What did @bradleymartyn actually say?
In this clip, Adin Ross says his testosterone was "like a three something" when he first joined Bradley Martyn's gym, that he wasn't getting erections, and that it has since climbed to "the 5s" or "the 6s" (presumably 500s-600s ng/dL). He also pushes back on the idea of TRT, saying "TRT is steroids," before Martyn corrects him: it's exogenous testosterone used to bring levels into a normal range. Ross credits improved diet, including chicken, rice, salmon, and greens, with no junk food, for the turnaround.
The correction Martyn offers is reasonable. Ross's confusion between therapeutic testosterone replacement and performance-enhancing steroid use is common, and Martyn does the right thing by clarifying the difference. Whether diet alone drove a 200-300 ng/dL increase in testosterone is a separate and more complicated question.
Does the science back this up?
Partially. Low testosterone in young men is real, and diet quality does influence testosterone, but the magnitude of dietary effects is often overstated online. A testosterone reading in the 300s ng/dL for a young man is clinically considered low-normal to borderline hypogonadal depending on age and symptoms. Ross mentions erectile dysfunction as a symptom, which does correlate with low testosterone in clinical literature.
The dietary link has evidence behind it. A 2021 review by Whittaker and Wu published in Reviews in Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders found that low-fat diets were associated with reduced testosterone levels in men, and that adequate dietary fat and protein support hormonal health. Chronic caloric restriction and micronutrient deficiencies, particularly zinc and vitamin D, are also established contributors to lower testosterone (Pilz et al., 2011, Hormone and Metabolic Research). Ross's described diet, high protein, healthy fats from salmon, and whole foods, is genuinely consistent with dietary patterns that support testosterone production. However, going from 300 to 500-600 ng/dL through diet alone would be at the higher end of what research typically shows as achievable without clinical intervention.
What did they get wrong (or right)?
Ross got TRT wrong initially, then Martyn got it mostly right. Let's be precise about both.
Ross saying "TRT is steroids" is technically true in a narrow pharmacological sense, testosterone is an anabolic steroid, but it misframes the clinical and legal distinction. TRT prescribed for diagnosed hypogonadism is a regulated medical treatment. Supraphysiological steroid use for performance enhancement is something categorically different in dose, intent, and risk profile. Conflating them creates confusion for viewers who may already have stigma around legitimate testosterone therapy.
Martyn's correction, that TRT means taking "exogenous testosterone to get your levels to a good range," is accurate and helpful. He doesn't encourage Ross to get on TRT, which is appropriate given he's not a clinician.
What neither addresses is whether Ross was ever formally diagnosed with hypogonadism, or whether his testosterone improved due to diet, age-related changes, weight changes, reduced stress, or some combination. A single blood test with no clinical context tells you limited information. Testosterone levels fluctuate significantly throughout the day, with higher levels in the morning (Brambilla et al., 2009, International Journal of Andrology).
What should you actually know?
If you're a young man with low testosterone and symptoms like low libido or erectile dysfunction, diet is a reasonable first intervention, but it is not a guaranteed fix and it is not a substitute for clinical evaluation.
Here is what the evidence actually supports:
- A diet high in processed food, low in fat, and low in micronutrients like zinc and vitamin D can suppress testosterone. Fixing that diet can help.
- Obesity is one of the strongest modifiable risk factors for low testosterone. Weight loss alone can significantly raise levels (Camacho et al., 2013, European Journal of Endocrinology).
- Sleep deprivation is a major and underappreciated suppressor. One week of sleeping five hours per night reduced daytime testosterone by 10-15% in healthy young men (Leproult and Van Cauter, 2011, JAMA).
- TRT is a regulated medical treatment for diagnosed hypogonadism. It is not the same as taking performance-enhancing doses of anabolic steroids, even if the molecule is technically the same.
- If you have symptoms of low testosterone, get a morning blood draw, ideally two of them on separate days, before drawing any conclusions or considering treatment.
TikTok anecdotes about testosterone, even well-intentioned ones, should not replace a conversation with a clinician who can look at your full lab panel and health history.