922: John Romano

Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth

Sal Di Stefano, Adam Schafer, Justin Andrews, Doug Egge

Exercise, Health & Fitness, Health, Fitness

4.8 • 11.8K Ratings

🗓️ 13 December 2018

⏱️ 105 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Sal, Adam & Justin speak with John Romano, a longtime fitness insider and performance-enhancement drug specialist. He has authored several bodybuilding and fitness books and has appeared on HBO, ESPN, ABC's 20/20 and the documentary Bigger Stronger Faster. John is a great storyteller and in this episode he talks about doing time in prison, dealing anabolic steroids, helping CrossFit athletes pass drug tests and other behind the curtain truth about the fitness industry most would rather he kept hidden.

How did he get started in the bodybuilding space? His chance meeting with The Original Guru, Dan Duchaine. (4:06)
He openly shares in his time in prison and what got him there. (12:19)
Who did he write for initially? (18:57)
Did he encounter push back from his articles? The dark side of the bodybuilding world. (21:15)
Hustling to Learn. 927:50)
The origin story of steroids. (29:40)
The evolution of anabolic steroid use in bodybuilding. (31:42)
Would he say the ’90s was the ‘death’ of female bodybuilding? (43:20)
The genesis of ‘Muscle Worship’ with female bodybuilders. (46:30)
What was his connection with Bill Phillips? (51:25)
What did Dan go to jail for? (57:00)
What is his take on the current state of social media? (58:28)
An education of the drug market in Mexico. (1:03:00)
Does he believe anabolic steroids should be legal in the US? (1:08:50)
What consequences has he suffered from poor lifestyle choices? (1:20:25)
Does he still write for publications? (1:22:25)
What does he think of the space now? (1:25:41)
What does he think of the sport of CrossFit? (1:32:37)
How would he cycle off a CrossFit athlete? (1:37:08)
What’s the deal with SARMS (Selective androgen receptor modulator)? (1:38:50)

People Mentioned:

Dan Duchaine
Joe Weider
Dorian Yates (@thedorianyates) Instagram
Flex Wheeler ® | Official (@officialflexwheeler) Instagram
Ronnie Coleman (@ronniecoleman8) Instagram

Products Mentioned:

Transcript

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0:00.0	If you want to pump your body and expand your mind, there's only one place to go.
0:06.0	Mite, op, mite, op with your hosts.
0:09.0	Salda Stefano, Adam Schaefer, and Justin Andrews.
0:13.0	This was a treat for me because, you know, I actually really did not...
0:18.0	I know of the name, right? I know I've read T-Nation articles.
0:21.0	I know I've read articles that he's written in the magazine, but...
0:24.0	Yeah.
0:25.0	Other than that, I wasn't a voracious reader like you or as a kid,
0:29.0	so I wasn't reading as much back then.
0:32.0	And so I really didn't know a lot about John until this episode.
0:36.0	And man, it reminds me of the first interview that we did with Jota Sina.
0:40.0	Jota Sina.
0:41.0	And he came in so unassuming.
0:44.0	I didn't know anything.
0:45.0	I didn't know a lot about him.
0:47.0	You, Sal, you had co-signed for him.
0:50.0	Everything that he was connected to, and you're just like,
0:52.0	I just know this guy will be really enjoyable to have a boy.
0:56.0	I mean, he exceeded all my expectations.
0:59.0	What a great guy.
1:00.0	What a fucking real dude.
1:03.0	And how cool was it to ask him and listen to his stories?
	...

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