Greg Doucette is a Canadian weightlifter, fitness coach, YouTube content creator and cyclist, born on 17 September 1975 in Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada, thus making him 45 years old. He’s mostly known for his videos about bodybuilding and fitness, along with his many accomplishments as an athlete.
Early Life
Although there’s not much information about Greg Austin Doucette’s family, it’s known that he has a twin brother. Details about Greg’s primary education are unknown, but he’s revealed that he graduated from Acadia University with a major in Kinesiology, and then obtained a Master degree at St. Francis Xavier in Antigonish, Nova Scotia.
As a seven-year-old kid, Greg became fascinated with lifting heavy objects, and imitated professional Olympic weightlifters. It was then that he along with his twin brother started training under their father’s guidance. Although their instruments were nothing more than iron itches and cement blocks, it was enough to turn Greg’s childhood hobby into a passion. The time spent with his family would always be his favorite, as Greg has said several times those were ‘one of my fondest memories growing up’.
After seeing various sportsmen in a television show when he was 13 years old, Greg discovered that bodybuilding was a real profession, and knew it was what he wanted to do.
Career
First Steps
Having trained with homemade heavy objects from an early age, Greg Doucette was able to start participating in professional events during his teens; the first competitions he entered when he was only 14-years-old, were bench press events in which he easily overpowered his adult competitors.
At 17-years-old Greg won his first junior competition in bodybuilding, in addition to participating in various weightlifting events. The first time he won one of these events he broke a national record by lifting 382 pounds.
As a rookie in the power lifting world, Greg Doucette admired Jeff Becker, though during his time competing in bench press events he was deeply inspired by John Fraser as well, he told Critical Bench: ‘he had a great bench and had a muscular build like me’.
Accomplishments
To date Greg Doucette has competed in several international competitions, having achieved records in bodybuilding and powerlifting on a worldwide scale.
In 2011 he became the World Powerlifting Congress (WPC) champion in the 90kgs category. He also set the bench press record by lifting 529lbs at the Masters Raw category.
Besides participating in more than 60 powerlifting competitions, in 2015 Greg Doucette entered the Sumo Deadlifting category of the World Record Guinness Book by lifting 182.6kgs fifty times, finally marking his record at 9,130kgs lifted in total.
Greg admitted that setting a World Record Guinness was a goal he set for himself when he was a kid: ‘I am 40 years old, and only weigh 210 lbs, but with 30 years of hard work, determination and dedication I was able to achieve my dream’.
Greg’s career as a bodybuilder has also brought him international recognition, having been granted a Pro Card by the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) in 2012.
That year he won the National Championship at the Canadian National Light Heavyweight contests.
Following these important milestones of his career, Greg was placed ninth in the 2016’s Bodybuilding competition in the ProShow of Toronto, held by the IFBB. In 2019 he was placed ninth at the IFBB of Germany, and fourth at the Classic Physique competition.
YouTube
Greg Doucette started his own YouTube channel in 2007, when he began uploading short videos of his workout routines on the platform. However, in 2013 he started taking a different direction with his content, uploading longer videos on which he shared his thoughts and knowledge about bodybuilding and weightlifting.
Greg has created various controversies over the years, as he has publicly criticized other weightlifters and athletes. Despite this, his audience has been growing steadily.
To date Greg has over 800,000 subscribers, consisting mostly of young men who are inspired by Greg’s own career, or who are in search of information about working out and developing their physique.
Cycling
Despite being widely recognized in the powerlifting and fitness world, Greg Doucette’s career as a professional has unfortunately not been as successful. Greg started professional bike-riding in 2017, and participating in professional events the following year. However, his career in this sport was short-lived, as he was suspended after the Tour of Keji, – a bicycle event held in Nova Scotia – in which he was placed 11th in his category. After the event, he was asked to submit a test for anti-doping purposes. Greg – who allegedly didn’t know the race was under the scrutiny of the Canadian Anti-doping Program – didn’t allow the test to be taken., and was thus a suspended, as it was determined that he was violating the rules.
At the time he participated in the race, allegedly Doucette was being administered with testosterone injections due to his body’s deficiency of said hormone, which was caused by his prolonged use of PED (physical enhancing drugs) during his bodybuilding years. Regardless of the fact these injections were provided under a doctor’s recommendation, the race didn’t allow its participants to use such substances.
Despite Greg Doucette’s claims of not knowing said rules existed, the suspension wasn’t removed, and he is banned from participate in professional cycling races for 10 years.
Steroids?
The suspension at the Tour of Keji wasn’t Greg Doucette’s first run with anti-doping authorities; that happened in 2009, when he tested positive for the metabolite Boldenone Undecylenate.
Regarding this low in his career, Doucette denied he had consumed said substance: ‘This is very devastating news, as many people will believe that all my past lifting performances over the last 11 years of competition were a result of banned substances’.
Claiming he has always tested negative for drugs during previous competitions, Greg also stated that the drug found in his system didn’t make sense, as it would have deterred his improvement instead of enhancing it: ‘Dieting is hard enough without taking something to increase your appetite,’ he referred to the side effects of said anabolic. Greg’s suspension started in January 2010, and lasted two years.
Arrest
In 2012 Greg Doucette was arrested for being in possession of over $250,000 worth of steroids.
He was also accused of smuggling and trafficking said substances. The drugs allegedly proceeded from the Philippines, Thailand and China. The finding of these substances was considered one of the biggest steroids seizures that had ever occurred in Canada. Doucette was charged for these crimes, with a $50,000 fine and 20 months on probation.
Personal Life
Greg Doucette has a girlfriend named Allyson Smith. It’s unknown when the pair started their relationship, though they supposedly met each other through weightlifting, as Allyson not only has participated in this type of competition, but also holds a world record at Raw Powerlifting.
Net Worth
As of late 2020, Greg Doucette has an estimated net worth of $1 million, which is the result of his long career as a weightlifter, bodybuilder and as a YouTube content creator.
Physical Appearance
Greg Doucette is a well-built man in appearance, with dark brown hair and eyes. He’s 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall and weighs approximately 195lbs (88kgs).
Interesting Facts
Greg’s girlfriend Allyson Smith is also a YouTuber.
Although at the start of his career Greg was inspired by fellow athletes, nowadays he considers himself as his role model, as he feels he wants to surpass himself and not other people.
In 2017 he appeared in a VICE series and was presented as The 40-Year-Old Bodybuilder.
On his website Greg offers coach services as a weightlifter, and has written various books. Bench press has always been his favourite exercise.
Recently he parted ways with the supplement brand RYSE, which had been sponsoring him for several years. He also announced that he’s working on creating his own supplement brand, though further details about this business are unknown.