3. Get Ripped. Quick
A 1983 steroid scandal rocks American sport, and a steroid crackdown ensues. Conditions are right for a booming black market and the ring hatches a plan.
Prior to the 1983 Pan American Games in Caracas Venezuela, the issue of sports doping was largely flying under the American public’s radar. But when 19 athletes are found positive for using banned substances at the games, steroids are thrust into focus. And a stigma starts to grow.
At the same time, authorities are cracking down on the manufacture of one of the most popular anabolics in the bodybuilding community - dianabol. It’s the perfect setting for a black market boom.
Enter William Dillon, Dan Duchaine and an entrepreneurial British ex Olympic track champion named David Jenkins who turn the steroid drought into an opportunity. Together, they supercharge their steroid operation.
In Episode 3 of Muscle Men, historian, podcaster and fitness expert Natalia Mehlman Petrzela looks at the evolution of the use of steroids in sports, from its early days in the Soviet Union’s sports programme, to its rise to the highest levels of international sport.
Featuring former bodybuilder William Dillon; Professor of Sports Studies at Stirling College-Chengdu University, Daniel Rosenke; and former Olympic weightlifter and weightlifting coach Michael Cohen.
Presenter and Executive Producer: Natalia Mehlman Petrzela
Producer: Caroline Thornham
Assistant Producer: Mohamed Ahmed
Editor: Katherine Godfrey
Production Manager: Cheree Houston
Sound Design and Mix by Daniel Kempson
Original Music by SilverHawk, aka Cyrille Poirier
Executive Producer: Max O’Brien
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
A Novel production for Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
Featuring clips from:
Britain’s Hopes for Munich - Associated Press Archive, AP Television
CBS Evening News report on the Pan American Games - CBS News
Episodes are released weekly on Mondays. If you’re in the UK, you can listen to the latest episode, a week early, first on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Sounds https://bbc.in/3ybDcHO
Last on
More episodes
Previous
Broadcast
- Mon 12 Aug 2024 15:30Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
Podcast
-
Extreme: Muscle Men
The sweat-drenched story of the biggest steroid dealing ring to rip through 80s America.