American Gladiator Dan Clark tells of evils of steroids

[steroidbot]

Ex-Spartan, 'Gladiator' tells of steroids' ills
San Jose Mercury News, USA
"Gladiator: A True Story of 'Roids, Rage, and Redemption."

In an era when the shadow of steroids has darkened modern sport and made fans increasingly skeptical of what they see, Clark wants the book to be a catalyst for a more realistic discussion about performance-enhancing drugs. Steroids work, Clark says flatly. But they exact a terrible price.

"That's the conversation we're not having with young adults," Clark, the father of a 21-year-old son, said. "You know how teenagers are. You tell them: 'Don't you do this' and it's only going to make them do it more. So you have to tell them that you do get bigger, but you pay for those gains with a pound of flesh. It's a Faustian bargain." [...]

Clark went on to play football in Italy, where steroids helped him add 32 more pounds in 10 weeks to top out at 262. Clark writes that during the 1987 NFL strike, replacement players would compare their steroid regimens in the Rams locker room. [...]

After he became a TV personality, Clark was befriended by former Raiders star Lyle Alzado. He recounts how, just after Alzado denied using steroids on national television, the player spelled out to Clark everything he was taking.

Clark then went home and injected himself with a concoction of drugs that almost killed him. Alzado died in 1992 at age 43 from a brain tumor he claimed was linked to his steroid use.

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