An anabolic steroid expert’s plan to analyze the ingredients of various anabolic steroid preparations has made a few steroid manufacturers very nervous. The project involves laboratory analysis of various steroid products found on the underground black market.
William Llewellyn, the leader of the quality control project, has faced threats, intimidation and organized attacks on his credibility, reputation, and character after revealing his intention to publish the results in the forthcoming book entitled “William Llewellyn’s UNDERGROUND ANABOLICS”.
Balkan Pharmaceuticals
Balkan Pharmaceuticals, a pharmaceutical company registered in Moldova, has systematically pressured Llewellyn to remove Balkan steroid products from the project since the book project was first announced at the beginning of the year.
“Alin” of Balkan Pharmaceuticals has resorted to intimidation, threats, and attempted bribery in an effort to influence and/or suppress information in Llewellyn’s underground anabolics book.
Alin has organized a “smear campaign” to damage Llewellyn’s reputation as much as possible in order to discredit the underground anabolics book.
Llewellyn has steadfastly refused to acquiesce to Alin’s demands (”Open Letter to Alin (Balkan)“, July 18).
FDA Special Agent Jeff Novitzky, the agent who has become the face of the federal government witch-hunt against steroid users in professional sports during the BALCO scandal, has move his attention to investigating dietary supplement companies suspected of selling designer anabolic steroids.
Novitzky’s latest steroid investigation targeted two popular products sold and marketed as dietary supplements, “Tren Xtreme” and “Mass Xtreme”. These products were manufactured by American Cellular Labs Inc. (ACL) and sold exclusively through Max Muscle Sports Nutrition (MMSN) stores and via the ACL website (”Two Dietary Supplements Said to Contain Steroids,” July 23).
The exact nature of the business relationship between ACL and MMSN is unclear. Maurice Sandoval, the owner of the Max Muscle San Francisco franchise and the Regional Marketing Director for Max Muscle, was identified as the chief executive of ACL in a government affidavit. Sandoval told the New York Times that he sold ACL in 2008. ACL, Max Muscle San Francisco, and Sandoval’s residence were targets of search warrants executed on July 23, 2009.
The FDA investigation did not involve any steroid contaminants or undisclosed anabolic steroids. Federal investigators specifically targeted the openly listed ingredients in Tren Xtreme and Mass Xtreme commonly referred to as “Tren” and “Madol”, respectively. Read more
Glenn Donald England pleaded guilty to possession of steroids for the purpose of trafficking in Canadian Provincial Court on April 15, 2009. England admitted conspiring with GenXXL and Axio Labs founder Brian Wainstein to distribute significant quantities of steroid tablets and steroid injectable products in 2006. (”Edmonton cops bust steroid trafficker,” April 16).
According to agreed facts, England was busted after an eight-month undercover operation by city police and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) that ended with an Oct. 10, 2006, raid at his west Edmonton apartment. [...]
There was also evidence found linking England to Irish steroid king Brian Wainstein, including itemized steroid orders on Wainstein’s website, names and addresses of customers, courier delivery receipts, phone records, money transfer receipts and computer text messages.
According to the agreed facts, between Feb. 7, 2006, and Oct. 30, 2006, England was in possession of 640,000 steroid tablets and 37.7 litres of steroid oil, valued at from $1.6 million to $2.3 million, that were sent by Wainstein.
The Edmonton Police cooperated with Irish police in a joint investigation after the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) intercepted a package from Wainstein containing anabolic steroids. Law enforcement monitored telephone conversations between England and Wainstein over the ensuing eight months. Canadian authorities arranged 17 controlled deliveries of steroid powders and steroid injectables shipped by Wainstein from Moldova, Hong Kong and China. Read more
The CBS Early Show investigated anabolic steroid use by high school athletes in Louisiana on March 17-18, 2009. The investigative report by CBS News correspondent Kelly Cobiella targeted two sports supplement products identified as Genetic Edge Technologies Tren-250 and Tri-City Chemicals Xtreme Tren. Cobiella interviewed athletes at Opelousas High School and Eunice High School who used the supplement identified as “tren”. “Tren” contains an allegedly legal “pro-steroidal” ingredient used in a variety of “pro-steroidal” supplements (”High Schoolers Unknowingly Taking Steroids,” March 18).
Don Catlin, the infamous steroid hunter who runs the Anti-Doping Research lab, tested Xtreme Tren and confirmed the presence of estra-4,9-diene-3,17-dione. Catlin also found trace amounts of 19-norandrostenedione that were not listed on the label. “‘Tren’ is not a supplement at all, it masquerades as a supplement but it is really a powerful potent anabolic steroid,” according to Don Catlin.
William Llewellyn, author of the authoritative anabolic steroid reference manual “Anabolics“, clarifies the conditions under which natural steroid ingredients that can be legally sold over the counter.
If a steroid is found in the food supply naturally, and not regulated as a controlled substance, it may be legal to sell as a dietary supplement. The Dietary Supplement Health & Education Act (DSHEA) is intended to protect ingredients that are natural and already consumed by the public. Depending on if you believe the story or the label, “tren” is either a steroid known as “estra-4,9-diene-3,17-dione” or “estra-4,9,11-triene-3,17-dione” . There is no known source for either steroid in nature. I have to agree with Don Catlin’s assessment that “tren” is not a supplement, but a synthetic designer steroid. Since the designer steroid “tren” is not natural, it is considered a misbranded drug under federal law.
It is important to note that estra-4,9-diene-3,17-dione is NOT legally defined as an “anabolic steroid” under the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 1990 and 2004. Instead, it may be classified as a “misbranded drug” instead of a dietary supplement.
The CBS Early Show investigation into anabolic steroid use by high school athletes reveals how the war on steroids will attack the sports supplement industry and the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA). Read more
William Llewellyn and Ashley Vincent Livingston have been both involved in the underground anabolic steroid market for over a decade. Llewellyn chose a legal path writing and reporting on the illicit androgen market whereas Livingston (better known as Redicat) chose to participate as a producer and distributor of anabolic steroids sold on the black market. Redicat was responsible for the introduction of “Paper Anabolics” that was explicitly created to pass undetected through customs controls into the United States.
In August 2000 Redi Cat announced on the boards that the new steroid revolution had come about in the shape of Paper Anabolics – a concept first discussed between Redi Cat’s associate and the late steroid guru, Dan Duchaine.
Redicat purportedly made millions of dollars in his chosen profession manufacturing and distributing PaperBol (Methandienone), PaperStrol (Stanazolol), PaperDrol (Oxymetholone), PaperVar (Oxandrolone), PaperHalo (fluoxymesterone), PaperPrimo (methenolone), etc. He was arrested in Thailand after a major international bust that involved the British Dragon cofounder Edwin Crawley in March 2008.
William Llewellyn and Ronny Tuber recently tested 14 anabolic steroid products from various underground labs (UGLs) for toxic heavy metals and quantification of steroid dosing. Twenty-one percent of the steroid products were contaminated with lead, tin, mercury, and/or arsenic; 64% were significantly underdosed or overdosed. Most notably, the names of the UGLs that “failed” the quality control testing analysis were omitted.
MESO-Rx has uncovered the identities of the labs that failed the tests based on a February 28, 2007 Body of Science forum post by Ronny Tober. We contacted William Llewellyn alerting him to this publicly posted information. He wanted readers to realize that there are serious “chain of custody” issues involved in the testing of such underground anabolic steroid products. This is the reason that he is unable to reveal and/or confirm the identities of the products that failed the testing.
The steroid samples tested were tested at the request of a popular Scandinavian board and obtained on the European black market. As such, there are no guarantees that the chain of custody has been preserved. In the underground androgen black market, it is not uncommon for counterfeit products of other underground products to be distributed. The products tested may or may not be original products produced by the company on the label. It is with this understanding that MESO-Rx is releasing the following information.
Most bodybuilders who use anabolic steroids manufactured by underground labs (UGLs) in the United States are primarily concerned with whether or not the product is accurately dosed with the anabolic steroid listed on the label. Some more health conscious steroid users are also concerned about potential health risks arising from the contamination of UGL steroid products with bateria and/or heavy metals. Fortunately, bacterial contamination is not a common problem since most UGLs effectively sterilize the product by adding ingredients such as benzyl alcohol, etc. However, few people have actually considered the potential toxicity of using anabolic steroids contaminated with heavy metals. Given that most of the steroid powder is illicitly imported from China, the possibility of contamination with lead, tin, mercury, arsenic, etc. is a real possibility.
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.
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).
In recognition of the increasing number of steroid users entering needle exchange assistance programs, steroid expert William Llewellyn, author of Anabolics 2007 and Body of Science, has been a regular lecturer at the National Conference on Injecting Drug Use in London. Llewellyn spoke before key policy makers at the harm reduction conference for the past two years.
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.
I’ve been staying in touch with director Chris Bell since I first learned he was making a steroid documentary. I have talked to several of the “stars” of the movie such as William Llewellyn, Rick Collins, and John Romano regarding their interviews and their appearances in “Bigger Stronger Faster.” I have interviewed Chris about the steroid documentary just before its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. All indicators suggest it will be a well-received and perhaps even a commercial success. Hopefully, it will come to a theater near you soon. If you are not fortunate enough to see the movie at Sundance, please enjoy the following movie posters for the steroid documentary, “Bigger Stronger Faster*,” in the meantime.
Last night was the world premier of Christopher Bell’s steroid documentary, “Bigger, Stronger, Faster - Is It Still Cheating if Everyone is Doing it?” at the Sundance Film Festival. I hope it wins the prize. It features dozens of people, both pro-steroid and anti-steroid, including Rick Collins, William Llewellyn, and John Romano. I just interviewed the director Chris Bell and will post the transcript of my interview with him shortly!
