| Aggressive, explosive, and boasting awesome athletic ability, Dan Clark rose to tremendous fame as Nitro on American Gladiators. He quickly emerged as the most popular cast member and became a reality television superstar. But a twenty-year affair with steroids led to a life of pissing blood, smuggling drugs, destroying hotel rooms, getting arrested, growing breasts, and lying bloodied in the street after a vicious fight with his best friend.
This is Clark's riveting, fiercely candid account of his life, career, and steroid addiction. From an upbringing defined by tragedy and a difficult search for identity to tales of performing center stage at Madison Square Garden and bedding Playboy Bunnies and porn stars, Clark explores the price of fame, the pressure of stardom, and how the whole steroid-fueled fantasy finally imploded.
What began in high school as a way to speed up recovery from injury rapidly turned into an all-consuming addiction. With selfdeprecating humor and a trove of incredible stories, Clark provides an eye-opening report on the dangers of steroids both obvious and hidden -- and offers his thoughts on why steroid use remains a persistent problem today. More than just a pulpy exposé, Gladiator is a triumphant story of self-discovery and redemption.
Annotation:
There have been plenty of tell-all autobiographies by former TV stars, detailing their roller coaster ride through the world of sex, drugs, and stardom--but never one quite like this. Dan Clark is "Nitro," from the hit show AMERICAN GLADIATORS, and the drug he rode from top of the world to rock bottom was not cocaine or heroin, but steroids. While fans of the show remember Nitro pummeling opponents in "Powerball," and trampling anyone who attempted to "Breakthrough and Conquer," Clark's trademark rage was apparently chemically fueled, and extended outside the arena. He recalls the highs, such as trysts with supermodels and Playboy bunnies, and the lows, such as urinating blood and growing breasts, that marked his trek through "the Gauntlet" of steroid addiction.
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