What is THG?
A budding doping scandal crossing multiple sports, involving all sorts of stars? Hmmmm.
At the heart of it is a lab in the Bay Area called BALCO (Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative). It has a wonderfully low-budget and somewhat vague website, the type which I imagine to be characteristic of suspicious, stealthy companies. Even just a partial roster of their past clients is impressive.
On topic, this month's Outside magazine features an article in which an amateur cyclist uses himself as a human guinea pig for all the big names in the performance-enhancing cupboard, from human growth hormone (HGH) to EPO to steroids. A fascinating read, mostly because the author confesses that the cocktails he injected himself with helped. He didn't use them long enough to experience any of the dangerous side effects, but one can easily understand how, in a world of A-personality athletic competitors where the slightest edge means millions of dollars and in a world where everyone seems to be trying the latest fad diet in an attempt to locate a shortcut to lose weight, the idea of taking some drugs from time to time and experiencing noticeable performance gains would be so alluring.
At the heart of it is a lab in the Bay Area called BALCO (Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative). It has a wonderfully low-budget and somewhat vague website, the type which I imagine to be characteristic of suspicious, stealthy companies. Even just a partial roster of their past clients is impressive.
On topic, this month's Outside magazine features an article in which an amateur cyclist uses himself as a human guinea pig for all the big names in the performance-enhancing cupboard, from human growth hormone (HGH) to EPO to steroids. A fascinating read, mostly because the author confesses that the cocktails he injected himself with helped. He didn't use them long enough to experience any of the dangerous side effects, but one can easily understand how, in a world of A-personality athletic competitors where the slightest edge means millions of dollars and in a world where everyone seems to be trying the latest fad diet in an attempt to locate a shortcut to lose weight, the idea of taking some drugs from time to time and experiencing noticeable performance gains would be so alluring.