Gene X Hwang, founder of Orange Photography, just published his review of Steroid Nation by Shaun Assael, about the recent history of the anabolic steroid subculture. The book, in large part, is a biography of steroid guru Dan Duchaine who Assael identifies as one of the “founding fathers of the steroid movement.” Most people who came in contact with Duchaine have interesting stories to tell. Gene comments on his experiences with Dan at various bodybuilding shows Read more
In 2001, New Line optioned the rights to make a movie adaptation of Chemical Pink
Gene Hwang reports that a new team is moving forward with the Chemical Pink movie project.
Arnoldi eventually wrote the screenplay herself and music video director Jonas Akerlund will now direct. The latest is that he and producer Ted Field are now looking for someone to play Aurora Johnson, the main character – an aspiring female bodybuilder who moves to southern California to pursue her dream.
Patricia Arquette, Rosario Dawson and Jessical Biel were considered for the role of Aurora. And while the prospect of these actresses gaining 15-20 lbs of muscle would be quite appealing for fans of female muscle, the big name Hollywood actresses all rejected the role of Aurora. It is unclear whether the role was rejected due to the disturbing nature of steroid-related side effects and sexual fetishism portrayed in the screenplay or the daunting task of trying to look like a female bodybuilder in six months.
According to the Genextras blog, it now looks like the producers are searching for a real female bodybuilder to play the role of Aurora.
Arnoldi tells us they now plan to cast a “real girl” instead. They are even talking about an American Idol-style reality show in which Arnoldi, Akerlund and Field would go around the country auditioning female bodybuilders for the part – what Arnoldi calls “In Search of Aurora”. That could mean an amazing opportunity for a female bodybuilder to play the lead in a Hollywood movie. We’ll let you know as soon as we know more…
This is certain to be an interesting movie. I think Testosterone Nation best described Chemical Pink
If Dan Duchaine had been a writer of fiction, this is the book he’d have written.
The testosterone:epitestosterone ratio (T:E ratio) test is a commonly used test designed to catch athletes who artificially manipulate their testosterone levels (usually with exogenous testosterone). The T:E ratio is routinely used in doping protocols around the world at all levels of sport.
Unfortunately, the T:E ratio is not very effective. This has been common knowledge among drug tested athletes for some time. Dan Duchaine first alerted athletes decades ago with Victor Conte concurring more recently. Anti-doping experts such as Charles Yesalis and Don Catlin have reluctantly acknowledged that this is true.
It is not very reliable. It is flawed. The T:E ratio test results in a lot of false negatives (athletes use testosterone but don’t get caught) as well as false positives (innocent athletes test positive for steroid use).
A recent study that we learned about on Trust But Verify and reported on at Steroid Report explains why the test is unreliable and ineffective.
It appears that certain genotypes are more likely to have false negatives (athletes use testosterone but don’t get caught)and other genotypes are more likely to have false positives (innocent athletes test positive for steroid use) (”Doping Test in Sports Confounded by Common Genetic Trait,” March 21).
If you’re a genetically gifted athlete (i.e. you lack the gene that produces the enzyme UGT2B17), you can take an whopping injection of at least 360 milligrams of testosterone without getting caught by the testosterone:epitestosterone ratio test (T:E ratio). This testosterone loophole in drug testing has been known by athletes for decades (anecdotally). It is nice to have solid scientific evidence to confirm it.
The 360 mg corresponds to a 500 mg intramuscular injection of testosterone enanthate. Yes, many athletes can take this quantity of the anabolic-androgenic steroid testosterone and still pass current WADA doping controls.
The T:E ratio test discriminates based on the ethnicity of the athlete subjected to the doping protocol. This little bit of information is impossible to overlook.
So, which ethnic groups are most likely to have false negatives on the T:E ratio test?
The latest study suggests as many as 40% of athletes with UGT2B17 homozygous deletion/deletion genotype can take at least 500 mg of testosterone enanthate and still maintain a 4:1 T:E ratio. The following lists various ethnic groups with the estimated percentage that possess the “doping friendly” genotype (data extracted from here and here).
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78.0% – Mulatto (Brazilian)
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66.7% – Eastern Asian (Korean)
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57.3% – Cape Colored (Cape Town, South Africa)
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37.6% – Mexican Mestizo
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30.4% – Asian Pacific (Southeast Asian/Southern Chinese, Asian Indian, Japanese)
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29.1% – Black (African Americans, African Blacks, South/Central American Blacks)
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9.3% – White Caucasian (Swedish)
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3.5% – White Caucasian (primarily European)
Yes, athletes with UGT2B17 homozygous deletion/deletion genotype are much more likely to pass a doping test if they choose to cheat (false negative). And yes, certain ethnic groups are much more likely to possess this genotype.
What should WADA do about this? Is this a problem for professional sports or high school districts that routinely use the T:E ratio test?
I was prepared to read another commentary about the dangers of anabolic steroids when I started reading “The Truth About Steroids And Sports, How Performance-Enhancing Drugs Went Mainstream;” the article was written by CNN’s chief medical correspondent, Sanjay Gupta. It started off poorly:
So we all agree that steroids are bad, right? They’ve brought suspicion and shame.
Then it got a little better. Dr. Gupta starts talking about the therapeutic use of anabolic steroids in HIV patients. He talks about the therapeutic uses of steroids.
He seems impressed that steroids can be good but then discusses how the therapeutic uses for steroids were “hijacked” by athletes and especially bodybuilders. Blame the bodybuilders. Parties responsible for the hijacking include the “Arnoldistas” or followers of Arnold Schwarzenegger who, according to Shaun Assael, created a steroid “religion.”
He blamed talked about the “Underground Steroid Handbook” but didn’t even mention the author, Dan Duchaine!
Then Dr. Gupta’s credibility takes a major hit when he talks about growth hormone.
Then there’s human growth hormone (HGH), derived from the pituitary gland.
HGH derived from pituitary glands has not been used in medicine in decades. It is all recombinant human growth hormone nowadays.
I hoped that he could save the article he interviewed Christopher Bell, director and producer of the steroid documentary “Bigger Stronger Faster.”
But that hope was dashed when I learned that when taking anabolic steroids, “there’s always the risk of, you know, heart weakening and liver tumors.” And then I [again] learned Lyle Alzado blamed his brain cancer on steroid abuse.
Gupta asks what can be done about a good drug gone bad? The first thing we should stop doing is stop associating Lyle Alzado’s brain cancer with his steroid abuse. Why do we persist in repeating this again and again with the standard disclaimer that there is no medical evidence to support it?
