It’s not every day that we see someone go from unknown to a worldwide internet fitness sensation in a couple of years. Bodybuilders and athletes usually take some time to build an audience – and their physique – that’s why Sam Sulek’s rise to prominence in his early 20s as a fitness influencer comes as a shock to everyone.
Usually set apart for the massive figure he has been building since his late teens, Sam not only raises admiration, but also worries about the rapid and concerning speed of his muscle build at his age. His workout routine is also a sight to behold, given the ego-lifting techniques that he’s so proud of showing off, but that’s just another factor that makes him such a divisive figure in the fitness and bodybuilding world.
So what happened for Sam to look like he does today? Why is everyone in an uproar about him, and what are the common criticisms that his lifestyle causes? Keep watching to learn this and more about Sam Sulek’s transformation!
Who is Sam Sulek?
To understand Sam Sulek, we must learn who the man behind the YouTube sensation is. Sam was born on 7 February 2002 in Delaware, Ohio USA, and attended Rutherford B. Hayes High School.
Years before becoming a fitness influencer, Sam practiced competitive gymnastics and diving, although he didn’t start the latter until his junior year of high school in 2018. until then, Sam limited to summer camps from the age eight, but the diving skills he developed were so impressive that he made it into local Delaware newspapers for his achievements. He eventually joined the diving team at the University of Miami, when he enrolled in an Engineering Mechanics degree program in 2020.
The current uproar over Sam’s physique doesn’t have anything to do with his diving background, though. In early 2023, he started sharing his progress on YouTube and social media, leaving behind his slim and slightly muscular athletic build in exchange for a massively muscular one. That resulted in Sam becoming one of the most influential bodybuilders of our time, even if his methods haven’t been without criticism.
Physical Transformation
The attention to Sam Salek’s physical condition is well deserved, as fans and detractors can’t help but have many questions about how fast his physical build has progressed since he started showing his fitness journey on the internet.
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While some fitness influencers haven’t hesitated to break down Sam’s routine for the less knowledgeable audiences to understand, the truth is that Sam does a great job at showing many details about his daily routines on the internet. His YouTube channel is heaven-like for those who want to follow in his steps, or just feel an evergreen curiosity over his routines, which mostly consist of repetitions and a lot of effort.
Sam is also not afraid of howing off, usually pushing himself to the limits of weightlifting, claiming that it makes his mood go up. His routines are loose though, meaning that Sam does what he wants and how he wants it at the gym, not necessarily following a structured or tight workout schedule. His diet is also less strict than that of veteran bodybuilders, consuming around 5,000 to 6,000 calories a day, according to specialized sites.
The results of Sam Salek’s time at the gym are visible to everyone, even those who have no idea of how he looked before he began spending every day at the gym. Though Sam weighed 233lbs by late 2023, nothing is for sure ,given that weight often fluctuates for bodybuilders.
Bodybuilding Competition
Sam Sulek had accomplished a lot in bodybuilding, long before debuting in a real competition. That long-awaited moment finally happened in February 2025, when the then 23-year-old Ohio native entered the worldwide famous NPC Legends Classic competition celebrated in Las Vegas.
His journey, from preparation to his eventual victory, was featured in a video that Sam himself posted on his YouTube channel, letting his fans see everything that went behind accomplishing one of the goals he had worked towards for years. He won in the Classic Physique category by sporting an 80-ish look resembling Arnold Schwarzenegger, and showing off his other-worldly muscles, though he had to go through a couple of rounds before reaching the competition’s final stage.
It isn’t shocking that Sam’s physique gained the audiences’ and judges’ favor, as professional bodybuilding was something he’d been pursuing since the beginning of his journey, as he confessed to the “Real Bodybuilding Podcast” in August 2023. However, at that time, he’d also confessed that competing was still a faraway possibility, making his eventual victory just one year and a half year’s later all the more impressive.
Criticism
It’s not hard to see the reasons why Sam Sulek is a divisive figure in the fitness world. The rapid growth of his physical build is just as concerning for experts as his influence is, all because Sam is believed to consume performance-enhancing substances (PES). This is common talk among social media users, who can’t help but comment on how Sam’s former natural athletic body was a world away from the one he has nowadays.
Given Sam’s prominence on YouTube, it’s worth noting that fellow fitness influencers and experts have also commented on his alleged PES usage. People such as Zack Telander from the “More Plates More Dates” and Jeff Cavaliere from the channel ATHLEAN-X have strongly suggested that Sam’s transformation can be attributed to enhancing drugs, with the latter also affirming that the consequences of Sam’s habits were extremely concerning.
Of course, not all criticism about Sam is about his alleged drug use. The YouTuber Jeff Nippard, whose scientific fitness focus made him famous, rated Sam’s effort, routine intensity, and overall enjoyment very highly, though remarking that his routine structure was weak, among other factors. The YouTuber and physician Dr. Chris Raynor also approached the subject of Sam’s physique from a medical perspective, and citing the overall risks that he’s assuming to reach the appearance he desires.
Rise to Fame
Not everyone on the internet has a negative opinion about Sam Sulek, even if the criticism about him isn’t hard to find. Just by looking at Sam’s social media, it’s easily noticeable that his journey is well-perceived by a huge part of his audience, who don’t hesitate to leave support messages.
Sam’s TikTok account was the firstto attract most attention, having its beginnings in mid-2022, and gaining him his first stable audience on the internet. These days, his follower count on the short-video platform is over two and a half million, and is continually growing. Then there’s his YouTube channel, on which he’s shared hundreds of videos since early 2023, and gained over four million subscribers.
Last but not least, there’s Sam’s Instagram account, which is by far his largest platform with six million followers. It’s no wonder that the young man is currently regarded as one of the most influential figures in the bodybuilding and fitness world, though that also makes him the focus of considerable criticism.
While many don’t consider Sam to be a positive fitness influence on younger people due to his lifestyle, one huge reason for him becoming so successful is that he’s relatable to a huge part of his audience, and that charisma is something that can’t be faked or replicated.
