I think Indo was just confirming that TC used them not as performance enhancers in the water but as out of the water enhancers - he is not suggesting everyone should do this - well I hope not.
Some history
In France Brazilian surfer Neco Padaratz tested positive to anabolic steroids in 2004 and was banned for six months
King KS speaks earlier this year
When Kelly Slater drops his opinion about something to do with surfing, you listen to it. Especially when it???s about something as hot as drug use. While in Coolangatta for the Quiksilver Pro, Gold Coast (and yes, he???s doing the whole tour this year), Kelly riffed an excellent interview with the Courier Mail. The focus was drugs in surfing, but not the kind you may think. ???There clearly is ??? absolutely,??? he said of a recreational drug problem on the tour. ???There???s no denying that, it???s rampant, it???s full-on.??? But, he doesn???t believe a performance-enhancing drug problem exists in surfing. Why? ???I don???t think there???s a drug you can take to make you surf better???.
Kelly, who???s been drug-free his whole life, said that, while the ASP made a move in the right direction to begin with, the flame went out. ???They tested us at the first event and I never got tested again all year,??? he said. ???Why talk about it and not do it? Why bother? Either do it or don???t do it.??? And, besides, testing at events won???t help those with a recreational drug problem, says Kelly: ???Those are personal, private matters and it???s really hard to dredge them up publicly and come to any kind of conclusion. Andy (Irons) was the one who put himself in that situation. Had he had more outside pressure to change, that might have pushed him over the edge more quickly. I know a lot of drug addicts and you can???t force them to go get help if they don???t want it. You just have to show those people love and support and let them know that if they need your help, you???re there.???
So, there???s that. Everyone has their own opinion. But, what of Kelly???s plans? One thing???s for sure: They don???t involve retirement. ???I???m going to go for it and try to put together a good year,??? he said. ???Pretty much every day I get some older dude come up to me and say ???Oh, mate, you???ve got to keep going???. I was one heat away from winning the title last year. I came really close and it wasn???t really heartbreaking. I was happy for Parko. But right now everyone???s got a target on their back we???re all starting at zero.???
To be clear I am not saying strip him of world titles...in fact I am coming from the other side and think all drugs should be decriminalised...it works very well in Portugal....
Jbshack
I am lost as to how you can label them as cheats.
If as his brother is saying it wasn't done pre-competition to gain an edge but after in celebration then it becomes a personal health issue.
Given the damage that legal drugs such as ciggies and booze do, at a personal level I get confused at where our society draws a line but that is a whole different debate.
On the basis of your argument if I could prove that Kelly Slater broke the law by driving through a red light on the way to a competition that he won and that got him a world title then he should be stripped of the title. He broke the law and therefore cheated. In fact that is more of a performance enhancement as he wouldn't have got to his heat on time.
To me that argument makes as much sense as wanting to strip a world title based on what someone did at the after party. They are not cheats but I am guessing a lot of them have personal issues like everyone else.
I'd be more worried about the fact that all these superstar afl,nfl and surfing stars are roll models for kids whether we like it or not.No place for drugs in any sport I reckon
Kneeling
We want our heroes to be clean living saints but often genius (which to get to an elite level of anything is what is needed) comes with a lot of issues, emotional baggage and in many cases one step away from what society calls madness.
Maybe the surf media did a good job turning a blind eye so that the kids don't see the dark side of their idols.
I agree there is no place for drugs in sport but what someone gets up to in their personal life as long as it doesn't damage other people should be no ones elses business.
JB, pro surfing has changed heaps post 90s, let's call it the Slater era, it is a marketing machine clean image etc... Before it was a party machine.... That didn't speak of the dark side, cause most journalists at the time were up to their necks in it
Drugs and surfing have always been intertwined. And probably always will be it is just part of the scene, surfing will always attract fringe dwellers, weirdos etc and hence drugs....
Look at encyclopedia of surfing. It has a good section on drugs and surfing.
As for idolising famous people, never worked for me. They are just people who are good at something. Doesn't make them a good role model. Role models should be closer to home..
MR has always said just cause I surf ok and won some comps doesn't make me a good person or a better person than anyone else... It just means I can surf.
To my mind a good job, good education, cares about others, has integrity and is an honest person is what I'd aspire my kids to be..
And to me that is found at home with relatives etc not some guy I know nothing about other than his professional achievements. Sure it is good to want to achieve but idolising people you don't know is bound to fail IMO.
All good to look at it like that but the surfing and sport world in general didn't have the media coverage our kids have now eg Internet, fuel tv,alf channels at a turn of a button when we grew up we had minimal tv coverage and access to our top sports people.Ive been involved in kids sport for a while now as coach at different levels and the influence our stars have on our kids is massive go to local parks kids trying to inside out drop punts,pop airs like kerr.So whether they like it or not there role models you just hope that your kids know what's the right thing to do and the wrong thing to do that's what they learn at home.
Do you guys think that the brand names eg afl,ripcurl etc know what their stars are up to and hide as much as possible to protect
There brand from not looking to flash at the expense of their well being?
And you have made sure it stays...bravo.
I believe in what I posted...I'm just don't have time to argue to.and fro,hence why I kept out of this.discussion.
In my humble and somewhat biased opinion I would hope that people speak to their own viewpoints and don't rely on someone else's posts to get their point across.
We all come equipped to speak our own minds.
Sure you don't have to agree with everything you read but you should post what is yours.
A good evening to all.
ET.
I am still lost with the view that somehow TC can be compared to Lance Armstrong.
Armstrong went out determined to gain an advantage. From what I understand this extended to re-injecting his own blood after it had been improved.
This is a systematic scientific approach to win at all costs.
TC had admitted to partying too hard on coke and this spiralled long after his pro career finished into a Ice addiction. No intention to gain an advantage and I think it would have been detrimental to his performance. Could have been worth a few more world titles.
Its not my place to condemn or condone his choices but to put someone who has a health issue (addiction) in the same class as LA seems very harsh.