On 22nd May 2003, a Bodybuilder died. Scott Klein was found dead by his mother in his bed. The cause of death was cardiovascular disease and kidney failure. It is possible that his death had nothing to do with bodybuilding, but as far as I am aware healthy 30 year old men don’t tend to drop down dead with kidney failure unless through genetically orientated problems and that wasn’t the case here. I couldn’t believe it when during the same week I heard that another great bodybuilder Tom Prince had fallen ill with ulcers and kidney problems.
Lee Priest - one of the all time greats - announced his retirement from competition with immediate effect. Lee has generated rumors of health problems in the past and with his massive bodyweight changes on/off season, coupled at times with a junk food diet, this is hardly surprising. Lee said that he did not enjoy the sport any more. “What is happening to a lot of good athletes is crazy. In the end, all you have is your health and some of the greats don’t even have that.”
Similarly Milos Sarchev retired from contests after the Hungarian GP on June 8th, when he finished 6th and failed to qualify for the 2003 Mr. Olympia. He also cited health reasons for giving up. Milos has been at the top level for many years and has probably competed in more Pro contests than any other bodybuilder, ever. He obviously enjoyed the competition and has come back after suffering serious injury with a rupture of the quadriceps in his right leg. Such mechanical type injuries can happen to anyone in any sport that pushes the body to the limits. But Milos has had direct experience of internal health risks associated with top level bodybuilding. He suffered an almost fatal embolism a year or two ago when he had a blood clot, caused by using Synthol, detach from an artery and cause a blockage in his lung.
It wasn’t long before other top level amateurs and professionals started admitting to serious health problems. Orville Burke injured himself during a photo shot in Olympia resulting in his shoulder and Elbow needing to be operated on. As a result of his poor health, one medical team refused to operate, although another did, but only after receiving a report and approval from a heart consultant. Sadly Orville fell into a coma after kidney failure but slowly recovered although his bodybuilding career is over.
Mike Francois, a great physique until a few years ago suffered serious internal problems, which ended his career. Nasser el Sonbaty withdrew from the Night of the Champions 2003 in New York for health reasons and it is reported that his bodybuilding career is finished. Flex Wheeler has had his pro Card withdrawn for “health reasons” and it is rumoured that he may need a kidney transplant. Don Long, another top American, also required a kidney transplant - his sister had to give up a kidney to save him.
Then there was a really top American bodybuilder Ron Teufel from the 70’s who died at 45. We can no doubt argue the case that these examples are not necessarily drug related but it goes without saying that we are talking about young, strong and fit men who should be glowing with health. But I’m afraid that it’s just not the case when so many become so seriously ill and sometimes even leading to fatal illness.
I have mentioned a number of drugs in addition to anabolic steroids, which are in the arsenal of any competition bodybuilder but professionals are at the cutting edge of the game. Each has contacts with one or many drug gurus who are always looking for some other product with potential for taking the freaky physique just that bit further. Such a product could be used to give their clients the extra edge in muscle size, condition, vascularity and increase the earning potential of the guru. The men at the top need bodies with awesome drug handling genetics to be able to tolerate a combination of high doses and a complex cocktail of drugs, over long periods.
The life of a pro is dictated by his sport and his income earning potential. The time for high earning at the top can be short [even if our Pro remains healthy] and the serious Pro wants to maximize his earnings in that short time. This means a life of competing - unless you are a special kind of showman, your earning potential soon starts to drop if you are not in front of the fans, regularly winning or placing high in contests - of training to be bigger and better next year, of appearing at exhibitions, giving seminars, grabbing star spots, etc. And for all of the last three you will be expected to be in decent shape; appearing as a lard ball is not an option. The consequence of all of this is a life of drug use year round. It is not healthy.
Becoming a top bodybuilder isn’t what it’s made out to be. Training is tough and those heavy weights eventually cause joint problems and in the modern day sport heavy means heavy and injuries are to be expected. Added to that is the high food intake which obviously includes high protein content, putting the digestive system, the kidneys and the liver on over time. This combination leads to high blood pressure and accompanied by potent drug cocktails, the stress factor on the body organs is enormous. The human body requires rest from this type of activity but there’s no rest for a pro bodybuilder.
American football is quite similar in a way as regards the high demands on the body. We are talking about big guys training hard, pounding into each other and the resulting serious injuries. Then there are the drugs to consider, although I can only guess what they may take. The dosage level would be a lot less to that of bodybuilders and they without a doubt receive better medical assistance. Another important point is that the American Football season lasts just 4 months allowing more time to recover.
Most of you who read my column will know that I am not opposed to the use of drugs and, like every real bodybuilding enthusiast; I want to see ever freakier physiques. But I do not want a single young man to kill himself trying to get just that bit freakier. Trying to draw the line anywhere is difficult. Once a genie is out of the bottle it is pretty well impossible to get it back in again. And the release occurred over 40 years ago.
I really believe that bodybuilding won’t just become a lunatic freaks sport, comprising of a couple of crazy guys with something similar to a self imposed death wish in order to become THE FREAK of the year. Perhaps it has become this already? It is the old rockers motto incarnate. Live hard, die young and have a good looking corpse. On 22nd May 2003, Scott Klein died. Is death the only real future for the Bodybuilder?
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