Nathan DeAsha: Bodybuilder branded steroid 'disgrace' for gym supply Published duration 16 September 2019

image copyright Alamy image caption Nathan DeAsha competes in bodybuilding as "The Prophecy"

An international bodybuilder has been called a "disgrace to the sport" by a judge after he used his fame to sell steroids to gym users.

Nathan DeAsha, from Liverpool, admitted supplying £10,000-worth of the drugs to the Pain and Gain gym in Barnstaple, Devon, over three months in 2017.

He was given a 12-month suspended jail sentence at Exeter Crown Court.

DeAsha, 33, was forced to pull out of the Mr Olympia event in Las Vegas so he could attend court.

image copyright Devon & Cornwall Police image caption Police found boxes of steroids worth about £10,000 in a locked boiler room at the Pain and Gain gym

The court heard he gave a training seminar to 250 customers at the gym in May 2017, during which he discussed his use of steroids, which he then supplied to gym users.

Police later found drugs in a locked boiler room with DeAsha's fingerprint on, and his gym in Liverpool as the return address.

'Damaged reputation'

DeAsha is one of Britain's top bodybuilders and the current British Grand Prix champion.

Judge David Evans told him: "As a regular competitor on the national and international stage, who has done well in bodybuilding, you are a disgrace to the sport and it is doubly sad, given how well you have done to overcome past behaviour and adversity.

"What makes your behaviour more disappointing is that you project yourself as an ambassador for the sport to children.

"I hope you can make good the damage which you have done to your own reputation and to the sport."

Julian Nutter, defending, said DeAsha had been jailed when he was younger but had used his bodybuilding skills to turn his life around.

He said DeAsha would suffer serious punishment because his conviction would prevent him travelling to the United States to compete in the future.

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