| Sam Sulek | |
| Birth Date: | 7 February 2002[1] |
| Nationality: | American |
| Education: | Rutherford B. Hayes High School |
| Years Active: | 2023–present |
| Subscribers: | 3.7 million |
| Views: | 217 million |
| Channel Direct Url: | @sam_sulek |
| Channel Display Name: | Sam Sulek |
| Silver Button: | yes |
| Gold Button: | yes |
| Stats Update: | November 2024 |
Sam Sulek (born February 7, 2002) is an American YouTuber and fitness influencer. His YouTube videos showing his trips to the gym and his weightlifting workouts, which he began posting in 2023, became popular online and earned him more than three million subscribers by the following year. His popularity has been attributed by critics to the relatable style of his videos and his large, muscular physique.
Sulek attended Rutherford B. Hayes High School in Delaware, Ohio, where he began competitively diving in the summer before his junior year.[2] He began attending Miami University in 2020, where he also joined the school's diving team and,, is studying mechanical engineering.[3] [4] He began posting videos of his visits to the gym in January 2023. Since he began posting and, his videos have all followed the same format, showing him speaking in his car on the way to the gym, his workout at the gym, then him speaking in his car again. By 2024, he had more than three million subscribers on YouTube and more than 5.7 million followers on Instagram.[5] [6]
For The New York Times, Chris Almeida wrote that Sulek had "[chosen] a vision and [was] sticking to it" by trusting his viewers and that he had "become a fascination not simply because he is physically massive and fairly charming, but because of his almost defiant commitment to a lo-fi strategy" on YouTube. Stephen Buranyi of The Guardian referred to Sulek as "the current king" of fitness influencers in 2024 and "the perfect example of an influencer" due to his relatability, humility, normalcy, and plainspokenness, also writing that he was "perhaps the most muscular person [he had] ever seen". Also in 2024, Eliana Riley, for The Miami Student, called him "one of the biggest gym influencers on social media right now".[7] For Generation Iron, Dylan Wolf wrote that he was "arguably the most popular influencer in the current fitness industry" in 2024 and that he was "known for his simplicity, heavy lifting, and insane physique".[8] Bodybuilder Chris Bumstead praised Sulek in 2023 as "taking over the world".[9]
Sulek has also faced accusations of using anabolic steroids, including from bodybuilder Víctor Martínez and podcaster Joe Rogan, with Stephen Buranyi noting for The Guardian in 2024 that he was "the person most mentioned by young men [using steroids that he] spoke with".[10] [11]