Rich Piana’s arms: synthol or real muscle?

Translator’s comment:
There are probably as many people who have never heard of Rich Piana as there are who recognize his name. Either way, he is a colorful character. What follows is just one of the many opinions about him you can find online. I am not here to pass judgment on his appearance or what he does, but to introduce readers to the man. Piana is undoubtedly one of the most unusual and extreme figures in the bodybuilding subculture. He is very popular on YouTube, where he talks about his worldview and activities with a degree of candor. As a translator and bodybuilding enthusiast, perhaps my biggest question is where he gets the money to afford such a lavish lifestyle. He does explain it in some videos, but even so, can that really pay for all of this? Of course, the translated article is also a classic example of how bodybuilding and bodybuilders are generally viewed in certain circles.

Article:
Rich Piana, a former bodybuilder, is still an absolute monster, typically weighing 115-125 kg. He has long been the face of a popular supplement manufacturer, which has in turn earned him a following among admirers of muscular physiques. What makes him stand out is his exceptionally massive arms, measuring well over 20 inches (50 cm), his tattoos and his “get rich or die trying” attitude.

His obsession with building the biggest arms possible has led many people in the “game” to speculate about whether Piana has used synthol to make his biceps and triceps look even bigger. Piana’s arms look unnatural. Although the tattoos covering them make it harder to judge, they still have an odd shape, and their muscle separation somehow always looks “soft.”

PMMA – Rich Piana’s choice…

According to some sources, Rich Piana has used PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate) injections to make his arms what they are today. This is a synthetic, resin-like substance produced through the polymerization of methyl methacrylate. It is the same material often used instead of glass in products such as shatter-resistant windows, skylights and so on. In plastic surgery, the same substance is used in lip and buttock implants. Piana reportedly traveled to Mexico for these injections.

NattyOrNot.com does not condone treating your body this way and is firmly opposed to it. In the long term, this approach is likely to have painful consequences and damage your health.

Rich Piana’s obsession with arms this big is a sign that he is really an insecure balloon inflated with fake muscle. His entire body is utterly grotesque and reflects his inability to love himself for who he is. He uses steroids, PMMA, growth hormone and probably many other substances. All of this is combined with extensive tattoos and cosmetic surgery.

Piana has done everything in his power to escape his inner self. He feels more secure behind the “synthetic wall” he has built around himself through his appearance. Of course, this behavior is nothing unusual in bodybuilding; on the contrary, it is pretty much how that world works. In fact, almost all bodybuilders are alike, sharing the same fears—the fear that they are worth nothing without their outer shell. Outward splendor numbs the fear within.

If Piana weighed 90 kg, had no PMMA in his arms and did not have all those tattoos, he would look much better and would also avoid compromising his health. But he does not want that. He prefers to be a muscle mutant, which makes him nothing more than another drug-fueled idiot who has traded his balls for biceps.

People like Rich Piana live in “Fakeland” (a fake world), where “balloon muscles” and approval from complete strangers are what count. Everything in their world and around them is fake and artificial. Piana is the same on the inside as he is on the outside—shallow and oblivious. He is mindlessly chasing a dream he will never achieve.

To be honest, he is so confused that he does not even realize he is confused. Pointlessly flashy Hollywood cars, fake muscles, cosmetic surgery, fake hair color, fake skin—if this guy could somehow change his heart and soul, he would probably replace those too. Especially if people could see them. Rich Piana not only suffers from a serious addiction to banned substances, but has also hopelessly lost his true identity.

Yet what we read and see is not Rich Piana’s fault. Society as a whole has encouraged all of this. We want to see it ourselves. The need to be rich and famous drives people to turn their backs on their true potential and real values. We have come to believe that if we have no money and are not famous, we are worth nothing.

Nothing could be further from the truth. If you give it even a little thought, you do not have to be a rocket scientist to realize that the idols created by celebrity culture are fake and lead nowhere. All of them—the celebrities—are fake and live fake lives, just like Rich Piana.

They have lived amid illusions and lies for so long that they have actually forgotten what is genuine and what is not, what is real life and what is not. And that is very hard to escape.

Fyodor Dostoevsky: “Above all, do not lie to yourself. Someone who lies to himself and listens to his own lies eventually reaches a point where he can no longer recognize the truth within himself or around him, and loses respect for both himself and others. But when a person respects no one, he stops loving, and in the absence of love, to amuse and entertain himself, he gives himself over to desires and crude pleasures, becoming utterly beastlike in his vices—all through constantly lying to others and to himself.”