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No, Larry Wheels is not natural, and he has never claimed to be. He has said publicly that he started his first steroid cycle at 17, moved to testosterone replacement therapy in 2022, and admitted in 2024 that he had relapsed onto a full cycle.
That honesty is part of why his story matters. Larry Williams, the lifter the internet knows as Larry Wheels, built one of the heaviest raw powerlifting totals ever recorded, then spent the next six years talking openly about what the drugs behind it cost him. This profile covers his height, weight and verified lifts, his move into strongman, arm wrestling, bodybuilding and boxing, and exactly what he has said about steroids.
This article is informational and not a substitute for individual medical advice. Anabolic steroids carry real health risks, and anyone with questions about hormones should speak to a qualified doctor.
Quick Facts
Larry Wheels at a Glance
| Fact | Details |
|---|---|
| Real name | Larry Williams |
| Born | December 3, 1994, New York City, USA |
| Nationality | American, with family roots on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin |
| Height | About 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) |
| Competition bodyweight | 108.7 to 134.5 kg (240 to 297 lb) across his powerlifting meets |
| Best raw total | 1,075 kg (2,370 lb) at the 2020 XPC Arnold |
| Known for | Raw powerlifting totals, strongman, arm wrestling, bodybuilding and a large YouTube following |
| Natural? | No. He has publicly discussed steroid use since his late teens |
The bodyweight range comes from his officially recorded meet weigh-ins. Off the platform his weight has moved a lot depending on the sport he was chasing, from powerlifting mass to a much lighter Classic Physique stage weight.
Early Life
Williams spent his early childhood in Brooklyn and Yonkers before the family settled in the Bronx around 2000. At roughly 12 he moved to Saint Martin to live with his mother, where local gyms would not let a kid his age train.
So he trained at home with whatever he could find. By the time he returned to New York and joined a proper gym, he was outlifting grown men. By 17 he believed he was the strongest person in the building, and at 18 he entered his first powerlifting meet.
He has also been candid about his teenage years. In a video discussed by BarBend in 2017, he described drinking and using recreational drugs as a teenager and said he swapped those habits for steroids, a decision he later came to regret.
Powerlifting and Strongman Career
Raw Powerlifting Records
Larry Wheels made his name in raw powerlifting, competing without supportive suits or bench shirts. His meet history on OpenPowerlifting shows a lifter who added weight to his total almost every year from 2013 to 2020.
| Lift | Best in competition | Meet |
|---|---|---|
| Squat | 394.6 kg (870 lb) | 2020 XPC Arnold |
| Bench press | 292.5 kg (645 lb) | 2020 XPC Arnold |
| Deadlift | 400 kg (882 lb) | 2018 USPA Kern US Open |
| Total | 1,075 kg (2,370 lb) | 2020 XPC Arnold |
His first meet in 2013 produced an 821 kg total. By November 2016 he had pushed that to 985 kg in the 110 kg class, and in 2017 and 2018 he crossed 1,030 kg as a 125 to 140 kg lifter.
The peak came at the Arnold in March 2020. Weighing 128.6 kg, he squatted 394.6 kg, benched 292.5 kg and pulled 387.8 kg for a 1,075 kg total, reported at the time as an all-time raw world record for the 140 kg (308 lb) class. The 292.5 kg bench was a full-meet record in that class. It was also his last powerlifting meet.
Strongman
Wheels moved into strongman in 2019. He debuted at the Odd Haugen Classic without reaching the podium, then guested at the Giants Live World Log Lift Championships, where he pressed 202.5 kg and tied for fifth.
Injuries kept interrupting the project. A biceps injury ruled him out of the 2019 World Deadlift Championships, and in 2022 he withdrew from Middle East’s Strongest Man, where he had planned a 1,000 lb (454 kg) deadlift attempt, after hurting his back.
Arm Wrestling
Arm wrestling gave Wheels his most public lessons in specificity. In October 2020 he faced the Russian champion known as Schoolboy in a left-arm superfight and lost 5 to 0. In December 2021, at King of the Table 2.0, he took the first two rounds against Brandon Allen before Allen won four straight to take the match 4 to 2.
He has also trained and sparred with Devon Larratt, one of the sport’s best-known names, but those sessions were not sanctioned matches. The takeaway for lifters is simple: a 290 kg bench does not transfer automatically to a table sport built on tendon strength, hand position and technique.
Bodybuilding and Boxing
Wheels won the heavyweight class and overall at the 2018 NPC Gold Coast Muscle Classic in his first bodybuilding show. He returned in 2023 in Classic Physique, winning the NPC Ultimate Warriors overall and finishing second at the NPC Amateur Olympia.
In May 2025 he earned his IFBB Pro Card in Classic Physique in Dublin and placed 10th of 12 in the pro show on the same day. In a March 2026 video he talked about bulking for a future move to Men’s Open.
Then came combat sports. On August 22, 2026, he boxed internet personality Vitaly Zdorovetskiy at Brand Risk 15 in Miami. Wheels scored an early knockdown, but the bout was ruled a no contest after he injured his right biceps. A few days later he said he had no intention of returning to bodybuilding.
Training Style
Wheels has always trained like a generalist with a powerlifter’s base. Heavy squats, bench presses and deadlifts built his reputation, and he layered strongman implements, arm wrestling work and bodybuilding volume on top as his goals changed.
The cost of that approach shows in his injury list. BarBend has documented an ankle injury in 2019, a biceps tear in 2020, lat and quad injuries in 2021 and a back strain in 2022. He tore his left biceps years ago, chose not to have it reattached, and later said he should have sought a second opinion.
He has linked part of that injury history to drugs. Explaining why he came off steroids, he said that on cycle “you can get away with a lot” and get a bit lazy, and that he wanted the discipline that training without them would force.
For most lifters, the useful lessons are less dramatic. Long-term strength comes from progressive overload applied patiently, technique that holds up under fatigue, and recovery that matches training load. Wheels’ career shows what happens when the pace of loading outruns what tendons and joints can adapt to.
Health and the Steroid Question
What He Said Early On
In a video covered by BarBend in 2017, Wheels laid out his steroid history in detail. He said he had stayed on drugs year-round, described his use as a lifetime commitment, and listed side effects including cramps, depression, lethargy, loss of appetite and low libido. He also described high blood pressure while on one oral compound.
Coming Off Steroids in 2022
In 2022 he announced on his YouTube channel that he was stopping steroids indefinitely after roughly a decade of using what he called all kinds of performance-enhancing drugs. Because his body could no longer produce enough testosterone on its own, he said he would start testosterone replacement therapy, with his doctor monitoring bloodwork.
Later that year, on the Vibez YouTube channel, he said his first cycle came at 17 and that any damage from ten years of use “remains in question.” That is a fair summary of the medical reality too. Long-term anabolic steroid use is associated with suppressed natural testosterone, cardiovascular strain and other risks, and effects vary from person to person. If you want the mechanics, our explainer on whether testosterone counts as a steroid covers why TRT and steroid cycles sit on the same spectrum.
The 2024 Relapse
In June 2024, Wheels told his audience that he had relapsed and gone back on a full steroid cycle around three months earlier. He called his decision to chase competitive bodybuilding “a massive mistake,” said it was compromising his health and his integrity, and stepped away from competing.
He did compete again in 2025, which drew criticism from some bodybuilders. But he has never hidden the relapse, and that matters when answering the question below.
Is Larry Wheels Natural?
No. Larry Wheels is not a natural athlete, and that is not speculation. He has said it himself, repeatedly, on his own channel and in interviews since at least 2017.
His public timeline looks like this:
- Age 17: first steroid cycle, by his own account.
- 2017: describes year-round steroid use and side effects in a video.
- 2022: announces he is stopping steroids and switching to doctor-supervised TRT.
- 2024: admits a relapse onto a full cycle and quits competing for a period.
Even during his TRT phase he would not meet the usual definition of natural, because he was still using prescribed testosterone. That definition, and why it matters for comparing physiques and lifts, is explained in our guide to the difference between natural and enhanced lifters.
Most athletes never answer this question so plainly. For everyone else, there is no reliable way to judge drug use from photos alone, and our article on how to tell if someone is natural explains which signs mean something and which are just guesswork.
Personal Life
Wheels splits his story between New York and Saint Martin, and later moved to Los Angeles. Much of his life plays out on camera: as of May 2025 his YouTube channel had about 3.3 million subscribers, with millions more following on Instagram and TikTok.
He keeps relationships and family details largely private, so we do too. What he does share publicly is his training, his competitions and an unusually frank running commentary on his health.
More Profiles
If you want more strength athlete stories, start with Eddie Hall’s path from 500 kg deadlift to combat sports. For a different era of lifting, read our profiles of bodybuilding YouTuber Sam Sulek, Anatoly, the powerlifter behind the cleaner prank videos, and record-setting powerlifter and physical therapist Stefi Cohen.
FAQ
What is Larry Wheels’ real name?
His real name is Larry Williams. He competed in powerlifting under that name, and “Wheels” is the nickname he uses for his brand and social media.
How tall is Larry Wheels?
Larry Wheels is about 6 ft 1 in (185 cm). His competition bodyweight in powerlifting ranged from 108.7 to 134.5 kg (240 to 297 lb).
What is Larry Wheels’ best powerlifting total?
His best raw total is 1,075 kg (2,370 lb), set at the 2020 XPC Arnold at a bodyweight of 128.6 kg. It included a 394.6 kg squat and a 292.5 kg bench press.
Has Larry Wheels admitted to taking steroids?
Yes. He has discussed his steroid use publicly since at least 2017, said he started at 17, moved to TRT in 2022, and admitted a relapse in 2024.
Is Larry Wheels still competing?
He last boxed in August 2026 at Brand Risk 15, a no contest after a biceps injury. Shortly afterwards he said he had no intention of returning to bodybuilding.
Did Larry Wheels beat Devon Larratt in arm wrestling?
No sanctioned match between them is on record. They have trained and sparred together, while Wheels’ official arm wrestling losses came against Schoolboy in 2020 and Brandon Allen in 2021.
The Bottom Line
Larry Wheels is one of the strongest raw powerlifters in history, with a 1,075 kg total, a 292.5 kg bench and a 400 kg deadlift in competition. He is also, by his own repeated admission, not natural.
What sets him apart is not the drug use, which is common at the top of strength sports, but how openly he has talked about it, including the side effects, the injuries and the relapse. Read his story as a record of what an elite enhanced career can cost, not as a template.
Sources
- OpenPowerlifting. Larry Williams: competition results. OpenPowerlifting, 2026.
- Nick English. Larry “Wheels” Williams Discusses His History and Current Cycle With Steroids. BarBend, 2017.
- Jason Serafino. Powerlifter Larry Wheels Talks About His Decision to Stop Taking Steroids. BarBend, 2022.
- Doug Murray. Larry Wheels on 10 Years of Steroid Use: The Damage I’ve Caused Remains In Question. Fitness Volt, 2022.
- Greg Patuto. Larry Wheels Quits Bodybuilding After Relapse On Full Steroid Cycle. Generation Iron, 2024.
- Brian Mazique. Larry Wheels Vs. Vitaly Results, Highlights And Reactions. Forbes, 2026.
Reda El Is a CSCS trainer, Registered Dietitian, ACE-certified nutritionist, With more than 12 years of experience, also he's a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitor, he has done many articles and information sources on many authority sites, such as lifehack.org, Healthline, eat this, wealthygorilla.com, and more. He always keeps improving and updating his knowledge to help everyone to achieve their goals.
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