especially when used without medical supervision or in high doses. These include suppression of natural testosterone production, infertility, acne, hair loss, mood changes such as aggression or depression, and increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and liver damage.

As well as anabolic steroids, the Telegram network also advertises peptides, testosterone replacement therapy, and prescription-only medications.

In the UK, anabolic steroids are legal to possess for personal use, but it is illegal to sell, supply or distribute without a licence. Importing them without proper authorisation is also unlawful.

ANONYMOUS: why is the website never constantly up

ADMIN: Imagine running an illegal business & expecting it to be up 24/7

Other substances touted through the channels include prescription-only medicines such as human growth hormone, the weight-loss drug tirzepatide, and the acne treatment tretinoin – as well as unregulated experimental peptides including BPC-157 and TB-500, which are illegal to sell with medicinal or wellness claims.

Peptides occur naturally in the body – for example, insulin. However, in recent years there has been a boom in using peptides for therapeutic purposes, from weight loss to anti-ageing and recovery from injury. Some of these peptides remain experimental and unregulated, with little scientific evidence for their benefits in humans.

ANONYMOUS: Hi guys. How much would you take of the recovery pen that’s on the menu.

GENCORE AMBASSADOR A: I did 1mg BPC, 1mg TB-500, and it completely fixed me.

GENCORE AMBASSADOR B: Same protocol I used. Sorted my shoulder right out.

At least six admins on Anabolic By Nature have the same usernames or images as Gencore ambassadors, employees or affiliates. The Gencore founder and chief executive, Darren Wicks, leads the Telegram group, letting users know when items are in stock, defending their delivery delays, and even giving advice on transporting steroids through airports.

ANONYMOUS: Going Egypt next month I’m not sure it’s a good idea to take gear there.

In a video, Wicks replies: “I promise you now, I’ve flown to Dubai on three separate occasions, and every time I’ve taken all my meds with me, all my anabolics with me, and all my supps [supplements] with me, and not once have I been stopped, or questioned. They’re not looking for your half a vial of Test-E and your little pot of winstrol. They’re looking for bombs. You’ll be all right.”

In the same chat, Wicks suggests chat members can sign up to be Gencore ambassadors, noting this brings commission on sales they refer. On the website they use to illegally sell dozens of steroids and peptides, they advertise 12% commission on sales.

Gencore ambassadors talk openly about taking steroids on different social media platforms. One, Lewis G, often posts about the steroids he’s using on TikTok under the handle LJG Fitness. His videos have more than 22,000 likes in total.

In one he described suffering serious psychological side-effects after using trenbolone, a powerful anabolic steroid commonly known as “tren”. Although he described himself as “a calm person”, he said he started having “a few arguments with the missus that went a bit out of control”, and after a few weeks “started feeling a bit mentally unstable”.

TikTok users are directed via links in his biography to the Anabolic By Nature sales platform and discussion chat, as well as Gencore. He did not respond when asked to comment on this. Wicks said that Gencore Global “did not sell steroids” and, responding to the claim that a number of their affiliates are selling steroids via Telegram, that “crossover between communities happens all the time”.

The underground steroid Telegram groups are repeatedly shut down and recreated, but continue to attract large audiences. Anabolic By Nature was rebuilt from a previous channel called “rohm v2”. The latter had more than 13,000 members in November 2025, while Anabolic By Nature amassed more than 5,500 members since April.

Geoff Bates, a lecturer in public health policy at the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Bath, said social media was “increasing the normalisation of steroid culture, linked with more prominent norms around masculinity and appearance”.

He said: “Social media is a powerful driver of how people think and see themselves, with increasing numbers using platforms to reinforce norms, expectations and standards around body image and masculinity.”

He said there is an “overlap with steroid use and wellness”, something he has consistently observed over the past 20 years.

“People using steroids often think of themselves as doing it for wellbeing reasons as part of a general fitness programme,” he said. “Some of these drugs can be used to enhance training and become part of something bigger, but the concern is that people believe they are doing something beneficial for their wellbeing when that may not necessarily be the case.

ANONYMOUS: I don’t care about being massive. Just want the quality of life from high [testosterone] and a nice physique. It’s a big decision to make at 21 but I wanna feel like a lion not a lamb.

“It has become increasingly normalised – you go to the gym, take supplements, and using these substances can seem like just another part of that culture. It gives the impression that everyone is doing it, when the reality can be very different.”