'Genetic potential' is a term that's thrown around a lot. The truth is that nobody really knows exactly what 'genetic potentials' are because everybody has a different biological make up. When people have said that they've 'reached a plateau' I can guarantee you that nine times out of ten, that's BS. The more muscle you put on, the slower the rate of future muscle growth and for some people who are very large, those gains will still happen so long as they train harder and eat to match. There's obviously going to come a time where someone simply cannot grow any more. The amount of nutrients that are required to support muscle growth will eventually become untenable - as will the amount of training that that person can physically do without causing injury.
Steroids would help to break that plateau but as you said, it's not worth it because as soon as you take the hormones and chemicals out of the body that steroids provide, the body would not be able to support that muscle past the genetic limit and eventually, the gains would be lost.
I have seen people advise others to 'reach their genetic potential' before taking steroids on here. However the vast majority will say that you need a solid base before using steroids. I doubt that those who understand what genetic potential actually means would give that advice. We don't want kids coming on here who are 6' and 160lbs thinking that steroids are a quick fix. Bodybuilding is a subculture. Whether we like it or not, it's a way of life. I live my life by a strict routine - you have to when you take building muscle seriously otherwise you can't achieve anything. I started out as a kid wanting to get big, purely for the aesthetics. But I fell in love with going to the gym, eating, living to a routine, working harder than anyone I knew to do something that I was passionate about and it shaped me as a person, gave me discipline and respect.
There's a mental side of bodybuilding that kids who are 6' and 160lbs will not understand. They come on here asking about what steroids they should take to put on 30lbs of lean muscle in 6 weeks... They expect a quick fix - and aren't willing to put in the hard work in the gym naturally before using steroids. Steroids don't build muscle. You build the muscle in the gym and in the kitchen. The steroids merely assist. That's one of the reasons why we tell people to put on a base prior to using aas. Telling people to meet their genetic potential is down to that person misinterpreting its definition.
Of course there's also the biological reasons like f***ing yourself up.
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