Bigger Faster Stronger* Documentary

I just watched this yesterday and liked it. I’m wondering what everyone else thought.

One thing I’ll say is if those brothers were on something they should have gotten their money back because they were not that impressive. Well Stinky was a powerlifter but the other two not so much. But I don’t want to sound like a jerk.

Great doco, I only have two major criticisms of it

  1. Its decidedly biased towards being pro-steroid use. Not a big deal, considering its nice to have that for a change against the millions of pieces of anti-steroid propaganda.

  2. There is no distinction made between regular steroid use and what Greg Valentino did (whether it was excessive synthol, or excessively injecting testosterone propionate as he so claims, at any rate it was a problem extending from putting far too much oil in the muscle tissue) which leads to the average viewer believing something so ghastly could happen from recreational steroid use.

Have you seen mark bell recently?

He’s pretty damn impressive.

[quote]
One thing I’ll say is if those brothers were on something they should have gotten their money back because they were not that impressive. Well Stinky was a powerlifter but the other two not so much. But I don’t want to sound like a jerk.[/quote]

Well I think its a great demonstrative example of the difference in consistency and training intensity

They all admittedly used or continue to use steroids, yet only one of them looks good despite all being from the same gene pool so you can’t use genetics as an excuse.

Mark bell obviously used to steroids to facilitate what was already probably a very high level of intensity and dedication to his goal, while the other brothers look like they’ve been on and off with their training goals and diet.

The wrestling brother died of some sort of drug overdose a year or two after the documentary came out, IIRC. It’s a shame because even just watching that movie you could tell he was a sinking ship.

The BFS doco changed bodybuilding and fitness in my opinion. While it wasn’t a factor by itself, It coincided with this massive influx of interest in fitness and bodybuilding the last couple of years. Most guys lifting in college gyms around the world have seen BFS. It has helped change the landscape of the steroid discussion in general. When Barry Bonds was indicted by Major League Baseball all those years ago the public response was largely against Bonds and he was routinely lambasted by fans with memes like Baroid Bonds and Asterisk.

Nowadays you’ll see a noticeable faction of people on social media talk about how steroids “aren’t that bad” and that they aren’t these magic pills that will make you capable of doing super-human things. I wouldn’t go as far to say as a lot more people are better informed about steroids, but they are definitely more inquisitive and open-minded.

As a side, I believe due to the surging popularity of bodybuilding and fitness, the Mr. Olympia contest will be on national TV very soon.

Can’t say I agree on that last point gettnitdone, I dont think bodybuilding will ever appeal to the masses unless the way its marketed is drastically changed. Right now its very insulated, you’re either a die hard fan or you dont really care for it.

Most of the popularity with bodybuilding in recent years has been internet phenomena over the quirky personalities in the sport and ridiculing gym culture.

I just can’t see them marketing it in a way that captures the attention of the everyday man.

[quote]MAsteve wrote:
Have you seen mark bell recently?

He’s pretty damn impressive. [/quote]

Ya, this. Mark Bell is pretty jacked.

The documentary was very good I thought.

[quote]LankyMofo wrote:
The wrestling brother died of some sort of drug overdose a year or two after the documentary came out, IIRC. It’s a shame because even just watching that movie you could tell he was a sinking ship. [/quote]

Some of his parts were tough to watch.

I enjoyed it. Thought it was cool that he came at the issue of steroids from multiple angles. Had a little bit of everything in there for everyone.

Love the scene where Chris gets a bunch of Mexicans and makes his own supplement just to prove what a load of horseshit the supplement industry is.

My favorite part is when he’s interviewing that dumb ass senator that can’t answer a single question without getting confirmation from (I’m assuming) one of his aides.

[quote]Aussie Davo wrote:
Can’t say I agree on that last point gettnitdone, I dont think bodybuilding will ever appeal to the masses unless the way its marketed is drastically changed. Right now its very insulated, you’re either a die hard fan or you dont really care for it.

Most of the popularity with bodybuilding in recent years has been internet phenomena over the quirky personalities in the sport and ridiculing gym culture.

I just can’t see them marketing it in a way that captures the attention of the everyday man. [/quote]

mens physique doesn’t really help with the popularity of bodybuilding either. It gets more people to the shows but bodybuilding is becoming less of the main event.

[quote]Aussie Davo wrote:

  1. Its decidedly biased towards being pro-steroid use. Not a big deal, considering its nice to have that for a change against the millions of pieces of anti-steroid propaganda.
    [/quote]

I would bet people who are highly educated on the topic steroids for the purposes of performance arent against them.

Edited

[quote]therajraj wrote:

[quote]Aussie Davo wrote:

  1. Its decidedly biased towards being pro-steroid use. Not a big deal, considering its nice to have that for a change against the millions of pieces of anti-steroid propaganda.
    [/quote]

I would bet people who are highly educated on the topic steroids for the purposes of performance are against them.[/quote]

If you’re talking because of health reasons you’d probably bet wrong, unless you were talking to a WADA official, in which case that goes without saying.

If you’re talking “because its cheating” opinions will likely vary but you’d be closer to the mark.

[quote]Aragorn wrote:

[quote]therajraj wrote:

[quote]Aussie Davo wrote:

  1. Its decidedly biased towards being pro-steroid use. Not a big deal, considering its nice to have that for a change against the millions of pieces of anti-steroid propaganda.
    [/quote]

I would bet people who are highly educated on the topic steroids for the purposes of performance are against them.[/quote]

If you’re talking because of health reasons you’d probably bet wrong, unless you were talking to a WADA official, in which case that goes without saying.

If you’re talking “because its cheating” opinions will likely vary but you’d be closer to the mark.
[/quote]

Late edit. I meant the opposite of what I wrote

[quote]Nards wrote:
I just watched this yesterday and liked it. I’m wondering what everyone else thought.[/quote]
There were a bunch of threads here reviewing/discussing it a few years ago when it first came out, plus this interview with the director:
http://www.T-Nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance_interviews/the_american_dream_on_steroids

Just double-checked and it’s still on Netflix Instant. I haven’t rewatched it in a while, but remember it being pretty even-handed and raised a few good points, especially how poorly educated the lawmakers are.

[quote]Aussie Davo wrote:
Its decidedly biased towards being pro-steroid use. Not a big deal, considering its nice to have that for a change against the millions of pieces of anti-steroid propaganda. [/quote]
I think he wanted to be “neutral” and have the viewer become informed enough to decide for themselves, but like you said, he did have to lean more “pro-steroid” to compensate for the already-existing bias and swarm of misinformation out there.

Definitely a good watch. For anyone who has just been fed a steady diet of media-hype on PEDs, this will surely make you step back and at least consider that there may be a bit more to the story.

As an aside, the deleted scenes and out-takes (check youtube) are pretty entertaining as well as informative. You will find a nice clip of Cutler admitting his usage, as well as a now famous clip with Christain Boeving where he’s asked point blank about whether it’s dishonest for him to be the face of a certain supplement line, when his impressive physique is built more from his reliance on PEDs, than that line (I can’ say it, but it rhymes with shmusckle shteck) of products. Suffice to say, he had his long running contract quickly terminated once the piece got out.

S

[quote]Chris Colucci wrote:
plus this interview with the director:
http://www.T-Nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance_interviews/the_american_dream_on_steroids
[/quote]

Good read.

“Chasing a dream, they injected a shot of concentrated sin!” LMAO!!!

I think its pretty funny the way people in America are all experts on Marijuana and how they down play ANY negativity but there is still so much misinformation on AAS. Try talking to a co-worker about it and you’ll see how he’ll lose his shit.