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A Teesside rope access scaffolder has spoken out about his near-fatal steroid addiction, which cost him more than £35,000 and left him in a medically-induced coma for seven days.
Zak Wilkinson, 32, from Middlesbrough, spent over two years abusing performance-enhancing drugs whilst preparing for bodybuilding competitions. The rope access scaffolder was injecting steroids up to three times daily, spending more than £750 each month on substances including Anavar, Masteron and Equipoise.
His extreme regime included six meals a day consisting of just five foods – broccoli, chicken, rice, egg whites and steak – alongside at least 45 minutes of daily cardio. He meticulously tracked every aspect of his diet and exercise, weighing even the syrups in his coffee and salt on his food. His Apple Watch constantly monitored his steps and calories burnt, whilst a notepad recorded his meals and morning weight.
On 23 March, Wilkinson’s brutal routine caught up with him when he began having seizures, vomiting and sweating profusely. His sister, Chelsea, 37, put him in the recovery position and called an ambulance.
He was rushed to the ICU unit at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, where doctors initially suspected meningitis. They soon realised his symptoms resulted from steroid use combined with fat loss tablets.
Medical staff placed him in a medically induced coma and advised his family to prepare for the worst. He was diagnosed with “likely provoked seizures in the context of multiple drugs”.
After a gruelling week, Wilkinson pulled through, though he remained non-verbal for three days. Doctors described it as miraculous that he avoided neurological damage. However, he has had to relearn how to walk and initially lacked the strength to lift his three-year-old son, Saint.
Wilkinson has recently appeared as a guest on The View with Vertex podcast, where he shared his story in detail with the aim of deterring other young people from following the same dangerous path.
Speaking about his addiction, he said: “They get a grip of you. When you’re on them you’re training a lot harder and more frequently. That’s when addiction can start becoming involved. For me, focusing and concentrating even more on myself meant I lost myself in the process. You get to a stage where it almost cost me my life.”
He explained that the addiction can go far beyond the physical effects. The steroid use can affect your libido, cause erectile dysfunction and lead to severe mood swings. “If you’re someone who suffered from mood swings it’s who you take them out on and you can become snappy,” he said.
The financial burden was equally significant. “The financial side as well – mine was high as I was injecting multiple times a day,” Wilkinson added. “When taking steroids you’re taking different hormones too whether it’s peptides or a growth hormone. I was taking fat loss tablets with it to accelerate weight loss.”
The combination of substances created a vicious cycle. “I was having more caffeine as I found myself tired more. For me everything was noted. I had a notepad with me tracking my meals, my weight on a morning. I had my Apple watch on me checking steps and checking calories burnt. It’s a very strict regime.”
Wilkinson’s story comes as former Great British Bake Off contestant John Whaite has also opened up about his struggles with steroids, revealing they led him to contemplate ending his life. Whaite began using the drugs after looking in the mirror and feeling hatred for his reflection.
“I can resonate,” said Wilkinson, who maintained a similarly strict diet to the Strictly star. “In this day and age now people are wanting to take things to make things look better facially and physically look huge. People are taking them to look good in a photo or a seven-day, 10 day holiday, whatever it may be. The sad effects are coming after it.”
Now recovered, Wilkinson hopes his experience will serve as a stark warning to others in the bodybuilding community and beyond about the devastating consequences of steroid abuse.
