Garry James Turner: Instagram influencer caught with steroids
A court has been told a Gold Coast influencer and coffee shop owner caught with steroids lives a surprisingly mundane existence.
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A GOLD Coast Instagram influencer caught with steroids does nothing but train, get photos taken and go to bed early, a court was told.
Former school teacher Garry James Turner pleaded guilty in the Southport Magistrates Court on Friday to possessing dangerous drugs and possessing a restricted drug.
The 41-year-old was found with a small amount of drostanolone, a type of steroid, and a gel containing sildenafil, the main ingredient in Viagra, when police searched his Biggera Waters home on November 30, 2019.
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Defence lawyer Campbell MacCallum told the court the search was part of a drug operation which months earlier had found more steroid type drugs at Turner’s place.
Turner was sentenced to two years prison with immediate parole for those drug offences in the Supreme Court in September last year.
“The fact that he is now on parole has certainly given him a big scare,” Mr MacCallum said.
He told the court that since the sentencing Turner has been prescribed a type of peptide.
Mr MacCallum said that as well as owning a coffee shop Turner was also a social media influencer and the drugs were the type to help him get a more “aesthetically pleasing physique”.
“He is basically a man who trains, gets photos taken of him and goes to bed early at night,” he said.
Turner’s Instagram account gtrain_pro has more 402,000 followers and in a majority of photos Turner is shirtless.
Magistrate Catherine Pirie noted that Turner, originally from England, was well-educated, articulate and had worked as a teacher for almost 13 years.
“What a stupid decision to take the path you took,” she said.
“You had everything going for you.”
Turner responded that he agreed.
“Foolishness is probably an understatement in the extreme,” Magistrate Pirie said.
She convicted Turner without further punishment.
Convictions were recorded.
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