Only Pure Muscles Pass : Lie Detector Enforces Steroid Ban at ‘Natural’ Contest

The Ben Johnson steroid controversy, unfolding daily in Canada, has focused an international spotlight on drug testing. Yet how many people know what a test for banned substances consists of?

Even some of the contestants for Saturday’s Southern California Natural Body Building Championships at the Aviation Center in Redondo Beach weren’t all that sure what to expect of their mandatory tests. At worst, most thought they would be asked to give blood or urine samples.

Neither would do, according to promoter Pete Samra, the 1980 Natural Mr. USA. Samra, once a steroid user, chose the polygraph.

“Nothing is foolproof,” Samra said. “The polygraph is the best way. With blood tests there is blood masking, and with urine an athlete can slip in his brother’s urine.”

Samra required the 46 competitors to submit to a 20-minute battery of questions administered by the National Intelligence Network of Victorville. The tests were performed 10 days before the event at Samra’s Torrance warehouse, where he manufactures and distributes a line of food supplements and vitamins.

Only three contestants did not pass. Each subsequently withdrew from the competition.

“I was pretty happy with the outcome,” Samra said. “But I was hoping that everyone would pass.”

Substance abuse in the quest for a better, beautiful body is running rampant in body building, Samra said. He attributed his own use of “ ‘roids” in the mid-1970s as a reaction to other body builders “juicing” themselves full of muscle enhancers.

Samra said he did not like the side effects of steroids. They made him irritable. He insists that he was off them long before he won the Natural Mr. USA title.

In the ‘80s he has been a crusader for clean contests.

“I saw so many natural body builders with no place to go,” the South African-born promoter said. He currently develops and markets a worldwide line of food supplements and vitamins.

The lie detector has been used in other body-building championships, Samra said. It’s also less costly than other tests. A urine sample costs each contestant about $50. The polygraph cost $20. If a contestant can’t pass the lie detector test, Samra picks up the tab for a urine sample. He does not care for blood tests because he said he can’t get accurate results quickly.

“We work with them,” he said of a handful of body builders who might feel nervous about a polygraph. “We’re not trying to catch anyone. We’re trying to run a drug-free contest.”

Nevertheless, a portion of each participant’s performance contract warned: “I . . . know that if I am caught using steroids I will be reported (steroid use is a criminal offense).”

Dennis Tinerino, a former Mr. America, Mr. Universe and Natural Mr. USA, dropped by Samra’s warehouse during the testing. Tinerino admitted that he used steroids over a five-year period in his career, but he lamented the fact that drug testing is necessary.

“Body building is one of the sickest sports you can be in,” Tinerino said. He called the use of illegal substances “an epidemic.”

“I can tell you horror stories,” Tinerino said. “I know guys who are using growth hormones. It costs $3,000 for a two-month cycle. Guys are going to veterinarians for (strength-enhancing) drugs. They figure that if someone owns a $3-million horse, that person is going to give that animal the best stuff. Believe it or not, those drugs cost less and have a better effect (on humans).”

Among polygraph questions at Samra’s warehouse were: “Have you ever thought about taking substance enhancers?” and “Have you ever cheated to get ahead?”

Jerry Anderson, a well-defined competitor from Long Beach, found the latter question difficult.

“What can you say but yes?” he said. “In school, just about anyone would be lying if they didn’t answer yes.”

According to an examiner, who would identify himself only as “John,” such questions help determine if an athlete is telling the truth.

John said all questions are “specific in nature” and none are personal. All questions are reviewed with each athlete before the test is administered.

Anderson, who passed, allowed himself to be photographed while wired. Electrodes were placed on his fingers to measure changes in his perspiration level. A pressure cuff was placed around his arm to measure heart and pulse rate. Finally, under his jacket, his chest was wrapped with a girdle-like device to measure changes in breathing patterns.

Each device was connected to a box, about the size of an old-fashioned reel-to-reel tape deck, that recorded Robinson’s reactions to each question. His responses were etched on a long roll of paper by a set of needles.

Contestants’ reactions to the testing varied. Most were surprised that they would receive a polygraph test. No one complained, however.

“I think it’s a great idea,” said Angela Bradshaw, who works for a legal firm in Tarzana. Although her body building is only a hobby, she came face-to-face with steroid use in her first contest in April.

“I went in totally blind,” she said. “Then those girls took off their sweat shirts. I took one look at them. . . . It was a real learning experience.”

Lisa Cynkin of Glendora, who has a degree in law enforcement from Cal State Fresno, said competing against other clean athletes appeals to her.

“It’s very discouraging to enter a contest and compete against women who are using steroids,” she said.

At first, Cynkin questioned the validity of a lie detector, saying she had been told in school that the machine could be fooled easily. But when her test was over, a cuff mark visible on her right arm, she described it as “nerve-racking.”

“This is better than any other kind of test,” she said.

Samra said Cynkin’s response proved that he had chosen an efficient and accurate test.

“The test was very strict,” he said. “Most of them thought it would be a cinch, but when they got in there, they changed their minds.”

Cynkin passed. When another contestant did not, Samra asked him to return that evening for another polygraph test. If the man failed again, Samra assured him, he would pay for a urine test.

“We’ll work with you,” Samra said.

The second time, the man passed.

As body builders waited for their turns, they killed time by reading from a stack of fitness magazines Samra had put on a coffee table in his cramped office. Among the dozens of photographs in the magazines, which had titles such as “Ironman” and “Natural Physique,” contestants tended to agree on which physiques had been enhanced by steroid use.

The key, Samra said, is that steroids increase body mass. “If you’re in the business long enough, you can tell who is using them,” he said.

And the key to a drug-free contest, he said, was that the use of the polygraph tests, coupled with the harsh wording in the performance contract, scared off would-be substance users.