Preston Williams, Washington Post high school sports columnist, recommends steroid education involving coaches, parents and truthful steroid documentaries like “Bigger Stronger Faster*” as the best way to address teen steroid use in high schools. Williams questions the effectiveness of costly high school steroid testing programs “whose merits are spotty” with “swing-and-miss results.”
In his weekly column about high school sports, Williams applauds the sensible efforts by physician Ben Pearl (Arlington Foot & Ankle Center), physical education teacher and former NFL player Rocky Belk (Arlington Public Schools), and physical therapy and sports medicine instructor Sheila Napala (Arlington Career Center) to combat anabolic steroid use in high schools (”Straight Talk Is the Best Deterrent to Steroid Use,” November 6).
So the best way, financially and otherwise, to ward off steroid use among teen athletes is probably through parents and coaches — and the old-fashioned approach that Arlington County physical education teacher Rocky Belk and Arlington physician Ben Pearl took last week.
They met with about 60 high school students from Sheila Napala’s physical therapy and sports medicine classes at the Arlington Career Center to discuss steroids and the 2008 documentary the students had watched, “Bigger Stronger Faster*.”
Steroid education approaches involving scare tactics, steroid hysteria and steroid demonization have been largely ineffective. It is refreshing to see prominent educators in the community taking an honest and straightforward approach to the topic of anabolic steroid use by providing truthful information to students. Read more
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.
The steroid documentary Bigger Stronger Faster is making its European premiere at the 43rd annual 2008 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic on July 5, 2008. Producers Alex Buono and Tasmin Rawady have told me they will be in attendance to personally introduce their film to European viewers. The film festival is one of the most prestigious showcases of films in Eastern and Central Europe. Bigger Stronger Faster is entered in the “Best Documentary Films in Competition” category. Read more
The Ad Council recent asked Christopher Bell (director of steroid documentary Bigger Stronger Faster) for his input in a new steroid awareness campaign. Bigger Stronger Faster exposed the contemporary steroid hysteria in the United States and the overstated and exaggerated side effects of anabolic steroids. Some people have consider a factual evaluation of anabolic steroids to be “pro-steroid.” But fortunately, the Ad Council does not feel that way. They consulted with Chris Bell in the development of their new steroid awareness campaign (”New documentary takes frank look at steroids use in sports,” June 27). Read more
A scene examining anabolic steroids and roid rage that was deleted from the steroid documentary “Bigger Stronger Faster*” has been posted on Youtube. Roid rage is addressed by various experts including Rick Collins, William Llewellyn, John Romano and Harrison Pope.
The number of interesting clips about steroids that were deleted from the final production of Bigger Stronger Faster is amazing. Magnolia Pictures has released fascinating deleted clips on roid rage, steroids for HIV and Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler discussing steroids. The movie is great but much of the unused footage is excellent as well. I hope that the DVD release includes number bonus features including unedited interviews with many of the steroid experts featured (and not featured) in the movie.
The core bodybuilding community is failing to support the critically acclaimed steroid documentary “Bigger Stronger Faster*” at the box office. Bodybuilders have the most to gain by the commercial success of a movie that presents the audience with factual information challenging uninformed beliefs about the alleged dangers of anabolic steroids; such a brilliant documentary has the potential to change attitudes regarding steroids in mainstream America. But if the bodybuilding community fails to support a movie that was, as producer Alex Buono says, “made for them” then it may represent the loss of an incredible opportunity to influence public opinion regarding anabolic steroids. Read more
HIV activist Michael Mooney speaks about the therapeutic applications of testosterone and anabolic steroids for HIV wasting in a deleted scene from “Bigger Stronger Faster.” Mooney is the co-author of Built to Survive (along with Nelson Vergel) and wrote about steroids and HIV for the anabolic steroid and bodybuilding magazine Muscle Media 2000.
I still meet people who obviously have a serious problem with testosterone deficiency who have all the old AIDS symptoms and the doctor will not give them testosterone because their doctor is so afraid of the legal implications. Thousands of people have died because their doctor wouldn’t prescribe testosterone or anabolic steroids for their HIV.
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.
Muscletech probably thought they succeeded in managing damage control when they fired Christian Boeving for talking about his steroid use in what was (at the time) a little known, low budget, independent documentary about steroids that just appeared at the Sundance Film Festival.
They probably didn’t expect that the movie would be a critically acclaimed hit. They probably didn’t expect bodybuilding websites to hear about Christian Boeving’s firing months ago and start blogging about it. They didn’t expected director Chris Bell to be asked about Muscletech’s hypocrisy and Christian Boeving in interviews. They probably didn’t expect Magnolia Pictures to buy the film and distribute it nationwide. They probably didn’t expect Christian Boeving to speak so proudly about telling the truth and vocally about Muscletech’s hypocrisy regarding anabolic steroids.
Muscletech certainly didn’t expect their hypocrisy about anabolic steroids to be exposed nationally by the New York Times (”A Self-Described Steroid User Loses Job as Fitness Model,” June 9)!
“But I didn’t think I would get into that much trouble, because I thought it was pretty apparent that the top people in the industry use steroids to look like we do.”
A company whose products he endorsed, Iovate Health Sciences, apparently did not think so, and promptly severed Mr. Boeving’s contract. Iovate Health Sciences did not return calls for comment last week.
Mr. Boeving had represented over-the-counter dietary supplements in Iovate’s MuscleTech division, including Hydroxycut, which is meant to burn fat, and Nitro-Tech, which is meant to build muscle. But the type of performance-enhancing steroids Mr. Boeving referred to in the movie are legal only with a doctor’s prescription; he said in an interview that he had a prescription for testosterone.
While he may not been breaking the law, Mr. Boeving was apparently breaking a taboo in the bodybuilding world, one that Mr. Bell’s documentary was aiming to expose. “Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been looking at muscle magazines,” Mr. Bell said in an interview. “I would see these guys that are huge, and they’d say, take this pill and you’ll look like this. We know that’s not the case.”
Since it was announced that Magnolia Pictures had acquired the distribution rights to the steroid documentary “Bigger Stronger Faster“, I’ve been looking forward to comments from Magnolia Pictures owner Mark Cuban regarding the film. Today, he finally made an entry on his weblog Blog Maverick with a few brief comments. I was disappointed that he took this opportunity to suggest anabolic steroid use was responsible for Gregg Valentino’s arms! This does not give a good public image of steroid users.
I love this movie because its a hysterical look at the sports world. Steroids are the common theme in the movie, but its a theme that is ripe for humor. How can a guy with guns like Gregg Valentino not be…
Although I’m a big supporter of the steroid film project and have written positively about the movie, I’ve also written about my disappointment regarding the use of Valentino in the movie trailer; it only spreads steroid misinformation about the effects of steroids. The public actually believes that Valentino’s arms are the result of steroids. The documentary does nothing to dispel this.
Overall, the movie is terrific at educating the viewer about the side effects of anabolic steroids and the issues surrounding their use in sports and society. But perhaps, the asterisk included in the movie title “Bigger Stronger Faster*” should have referred to the following clarification:
*Gregg Valentino’s arms are NOT the result of anabolic steroids.
I was fortunate to be in Venice, California this week when my friend Rehan Jalali invited me to attend the premiere party for “Bigger Stronger Faster*” in Hollywood on Tuesday, May 27, 2008. I had the chance to see director Chris Bell, producers and co-writers Tasmin Rawady and Alex Buono again since I last met with them in Dallas. I also had a chance to meet Chris’ parents and brothers Mark “Smelly” Bell and Mike “Mad Dog” Bell. I interviewed several of the “stars” of the film as well including Christian Boeving, Rick Schaff, and Rehan Jalali and other fitness celebrities and insiders in attendance like Mike Ryan. These raw, unedited video streams were originally broadcast live from the Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, California.
Percy Crawford interviewed Christopher Bell, director of the steroid documentary “Bigger Stronger Faster“, in a good piece appearing on Fight Hype. Chris Bell criticizes the hypocrisy and dishonesty of bodybuilding supplement companies like Muscletech in their approach to anabolic steroids (”Christopher Bell: What’s Really the Big Deal About Steroids?,” May 12).
I talked to a fitness model named Christian Boeving, who was probably the top fitness model in the past 10 years for the company MuscleTech. Christian was basically…his contract ended and they would not redo his contract, and he was their top guy, because he was in this movie. They saw a little clip on CNN and were like, “You know what Christian, that’s it!” They’re not allowed to tell the truth. It’s like they know they’re taking all of these supplements and steroids, but they’re not allowed to say that. There is a big hypocrisy going on when a company like MuscleTech says they do not support the use of anabolic steroids and then they also sponsor the Mr. Olympia contest, which is not drug tested and we also know that Mr. Olympia is definitely on steroids. It’s a big hypocrisy going on that we can’t tell the truth in this country. You see an ad with a guy who is juiced out of his mind, but he’s selling supplements. Who are you kidding?
Secrets of the Dead, the PBS documentary series that has explored topics such as ritual cannibalism, Salem witchcraft trials, Auschwitz death factories and Aztec massacres, has turned its attention to an episode exploring the East German steroid doping scandal. The steroid documentary “Doping for Gold” by Alison Rooper premieres on PBS on Wednesday, May 7, 2008. PBS also streams the documentary from their website.
The documentary focused on the state-sponsored East German doping program and the secret administration of anabolic steroids to female children without their knowledge or consent (or parental consent). The goal of the film was not to necessarily demonize steroids but to condemn a state-sponsored doping system that superceded individual choice to pursue victory at all costs even the victimization of children.
Clearly, there is a big difference between healthy adult men who “choose” to use anabolic steroids and little girls who are “forced” to use unknown substances by government bureaucratics without regard for their health. The documentary interviews four athletes (Ute Krause, Rica Reinisch, Katharina Bullin, and Heidi Krieger aka Andres Krieger) that were involuntarily subjected to steroid use as young girls and chronicles how it affected their lives.
Under the auspices of East Germany’s elite sports federation, headed by Manfred Ewald and monitored by the Ministry of State Security (known as Stasi), the government used doping as part of a deceptive master plan to secure international prestige through success in sports. Girls as young as 12 were recruited from across the country, and without their knowledge, were regularly administered untested steroids and male hormones as part of their training. Ultimately, Olympic gold came at a disturbing price for many of the German athletes, specificially side effects ranging from male-type hair growth and deepened voices to liver and heart disease, depression, infertility, miscarriages, and even death.
The film lists various documented side effects of anabolic steroids (such as Jenapharm’s Oral Turinabol and STS-646) based on Stasi records and long-term medical records of athletes affected. But it also makes some spurious connections to other side effects such as self-mutilation, breast cancer, and changes in sexual identity.
Many critics seek to connect the East German steroid scandal with contemporary doping scandals. Since the scandals all involve steroids, the suggestion is that steroid use in sports could possibly lead to a repeat of East German tragedies if we are not careful. According to a Plain Dealer television critic:
What emerges from this “Secrets of the Dead” installment is a cautionary tale for individuals and sports organizations wrestling with the curse of drugs.
According to LA Times television critic:
Watching how athletes’ health, sexuality and lives were so willingly traded for Olympic medals, you can’t help but wonder what pressures are at work in the U.S. where so many athletes choose to ingest potentially career-ending and physically damaging drugs.
However, the lack of consent and forcible/abusive nature of steroid use by East Germany clearly differentiates the Stasi doping program from subsequent steroid scandals.
The movie trailer for the documentary “Bigger Stronger Faster” from director Christopher Bell has finally been released. The trailer is pretty good; I appreciate the challenges of trying to encapsulate such a thought-provoking steroid documentary within a three-minute promotional trailer.
I was disappointed to see Gregg Valentino at the beginning of the trailer conveying the message to a mainstream public that his arms are the result of anabolic steroids when that is clearly not the case. I actually enjoyed Valentino’s appearance in the film; Valentino was very open about steroid use and his scenes were very entertaining and provided a good deal of comic relief. So while I enjoyed Valentino in the movie, not so much in the trailer!
Christopher Bell, the director of the steroid documentary Bigger Stronger Faster, joined a panel discussion on anabolic steroids on May 3, 2008 at Pace University in New York City. “Tribeca Talks: Injecting the American Dream” was part of the Tribeca Film Festival and ESPN Sports Film Festival. The discussion was moderated by Shaun Assael, author of Steroid Nation
America’s performance-enhancing appetite has never been bigger. And it’s not just in professional sports or Hollywood. From high school locker rooms to anti-aging clinics, our nation is embracing steroids and human growth hormones like never before, spurring a furious debate about the ethics of enhancement. Join Christopher Bell, who documented his brothers’ struggle to be “the best,” BALCO founder Victor Conte, Jon Romano and Mark Haskins in a provocative discussion about the pitfalls and promise of the asterisk era, and where we go from here. Moderated by Steroid Nation author Shaun Assael.
New Yorkers have really embraced the film; this was confirmed firsthand by Anthony Roberts who had the opportunity to see Bigger Faster Stronger for the second time witnessing a large crowd of bodybuilders at the screening. Several sports writers, bloggers, and movie critics have screened the film at Tribeca and have written mostly positive reviews.
If anyone had the opportunity to attend the panel discussion, please post your reactions to the event in the comments below.
