Tom DeBlass is known for being one of the most open figures in Jiu-Jitsu, and this time he’s decided to speak out about his usage of Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT). He’s a multiple-time winner of the ADCC North American trials and as such, he’s competed in the most prestigious no gi grappling tournament on the planet on multiple occasions. He’s also managed to reach the podium of the IBJJF world championships on several occasions over the years, all the way from the coloured belt levels to black belt, and finally as a masters competitor too.
DeBlass also spent several years of his athletic prime attempting to reach the highest levels of MMA competition instead. After amassing a perfect 7-0 professional record in the Ring of Combat promotion, he was given the opportunity to compete in the UFC. Unfortunately, DeBlass dropped two decisions against tough competition in his first two fights for the promotion and was subsequently released before signing with Bellator. It was there that DeBlass got back on the winning track and finished two opponents in a row, then eventually retiring from active competition in the sport.
Since then, DeBlass has become a popular and sometimes polarizing figure in the sport of BJJ. He’s developed some amazing students like Garry Tonon, and he’s had a huge impact on the development of no gi grappling as a whole. He’s even written a book that performed incredibly well, and was profiled by Forbes as a result.
Tom DeBlass spoke out about his usage of TRT in post to his official Instagram account, where he compared himself today to what he looked like fifteen years ago, when he was just twenty-five years old:
Of course, Tom DeBlass received a fair amount of criticism for discussing TRT usage from some of his followers on social media. He decided to comment on the topic again and elaborate on why he shared the fact that he was using the therapy, and actually went in to more detail on the dosage that he takes. He also made a point that a lot of people might be unaware of, that the majority of Jiu-Jitsu athletes are taking actual PEDs anyway . A therapeutic dose of TRT that stays under the amount needed to get someone to actually cycle is in fact likely much less of a performance enhancement than what most Jiu-Jitsu athletes are using:
We just must remember that anyone who has used steroids and other PED:s in sports has not achieved anything, has not won anyone or deserves any medals. Cheating is not winning. Cheating openly is not winning either. Period.
IBJJF does great job by testing people and I hope they get the funds to do blind tests too. It is nonsense to say that tests do not matter when many athletes have got suspended in bjj.