Viewpoint: ‘Steroid Olympics’ marketing stunt: ‘It seemed less like a sporting event and more like a loss leader to peddle testosterone injections, GLP-1s, and peptides’

Testosterone. Methenolone. Nandrolone. Human growth hormone and EPO. Meldonium, modafinil, and mixed amphetamine salts. Clomiphene, anastrozole, levothyroxine, and liothyronine. Patches and capsules, creams and pills. A whole galaxy of steroids, metabolic modulators, and synthetic hormones coursing through the blood of a few dozen swimmers, sprinters, and weightlifters. And millions of dollars up for grabs for athletes who could break world records and usher in the age of superhumanity.

What I saw in Las Vegas probably wasn’t the future of sport. But it was a perfect encapsulation of our present moment, as Silicon Valley biohackers, alt-right looksmaxxers, Make America Healthy Again boosters, and longevity-obsessed scientists all vie to remake reality in their own image. For them, the Enhanced Games offered a glimpse of a future where medical advances push the human race to new heights, and where they never have to get old. 

Follow the latest news and policy debates on sustainable agriculture, biomedicine, and other ‘disruptive’ innovations. Subscribe to our newsletter.

The Enhanced Games now seemed less like a sporting event and more like a loss leader for selling testosterone injections, GLP-1s, or a range of peptides that are claimed, with little scientific evidence, to improve sleep or skin elasticity. Perhaps it was all a brilliantly executed marketing stunt.

This is an excerpt. Read the original post here

{{ reviewsTotal }}{{ options.labels.singularReviewCountLabel }}
{{ reviewsTotal }}{{ options.labels.pluralReviewCountLabel }}
{{ options.labels.newReviewButton }}
{{ userData.canReview.message }}

Related Articles

Infographic: Global regulatory and health research agencies on whether glyphosate causes cancer

Infographic: Global regulatory and health research agencies on whether glyphosate causes cancer

Does glyphosate—the world's most heavily-used herbicide—pose serious harm to humans? Is it carcinogenic? Those issues are of both legal and ...

Most Popular

Screenshot-2026-06-17-at-12.31.01-PM
Viewpoint: The dangerous influence of ‘woke’ post-modernism in science
ChatGPT-Image-Mar-10-2026-01_39_01-PM
Viewpoint—“Miracle molecule” debunked: Why acemannan supplements don’t work
covid-vaccine
Blocked by Kennedy’s CDC, validated by peer-reviewed scientists: Suppressed COVID vaccine study published in JAMA finds 50% risk cut
ChatGPT-Image-Jun-25-2026-12_23_17-PM
No, Bill Gates did not secretly engineer ticks to promote veganism
Sampling_a_strawberry_32206461974
Viewpoint: Which is worse: Trace PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ on strawberries or the fear that scares people away from eating them?
NYPICHPDPICT000011561063
Viewpoint: From magnetizing your head to taking useless supplements, the wellness craze has morphed into an obsession of the affluent
ChatGPT-Image-Jun-26-2026-01_21_33-PM
How the dubious, Trump-backed, addictive drug kratom could enrich cabinet secretary Markwayne Mullin
Screenshot-2026-06-25-at-4.08.41-PM
Even in blue states, hospitals have continued to drop gender-affirming care for youths
Podolay_1_transplantacia_srdca_1968
From printers to pigs: The precarious future of organ transplants
Screenshot-2026-06-25-at-11.18.03-AM
Viewpoint: Appreciating a simpler past without swallowing the misleading ‘nature is healthier and safer’ myth
Screenshot-2026-06-26-at-10.14.50-AM
Viewpoint: The facts behind the grifter-promoting wellness and anti-aging peptide craze: Don’t waste your money
ChatGPT-Image-Jun-26-2026-11_34_33-AM
Viewpoint: RFK, Jr.’s vaccine subterfuge campaign now flies below the media radar
ChatGPT-Image-Jun-19-2026-04_11_20-PM
Daubert for Dummies—Scientific Reliability in U.S. Courts: Daubert, Rule 702, and Made-for-Litigation Evidence
Screenshot-2026-06-25-at-1.48.40-PM
Glyphosate affirmed as safe: Supreme Court rejects lawsuit claiming Roundup herbicide causes cancer, upholding EPA determination
glp menu logo outlined

Get news on human & agricultural genetics and biotechnology delivered to your inbox.