Another Washington Post Article: Dying to Compete

[thethinker48]

All of this is true.

But by the same token, the "outside world" accepts as normal people eating, drinking, and smoking themselves to death, plodding through life in obese (neigh useless) bodies, slowly marching to the cliff's edge.

Do some of our brothers reach their own cliff before their time? Yes.
But I would confidently argue a more satisfying, fulfilling life.

Also, this article focuses on the worst of the worst...we could do an article with the same number of "normal people" dying from cheeseburgers and beers, having drawn from a MUCH smaller sample size than the number of competitors that do reckless things. At the end of the day, we pick our own poison, and the mainstream will always point the finger at us because our "vices" place us in meat vehicles that they can only dream of piloting.

And don't kid yourself, they are jealous. Nobody likes dadbods. If this weren't true. Magic Mike wouldn't be getting ready to shit another sequel onto the populace.

I think my perspective on this has changed with time

I try not to look at things in absolutes

If the average person is poisoning themselves with junk food, cheap dopamine and sedentary lifestyle, I don't view that as any form of justification for destroying one's health with PEDs.

If you're a competitive athlete, you need to push the boundaries with your body. You earn your living with your body and thus will push yourself to the absolute. You might die early but such is the nature of extreme endeavors. Then there are recreational folks who enjoy the lifestyle, and some might even be aware of the things that might result from pushing the limits. Perfectly fine since an educated person's decisions are their own, it doesn't really require judgement

Where the stupidity lies is when people are blissfully unaware of what it is they are doing. They live in a bubble, and when something does happen. They are somehow shocked that it did happen. And that is a beanstalk that continues to grow in this sport, and more people climb it with enthusiasm. Very much unaware of what happens if they do fall