A young man from Manchester has shared his experience of what it was like getting his "man boobs" removed, which only developed after taking steroids.
Danny Smith, 27, began bodybuilding as a teenager and trained regularly to maintain his muscle mass. But he also took anabolic-androgenic steroids to increase the level of his weightlifting performance.
Things began to take a turn for the worse for Danny during lockdown, however, when gyms across the country closed. Because of this, he was unable to train and soon developed "man boobs", which he believes came about as a result of taking the steroids.
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As the breasts grew, Danny stated he felt "out of shape" and his mental health began to decline. In 2021, he underwent gynecomastia surgery to remove excess breast tissue, fat and sagging skin - which resulted in a whopping £5,000 bill.
“Before, I hated my body and I would put tape over my nipples to feel confident and would be scared to take off my t-shirt on holidays," Danny told Jam Press. "Because I had surgery, I couldn’t lift anything over 10lbs for four weeks.."
Danny says he started exercise again in a bid to get back into shape after the surgery. He says he worked on a calorie deficit plan with his friend, who is an online coach.
“My best friend is an online coach, so I spoke to him for some guidance and we got a calorie deficit diet plan together. After gyms opened, I started lifting weights again and I trained six times a week.
"Now, I’m confident and get a lot of attention from females. Mentally, I am strong and physically, I’m in the best shape of my life."
It has now been eleven months since Danny received the surgery and he feels that he has achieved his ultimate body goal, however recognises that many sacrifices had to be made. He stopped having an active social life and would refuse to go drinking on weekends while he consistently struggles with craving junk food.
He also swapped his McDonald's breakfasts for mixed berries and fat-free yoghurt, and his daily lunchtime takeaways have been replaced with a chicken wrap and peppers.
Danny shared his fitness journey and experiences with surgery on TikTok and Instagram, which has now received 437,000 views and 27,000 likes on one post. In one clip, he shows himself working out before revealing his toned physique.
“Great job,” one viewer commented. Another person added: “This is f***ing good.”
“One hell of a surgeon. No scar at all,” someone else wrote. One person said: “Huge respect, dude. Amazing work.”
“This is insane!” another viewer added.
He added: “I’ve had people tell me I’m their inspiration, which means the world to me and it motivates me to be better each day. I want to learn more about nutrition, as well as help people who want to transform their bodies.
“Life in general is a whole lot better – I’m a big believer in feel good, look good."
Dr Hassan Nurein, specialist in gynecomastia surgery at Harley Street, said: ""Gynecomastia means enlarged breasts in males or female like breasts in men. Men who use anabolic steroids can end up with enlarged breasts due to imbalance of sex hormones leading to enlarged breast tissue.
"This usually affects confidence choice of clothing, limitations in social activities eg swimming holidays and even going to the gym. Male chest reduction is quite common partly because of social media and due to increased awareness of this condition and available advances in surgical treatments.
"It is crucial that this condition is initially assessed by your doctor and any concurrent medical conditions or sinister causes are ruled out first. Surgery is a last resort if other means fail."
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