Filmmaker Christopher Bell interviewed his good friend Muscletech spokesperson Christian Boeving about anabolic steroids for the critically acclaimed documentary “Bigger Stronger Faster*”. Boeving spoke honestly about his use of anabolic steroids. When CNN aired excerpts from the documentary shortly after its screening at the Sundance Film Festival, Muscletech fired released the bodybuilding and fitness model from his contract.
Muscletech apparently has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to steroids. You certainly can’t talk about steroids if you are sponsored by Muscletech. Muscletech allows you to publicly talk about quite a few things (like masturbating to Christina Lindley’s Maxim photo spread, making multiple references to Lindley’s ample breasts or alluding to Lindlay and microphone fellatio whileinterviewing Christina Lindley) without consequence but talking about steroids publicly crosses the line. Such a public admission of steroid use might indicate to consumers that the muscular physique of a sponsored bodybuilding athlete is not solely the result of Muscletech supplementation.
If you catch the Tribeca screening, I strongly encourage you to take the time to meet with director Christopher Bell and co-producers Tamsin Rawady and Alex Buono.
“Bigger Stronger Faster*” opens today for the New York City premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival for the first of four screenings at the festival.
Sat, Apr 26, 9:00PM Tishman Auditorium at The New School
Australian Customs has reported over 300 anabolic steroid seizures during the first three months of the year. This reportedly exceeds steroid seizures from previous years. The increase in steroid shipments confiscated by customs prior to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing is similar to increases seen prior to the 2000 Sydney Olympics (”Steroid imports not ‘linked to athletes,’” April 22).
The hike comes with the Beijing Olympic Games looming in August and follows a similar increase before the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) chief executive Richard Ings said the organisation works closely with customs and is notified of any involvement by Australian athletes in importing performance-enhancing drugs.
“If customs are indicating that they are seeing an increase in seizures, there is no suggestion those products were bound for athletes,” he told AAP.
Authorities attribute the increase in steroid seizures to greater demand by bodybuilders and weightlifters in an “image culture.”
A recent ad campaign by Cenegenics Medical Institute seen in various domestic in-flight magazines and on various websites featured the muscular torso of Dr. Jeffry Life, Chief Medical Officer of Cenegenics Las Vegas. One internet banner ad asks the question, “how does this 67-year old doctor have the body of a 30-year old?”
The answer, in part, is likely anabolic steroids (testosterone) and human growth hormone which are the cornerstone of anti-aging and age management medicine. The Cenegenics ad campaign seeks to appeal to individuals seeking to improve their physical appearance; benefits may include “improved muscle tone,” “decreased body fat,” “increased energy,” “increased sex drive / libido,” “sharper thinking,” and “improved outlook on life.” These happen to be the same motivations that lead men of all ages to the illicit use anabolic steroids and growth hormone.
When I attended a lecture by Dr. Bob Goldman, American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M), at the 2008 Iron Man Expo in Los Angeles, I was surprised that the presentation focused primarily on the obtainability of muscular, athletic physiques through the anti-aging lifestyle with a slideshow featuring several muscular bodybuilders and athletes.
With all the negative news about steroids in baseball and steroid pharmacy scandals, should age management (Cenegenics) and anti-aging organizations (A4M) aggressively market the muscle-building and bodybuilding effects of anabolic steroids (testosterone) and growth hormone (i.e. hormone optimization) to prospective clients? (”Mainstream docs join the anti-aging bandwagon,” April 21)
Now that sports doping scandals have made HGH, as well as testosterone and other hormones, front-page news, and some anti-aging clinics and compounding pharmacies have been raided by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency for being overly liberal with hormone prescriptions, the anti-aging community has toned down its endorsement of hormones, at least in public.
“Less than 10 percent of patients involved in anti-aging are receiving growth hormone,” Klatz insists.
That seems a dubious assertion. In fact, hormones remain a key ingredient of anti-aging practice. “Most of my anti-aging patients get hormones,” typically growth hormone as well as sex hormones appropriate to each gender, Jurow says.
Given the steroid hysteria and steroid demonization resulting from the steroids in sports scandals, it seems like this would hurt business for anti-aging medicine. But this has not been the case, business is booming in anti-aging medicine.
Back in 1994, the annual Las Vegas meeting of the fledgling American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M) was held in a small hotel off the Las Vegas strip. Everyone could fit into a temporary tent-like structure on the pool patio. Last December, at the 15th A4M confab, roughly 2,000 attendees, including business owners, anti-aging promoters and hundreds of doctors — among them obstetricians, ER docs, psychiatrists and internists — filled a cavernous meeting space inside the Venetian Hotel and Resort.
Today, claims Dr. Bob Goldman, A4M’s co-founder, there are about 20,000 A4M-certified doctors around the world. A4M’s tax returns confirm the boom. The income from fees charged to those seeking board certification from A4M more than doubled from $544,845 in 2005 to $1.2 million in 2006.
A rival organization, Age Management Medicine Group, is growing rapidly, too, says co-founder Rick Merner. He claims the group had more than 400 doctors at its last meeting, sponsored by the nation’s single largest “age-management” clinic, Cenegenics. The Cenegenics Foundation also certifies practitioners in age-management medicine (it shuns the term “anti-aging”) and claims to have experienced a 100 percent increase in the number of its physician “affiliates” to more than 800.
Could the steroid hysteria actually be stimulating business for legal prescriptions for testosterone and growth hormone?! The public condemnation of the muscle-building and performance-enhancing effects of steroids and other PEDs may be accompanied by a private celebration of the potential benefits of these hormones.
Undercover officers have discovered evidence of steroid use at the fitness center and distribution by either Goodman or other members at the fitness center, according to court records.
That evidence includes syringes, bank statements, computer software, cell phone records and financial records belonging to either Goodman or the fitness center.
A confidential informant has told undercover officers that Goodman was “actively distributing steroids” and that “individuals associated with Physical Edge often use and/or distribute steroids,” according to court records.
NPC bodybuilder Keith Koppenhaver, who last competed at the 2000 NPC Junior Nationals, has also been implicated. Koppenhaver was a personal trainer at Physical Edge (Hi-Octane) and a friend of Chris Goodman.
Undercover officers seized several types of steroids, human growth hormone, insulin and other dangerous, controlled substances from Koppenhaver’s home or property, according to court records.
He has admitted to undercover officers that he sold steroids and never pays taxes from those sales or the money that he receives as a personal trainer, according to court records.
He has identified Goodman and a professional bodybuilder in the Oklahoma City area as his steroid suppliers, according to court records.
Tulsa County District Court records filed Wednesday show that officers recently searched the home and found vials of popular muscle-building steroids and human growth hormone. Among the substances found were testosterone, nandrolone decanate and stanozolol.
Also seized were e-mails to Ducasse “instructing him on bodybuilding drug use,” “handwritten notes regarding steroid cycles,” a “weekly steroid use schedule” and “7 pages of clients,” who are believed to be members of Sky Fitness & Wellbeing, 10121 S. Sheridan Road, according to the court records.
An employee at the fitness center said Friday that Ducasse trains clients at the facility.
Anabolic steroid users represent the largest client at needle exchange programs in the United Kingdom according to the weekly current affairs magazine, the New Statesman (”Shape of the future: observations on bodybuilding,” April 17).
The New Statesman magazine also identifies some disturbing trends in steroid use in the U.K.
But rates of steroid use aren’t the only thing that’s changing: so is the type of person who uses the drugs.
According to Martin Chandler, a specialist in steroid use at Liverpool John Moores University, the rise is caused by people “younger and less knowledgeable” than their previous counterparts. “What scares me is their limited research and understanding,” he says.
According to Martin Chandler, the increasing number of young people using steroids is due to aesthetic (body image) concerns and not performance enhancement concerns.
If the demographic of steroid users is changing, so too are their motivations. Among older users, the drugs were often taken as a means to open up non-academic job opportunities. This was particularly true in former manufacturing towns. When manual workers found themselves unable to make a living in the old industries, they often trained as security staff, bouncers or police officers to continue making a living through their bodies.
But, unlike mining and manufacturing work, for instance, these new careers did not develop appropriate physiques “on the job”. Being a doorman might require a big build, but the job itself is more likely to cultivate guts than shoulders. Hence the rise of gym culture, and steroids.
Now, according to Chandler, it is fashion rather than function that motivates the younger generation to pump up: “Ultimately, what new users are concerned with is body image. It’s got nothing to do with performance gain - it’s about aesthetic.” The trend is not surprising. Men’s magazines are booming; there are also flourishing industries in male health, diet and supplements. Meanwhile, multimillion-dollar advertising budgets are pulling in actors and sportsmen to sponsor the “male ideal”.
Fortunately, the harm reduction programs offer an additional opportunity at steroid education hopefully improving the health of steroid users.
MESO-Rx is traveling to Dallas to review the steroid documentary and meet up with director Chris Bell. We will have a few live interviews available throughout the afternoon. Please follow me on Twitter to be notified immediately every time there is a live stream from the event. And if you’re in Dallas for the screening, send us a Tweet and meet MESO-Rx and the Bigger Stronger Faster guys afterwards.
U.S. Marshalls acting upon authority of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seized the following supplements from the LG Sciences warehouse in Brighton, Michigan: Methyl 1-D, Methyl 1-D XL and Formadrol Extreme XL The FDA alleges that the products are adulterated under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with “one or more unapproved food additives and/or dietary ingredients.” (”FDA seizes $1.3 million in supplements marketed for bodybuilders from Brighton warehouse,” March 4)
The U.S. Attorney’s office released the following statement:
FDA has not received scientific information on the safety of the seized products and cannot determine, at this time, whether they represent a hazard to consumers. Therefore, consumers who still have the products should strongly consider discussing the use of these products with their health care professionals. FDA also recommends that consumers consult their health care professionals if they have experienced any adverse events that they suspect are related to the products’ use. Consumers and health care professionals can report adverse events to the FDA’s MedWatch program at 800-FDA-1088 or online at www.FDA.gov/medwatch/report.htm.
LG Sciences (formerly Legal Gear) is trying to minimize the FDA seizure.
Ronald Berry, an attorney for LG Sciences, said Friday evening that all the company’s products are legal, and the ingredients are safe for consumers. He called the FDA seizure “merely a preliminary step in determining compliance with food regulations.”
“Although LG Sciences feels the temporary restraint of its product by the FDA is inappropriate, the company appreciates that the FDA wishes to protect the public,” Berry said in a statement.
LG Sciences released the following public statement:
In response to recent action taken by the FDA, LG Sciences wishes to clarify that we contend that all of its products are completely legal and safe. The FDA’s detainment is merely a preliminary step in determining compliance with food regulations. LG Sciences wishes to specifically note that no court has made any determination as to the correctness of FDA’s allegations. Although LG Sciences feels that the temporary restraint of its product by the FDA is inappropriate, the company appreciates that the FDA wishes to protect the public and will cooperate in every possible way.
Unfortunately, the Dietary Supplement Health Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994 is ambiguous and unclear in determining what substances are considered new dietary ingredients (NDI). An NDI requires data be submitted to the FDA regarding safety for human consumption prior to its introduction into the market. Due to a lack of a definitive list of approved dietary ingredients, the FDA mistakenly asserts that the products seized contain substances that are either not dietary ingredients, as defined in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act or that the substances are NDI. However, the substances are not NDI because these ingredients are naturally occurring, with confirmed studies over 25 years ago, and have been on the market in competitors products for several years. Thus, the ingredients have empirically been shown to be safe to consumers.
Items deemed unapproved food additives by the FDA 1,4,6 etiocholan-dione or commonly known as ATD or 1,4,6 Androstatriene3,17-dione. Additionally items alleged to require a new dietary ingredient status 4-etioallocholen-3,6,17-trione or better known by the trade name 6-OXO-4-androstenedione. LG Sciences looks forward to assisting the FDA in clarifying this matter and the prompt return of its inventory.
When the researchers looked at the subjects’ muscles through a microscope, they made a surprising discovery: Rather than returning to their original proportions, the muscles of the steroid users who’d stopped taking the drug looked remarkably similar to those of the subjects who were still using. They also had larger muscle fibers and more growth-inducing “myonuclei” in their muscle cells than the nonsteroid users.
The main findings were that: a) Muscle fiber hypertrophy by strength training is further increased by anabolic steroids. b) The number of nuclei per muscle fiber is higher in power lifters using anabolic steroids compared to non-steroids using lifters. c) Among power lifters who have withdrawn from anabolic steroid usage and training for several years, the number of myonuclei, both subsarcolemmal and internal, remains high. d) In active power lifters, anabolic steroids have no further effect on the number of satellite cells per fiber. e) Power lifters have a high proportion of split fibers.
High intensity resistance training increases muscle strength and banned substances such as testosterone and anabolic steroids can enhance the training effects. The studies on muscle cell morphology presented in this thesis reveals that anabolic steroids and testosterone increases muscle fiber size and adds more nuclei to the muscle cell.
Based on the morphological appearance of muscle sections from doped and nondoped power lifters, we conclude that testosterone and anabolic steroids enhances the hypertrophic effects of training without adding new features. The addition of myonuclei by training and doping appears to be longer lasting in some muscles than in others. The high proportion of split fibers in power lifter is probably due to high mechanical stress. The findings and conclusions in this thesis raise questions regarding relevant suspension times for athletes caught with banned substances in the body.
The thesis confirms what many bodybuilders have long suspected based on anecdotal evidence. Even noted steroid researcher Charles Yesalis is convinced of the permanent muscle-enhancing effects of anabolic steroids based on his assessment of 30 years of anecdotal evidence.
Charles Yesalis, a former strength coach and professor emeritus of health policy and administration at Pennsylvania State University, says athletes who continue to train can retain as much as 85% of their gains from using drugs. This isn’t based on muscle biopsies or peer-reviewed research, he says, but on 30 years of experience with athletes. He says he has talked privately with hundreds of dopers, some of them champions, and has seen the permanent benefits of performance-enhancing drugs. “These things are like rocket fuel,” he says.
The little known doctoral thesis has already influenced doping penalties even though it was not peer-reviewed and not published in any medical or scientific journal.
At a meeting in Madrid in November, WADA’s Foundation Board voted to change its code to allow for a maximum four-year ban for first-time offenders caught using performance-enhancing drugs. The new ban, which goes into effect in all sanctioned Olympic events in 2009, is a severe penalty for athletes — whose careers tend to be short. Bengt Eriksson, the vice-chairman of the Swedish Sport Confederation’s doping commission, who attended the Madrid conference, says he thinks the study was “one of the main reasons” WADA raised the maximum penalty. David Howman, WADA’s director general, says the Swedish study played only a minor role in the decision.
Scientific support for the notion that three or four cycles of anabolic steroids could lead to permanent muscle enhancement is big news in bodybuilding circles.
But if true, this could lead to lifetime bans for first time doping offenses by WADA and other anti-doping agencies. This is also big news in the doping world too.
WADA’s [director general] Mr. Howman says that if science continues to confirm the findings of the Swedish study, a lifetime ban is not out of the question. “Never say never,” he says.
Larry Flynt’s Hustler Magazine is profiling three female bodybuilders in the June 2008 issue. IFBB pro female bodybuilders Colette Nelson and Melissa Dettwiller and NPC bodybuilder Amber Steel were featured. The pictures are by one of my favorite photographers, Brian Moss. If you read just the article (text and ignore the context) , you will find it to be a relatively positive piece for female bodybuilding. But of course, the issue of female bodybuilder nudity and the source of the article are certain to be controversial. Thanks to Sioux Country (via Hardbody) for alerting us to the “Seriously Female” article.
