Guess who's back? Not Jack Nicholson but that lovable rascal Victor Conte. Story here at Reuters.
Conte, who positioned himself at the heart of the sophisticated anabolics (steroid) ring called BALCO discusses his motivation. It wasn't fame, money, or chicks. It was fun.
"It had nothing to do with money," said Conte, owner of the defunct BALCO lab.
"I was simply having a lot of fun. It was exciting to be in the trenches, to be at these world championships and Olympics and Super Bowls and travel all over the world," he said in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday.
"Some people may view this as being reckless and taking enormous risks, but it was very exciting, it was very fun."
Conte was the founder of BALCO. Documented in many articles, mostly in the San Francisco Chronicle and San Jose Mercury, and ultimately in the 'Game of Shadows' by Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada, this story will not go away.
Conte mentored Barry Bonds, Romo, Marion Jones, Tim Montgomery, and many many others as documented in 'Game'. Conte, along with Patrick Arnold designed the cream and the clear. He ultimately was convicted of conspiracy, money laundering and distribution of anabolic steroids.
Conte, 56, said he operated his BALCO lab for 15 years before beginning to deal in steroids, although he says he started using them personally in 1996.
"I made the decision to go down the slippery slope at some point in 1999," he said. "Finally I got to a point where I basically realized that these athletes didn't have a choice."
"I knew there were tremendous risks with it, but it had to do with looking out for the safety of the people that you work with. And knowing that they are going to do it with or without your assistance -- only, without your assistance, they are going to buy it down a dark alley out of the trunk of a car behind a gym somewhere."
Victor Conte, concerned with the athletes, remains a humanitarian at heart. :-)
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