The popular documentary about anabolic steroids can be purchased at the 2008 Olympia Expo in Las Vegas this weekend. “Bigger Stronger Faster*” is a critical exploration of anabolic steroids and performance enhancing drugs in sports and society which tackles many more serious ethical and political issues along the way. The producers of this steroid documentary have a booth (#146) at the 2008 Olympia Expo (September 26-27) where visitors can purchase a copy of the DVD prior to its official nationwide release on September 30, 2008. The Bigger Stronger Faster DVD can also be pre-ordered from Amazon.
I have had the privilege of corresponding with the producers throughout the production and release of this terrific film. I have previously interviewed the director, Christopher Bell, and also had the chance to spend a couple of hours with him in the Magnolia Pictures press conference at the Orleans Hotel & Casino watching the bonus features that are included in the DVD version in addition to the feature presentation.
I also visited again with Tamsin Rawady and Alex Buono, the talented filmmakers who collaborated with Chris Bell to create “Bigger Stronger Faster*”. Tamsin and Alex bring a unique perspective to the documentary as outsiders to the world of anabolic steroids.
IFBB pro bodybuilder and two-time Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler talks about anabolic steroid use in the sport of bodybuilding and the necessity of steroids to be the best in bodybuilding in a deleted scene from the highly acclaimed steroid documentary “Bigger Stronger Faster.”
… [E]veryone is looking for that edge. You know there are steroids involved in the sport - in bodybuilding - obviously. And that’s the problem with the sport and why it has to get accepted by a lot of society. They look at bodybuilding and they say, ‘oh steroids.’ But they don’t actually understand what goes into the sport. You do what you do to be the best at what you do. You do what you do to win. If you want to call that cheating, fine. But I have the edge. And that’s why I’m the best.
Certainly, there will be debate as to whether this is a tacit admission of steroid use. And certainly, people are going to ask why Muscletech did not fire Jay Cutler for talking about steroids when fitness model and former Muscletech spokesperson Christian Boeving was fired for talking about steroid use.
IFBB Pro Bodybuilder and reigning two-time Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler settled his lawsuit with NDS Nutritional Products. Cutler filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court in July 2007 “claiming misappropriation of image and likeness, invasion of privacy and unjust enrichment. ” Basically, NDS took a picture of Jay Cutler competing at a bodybuilding contest and placed it on their products without obtaining permission or paying Cutler for the commercial use of his image (”Bodybuilder Settles LA Lawsuit Against Nutrition Firm,” March 10).
Jay Cutler is sponsored by Muscletech, who pays Jay well for the use of his image in the promotion of Muscletech supplements.
Could you imagine a pharmaceutical company (whose top-selling drugs are anabolic steroids) becoming the title sponsor of a professional bodybuilding contest? What is Unimed, whose top selling drug products are Anadrol-50 (oxymetholone) and AndroGel (testosterone), sponsored the Mr. Olympia Bodybuilding contest resulting in the “Unimed Pharmaceuticals IFBB Mr. Olympia Bodybuilding Championships”?!! Or how about Savient, whose top-selling drug product is Oxandrin (oxandrolone), sponsoring the Arnold Classic resulting in the Savient Pharmaceuticals IFBB Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic Bodybuilding Championships?!! Observers would comment on the irony given that professional bodybuilding is practically synonymous with the use of anabolic steroids.
Interestingly, in the sport of professional cycling, such an unlikely sponsorship has been taking place since 2006 when the biotechnology company Amgen became the title sponsor of professional cycling’s Amgen Tour of California. One prominent cycling commentator called it the “death of irony.” You see, Amgen’s most successful product to date is Epogen (recombinant erythropoietin); it’s second best-selling drug is a long-acting version of Epogen called Aranesp (darbepoietin). Epogen is the most notorious performance-enhancing drug in cycling; Epogen is to professional cycling what anabolic steroids are to professional bodybuilding!
If the controversial title sponsorship was not enough, Tour of California organizers accidentally forgot to drug test riders for Epogen during the inaugural 2006 Amgen Tour of California. They tested for all other banned drugs but simply forgot to test for Epogen!
And why is Amgen spending $35 million sponsorship over a 5-year commitment on professional cycling? Is it because professional cyclist represent proof of the miraculous performance-enhancing effects of their products? Not exactly. Amgen’s scientific director Dr. Steven Elliott explains:
Our opportunity is to educate cyclists that there is an appropriate way to use a drug, and doping in sport is not it… Our medicines were made because we want to treat grievous illnesses. They’re not for enhancing performance in sport.
I think the sport of professional bodybuilding could use a $35 million infusion by a giant pharmaceutical company who manufacturers anabolic steroids and/or human growth hormone who could use the sponsorship as an opportunity to promote the therapeutic benefits of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs.
But then again, along with the Amgen sponsorship of the Tour of California came pressure to expand anti-doping testing and improve anti-doping procedures.
The upcoming 2008 Amgen Tour of California cycling road race will adopt the most comprehensive anti-doping protocol in cycling history it was announced by Andrew Messick, president, AEG Sports, presenter of the race, at a press conference today.
This is something that professional bodybuilding probably does not want.
According to Flexonline.com, IFBB Pro Bodybuilder Ronnie Coleman married 33-year old Rouaida Christine Achkar in late December 2007. The newlywed couples plans to have the wedding celebration in the bride’s home country of Lebanon on July 26, 2008. Ronnie Coleman is an eight-time Mr. Olympia bodybuilding champion who recently retired from competitive bodybuilding although he has not ruled out competing again. His bride is a personal trainer and a student at the University of Texas at Arlington majoring in sports medicine. Photos of the newlyweds Ronnie Coleman and Rouaida Christine Achkar can be seen on Flexonline.com
