A popular bodybuilder and Instagram influencer has opened up in a candid interview on how his steroid use derailed his life.

Jaxon Tippet was caught with more than 250 steroid tablets and vials of testosterone on the Gold Coast, Australia in 2017, while police also found him hiding a syringe and needle in his underwear.

The then 23-year-old was fined $4,000 by Southport Magistrates Court, the third time he had fronted the courts in three years.

Tippet, who boasts more than 164,000 followers on Instagram, used the incident as a chance to turn his life around and now openly shares his experiences with others.

In a July episode of the Good Humans podcast, Tippet explained that after not feeling any side effects for the first two years, he started noticing concerning changes to his body.

“I slowly could feel my health deteriorating in terms of my liver and kidneys,” he said.

“I was very tired.

“I was yellow in the face. My urine was very dark, it was almost orange.

“It came to a point where later down the track, like the last year or two, I would be in a relationship with my ex and I couldn’t get an erection.

“You can suffer things like you can’t get an erection, you can gain weight very easily, mental issues. I suffered all of that, man.”

Tippet said his addiction cost him his girlfriend and almost sent him to prison.

“It was hell, bro,” he said.

“I lost a girlfriend off of it, I nearly lost my family off of it.

“I nearly went to jail as I got caught with my own personal use of steroids.”

The Gold Coast-based bodybuilder thought he was going to be sent to jail when he fronted Southport Magistrates Court in 2018. He now actively shares his story in the hope of inspiring others in a similar situation.

“I went to three separate court appearances; on the third one I was like ‘this is definitely jail time’ because it’s a class one drug,” Tippet said.

“But I didn’t go to jail and the reason is, I truly believe God was looking over me. He saw some potential in me and he saw a greater person in me.

“That was my sign that I am meant to do something with my life; not just be in jail, not just be this steroid addict.

“Once I knew that the third one could have come with a jail penalty and not only that, just how it was affecting my mum and dad – like, they’re in tears – I just hit rock bottom.

“I was like, f—K this, this is not me, and I just spiraled out it.”

Tippet shared a clip of the podcast on his Instagram page and said he hoped others would find his story helpful.

“I dive heavily into my past drug use, how I overcame it and offer some mental and mindset tips along the way,” he wrote.

“I hope this episode helps someone listening.”