Last night at the Boulder Book store Outside contributing editor Andrew Tilin spoke about his new book The Doper Next Door: My Strange and Scandalous Year on Performance Enhancing Drugs. Somewhere between the curiosity of “does this stuff work” and the inevitable temptation to regain one final morsel of youth, Tilin went ahead and got on a program of legally prescribed supplements. Testosterone was the hormone of choice for Tilin, an amateur bike racer and father.
Now, before the “dopers suck” crowd starts their chant, keep this in mind: Tilin never went into illegal drugs such as growth hormones and EPO. As he pointed out, nearly all middle aged women face a similar dilemma with the onset of pre-menapausal conditions and very few people would be critical of a woman taking estrogen and progesterone to help improve energy and mood. The changes in men’s bodies are more subtle but are felt equally as strong. Loss of energy, libido, desire and motivation are par for the course. In this sense, the book is as much about dealing with the slow decline of youth as much as it is about increasing athletic performance.
Of course, it’s one thing to simply want to improve your drive and energy for day to day tasks. It’s another thing to compete on any level with a decidedly unfair advantage over many of your competitors. Tilin has no doubt that testosterone works, as evidenced by his exceptional performances in the bike races he participated in while doping. Everywhere from the race course to the bedroom, Tilin becomes a new man — or perhaps a younger incarnation of himself.
If it wasn’t for those pesky side affects, such as depression, mood swings, acne and increased aggression, it would be a no-brainer for all middle aged men to get some kind of testosterone boost. It’s a compelling read that might feel like a narcissistic journey if the curiosity to see how strong you can get wasn’t ubiquitous among us who partake in athletic endeavors. Well written, honest and insightful, Tilin’s book is easy to read, easy to understand and hard to put down. And for those of us who have wondered in the dark shadows of our secret thoughts what it would be like, Tilin saves us the trouble.
