On 22nd May 2003, a Bodybuilder died. Scott Klein was found lying dead on his bed at 5.00am by his mother. He died of cardio-vascular disease and kidney failure. His death may have had absolutely nothing to do with bodybuilding, but 30 year old men do not die suddenly with kidney failure unless there is some known genetic weakness and, as far as I am aware, that was not the case here. In the same week that I heard about Scott Klein I read detailed reports of the illness of Tom Prince – another great bodybuilder – with ulcers and kidney problems.

Lee Priest – one of the all time greats – announced his retirement from competition with immediate effect. Lee has generated rumours 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.

More and more top level amateurs and professionals are reporting or admitting to serious health problems. I have not carried out exhaustive research nor investigated every denial; if I did, I am sure that I would find many more with serious health problems. How about these. Orville Burke suffered an injury in 2002 during a post-Olympia photo shoot and needed an operation on a shoulder and elbow. One medical team refused to work on him because of his poor health; another did so only after a report and approval from a heart consultant. Orville suffered serious problems during surgery resulting in kidney failure and his lapsing into a coma. He is still receiving treatment as he slowly recovers but 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. Ron Teufel, top American in the late 1970′s has died at 45 years of age. Now, you can argue that all of these problems may have nothing to do with drugs. And in some cases you may be correct. But the overall picture of young men, the apparent epitome of strength, fitness and masculinity, who ought to be in glowing health – or at least not seriously unhealthy – is severely damaged when so many are having serious, life threatening and in some cases fatal illnesses.

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 maximise 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.

Being a top level bodybuilder is not all roses. Hard training with heavy weights ultimately causes many joint problems and with the size of top men today, heavy means VERY heavy. Injuries are not unknown – they are to be expected. Then the consumption of huge amounts of food – particularly with high protein content – gives the digestive system, the kidneys and the liver plenty to do. Most men have continuously high blood pressure. And, finally, add the drugs cocktail. The total stress on the organs is massive. The body needs significant periods of rest from this. But for a pro bodybuilder, there is no rest.

In some ways American Football makes similar huge demands on the body. A sport with big men training hard, lots of pounding of the body and games where players get lots of bad injuries. What drugs are used by American Footballers, I don’t know – I can only guess – use is certainly not at the dosage levels of bodybuilders and generally they will get better medical supervision. But American Football is played for only four months each year and eight months is left for rest and recovery.

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 hope that bodybuilding will not develop into a sport of lunatic freaks; a small group of competing men who have a crazy, uninformed death wish and will take anything and everything to be THE FREAK of the year. Perhaps it is that 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?