Gladiator: A True Story of 'Roids, Rage, and Redemption

by Dan Clark a.k.a. Nitro

The American Gladiators star known as Nitro shares a no-holds-barred account of his twenty-year abuse of steroids, documenting his first use of steroids in high school in order to overcome an injury, the consuming addiction that left him physically and emotionally scarred, and his observations about the destructive ways in which steroids affect their users. 150,000 first printing.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Sports, Biography Memoir

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not really sure if this book is going to be effective as a cautionary tale about the dangers of steroid use. First of all, does the target audience (i.e. meatheads) even read books? I kid, I kid. But let's be honest. Not every potential steroid user is going to see the life of Dan Clark, aka Nitro from American Gladiators, as a caution against steroid use. The negative side effects and consequences seem rather insignificant when you can put the following on your resume:

* Becoming one of the stars of a hit TV show
* Having your own action figure
* The ability to bench press 500 pounds
* The opportunity to legally beat the crap out of people
* Access to all of the best clubs in LA where you get to meet all sorts of celebrities who know who you are
* Lots and lots of sex with hot chicks, including Playboy bunnies (Although Mr. Clark informs us: "The truth is, beautiful girls cannot fuck... They lead with their beauty instead of their heart, soul, and flesh. You can't fuck beauty.")

Isn't this the American Dream for many young men? The fact is, steroids can help you obtain your dreams. Just ask Barry Bonds (or half of Major League baseball, for that matter).

With that said, I do think Dan Clark does a pretty good job of exposing the dark side of steroid use and abuse. Let's see, we've got a story of him traveling to Mexico to try to legally obtain steroids and nearly being murdered by criminals posing as Federales. We've got him chasing down a car that cut him off and in his juiced state of feeling invincible, taking on three guys at once and getting beaten with a steel pipe. We've got him tiring of the relatively slow surge that comes from injecting steroids in the soft tissue of his butt and going straight to the muscles -- in one scene he has a dozen needles sticking into the various major muscles in his body; in another he tries to run across the room to answer the phone, falls, and lands on his thigh, bending the needle inside his muscle. He grows tits. His balls shrink. To counter these problems he begins taking breast cancer drugs and a drug made from the urine of pregnant women. He starts taking other drugs to deal with his rage or the pain of his injuries -- in one scene he vomits into the toilet, sees two Vicodin pills intact in the soupy vomit and realizes they are his last two, reaches into the vomit, grabs the pills, and swallows them again. There's another wonderfully disgusting scene where he gets a colonic from a woman named Olga so he can pass a drug test. But the most memorable scene of all is when he sleeps with a woman who is also a steroid user:

"I have sex with her, but it's awkward. I can feel her enlarged clit pressing against my pubic bone when I'm on top of her. I roll her over and take her from behind. It seems normal until she climbs onto all fours and I can see it sticking out from its little hood. It looks like a little baby's penis.

There's something oddly poetic about two broken people finding refuge in each other. Me with my swollen nipples and shriveled sac, and her with a clit the size of a small penis. Two people bonded in shame and sex by their secrets."

[Angie Fenimore · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating, heart-breaking and ultimately transformational ride. I couldn't put Gladiator down.

[Oliver Bateman · Rating 4 out of 5]

On some levels, this is brilliant and compelling: Clark's a maniac, he did whatever he had to do to (barely) succeed as a pro football player and later as a beloved American Gladiator, and he abused steroids at a sub-Billy Graham (Wayne Coleman) level but still did enough to damage his body pretty significantly. But it's also a "don't do drugs, drugs is bad" cautionary tale that, like many other such tales, glamorizes the drug use! Because Dan Clark was awesome! But tormented! etc. Jose Canseco's Juiced is a far worse book in terms of the content, but at least that sleazebag is honest: steroids are great, I was great, I regret nothing. If #Trump2016 has taught us nothing else, he's imparted a valuable object lesson in the power of never, ever apologizing.

But hey, read this: it's a three or four hour jaunt, it's got the some decent dirt in it even if Clark pulls a few punches, and it's a fascinating coda to a remarkable piece of 90s ephemera.

[Resal Whitfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it’s a great read! I’m glad there’s someone else that can be honest about living a life of gear and all the good and bad that comes along with it that people won’t tell you! I think it could really help a lot of young men decide if that’s a step they wanna take. Because it is life changing and it never ends!

[Pat McMullen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fascinating. I thought it was well written and very informative. Clark paints a vivid picture of the culture behind the wide acceptance and abuse of steroid usage. My only critique is that at times Clark lingers too long on the tragedies and negative aspects of his life and career.

[Lance Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't expect that a book about the life of Nitro from American Gladiators would make me cry, yet here I am.
"When I hear someone say, 'Big boys don't cry,' I hear a voice inside me answer, 'I know. But men do.'"

[Andrew Dascola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ah the ‘90’s…when ‘roids were cool.

[Dachokie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An evisceration on paper ..., March 3, 2009

First of all, I believe that it took a great deal of courage for Dan Clark to write this book ... his willingness to reveal so many personal and embarrassing moments in his life; totally breaking down the ego/persona that consumed most of his adulthood. Not too many people of his caliber are willing to do such and I think this is the reason his book is both believable and an excellent read.

You get the idea of where things are going early on in the book ... a childhood tragedy manifests itself into an out-of-control beast later in life. Although this type of story may seem a bit cliche, it is where Clark's ability to remember details and convey deep rooted emotions that make his story unique and very interesting. There is a lot of relevant background that precludes Clark's days as a Gladiator ... he's a talented, but injury-plagued football player who desperately wants to compete at the highest level (from big-time college to the NFL) and is willing to go any route to get there ... which is where the steroids enter the picture.

The Faustian bargain Clark makes by using steroids to advance his career from football to American Gladiators takes control of his life ... he lives on the brink ... delving himself into a world of excess, whether it be bedding as many women as possible to fighting a group of gang-banger types by himself. He believes the answer to any problem he faces is in a syringe or a pill ... deep down, all along he knows he's damaging himself in the process (like the embarrassment of dealing with gynocomastia), but the immediate results are so superficially gratifying (the fame of being an American Gladiator) he rolls on ... until he reaches the breaking point in which he comes to terms with the tragedy he faced in childhood.

Clark concludes his journey with a sobering statement of steroid abuse/addiction and colors his statement with a list of recognizable names of those who have totally succumbed to the evils of steroid abuse.

"Gladiator" is interesting, inspirational and revealing ... much on par with Samuel Fussell's book "Muscle". Clark has found his niche ... he can write well. The book is humorous, thought-provoking and should be recommended reading for teenage boys with dreams of sports superstardom ... for every year there are probably tens of thousands of Dan Clarks playing sports in high schools around the US, willing to do anything to their body to get to the next level ... and 99% of them will fail in their quest. Dan Clark, however, proves that there is a price to pay for the 1% who do achieve that desired success.

[J.C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heroes Get Remembered; but Legends Never Die

We all remember the early nineties for various reasons. One reason could be one of the finest television shows ever syndicated: American Gladiators. One of the biggest stars of the show, Nitro (or Dan Clark), has finally written a memoir on his life, which chronicles his public rise and his personal fall, leaving nothing untouched including the bad and the ugly, and then the road to redemption.

This not a book about American Gladiators. This is a book about a single American Gladiator: Dan Clark. He tells a compelling story of a divided family and the loss of his brother in a tragic accident. From there out the story is laid out, one tragedy after another; most of which are self induced by an obsession with image and success; but mostly with steroids.

Twenty years of rampid steroid abuse is chronicled through GLADIATOR. Clark tells his story in such a wonderful way. It is not overly dark and disgusting, but close enough to get an appreciative understanding of the terrible consequences and side effects of steroids. Clark weaves together the account of his life as a high school football player, Italian Superbowl champion, pro football player (four games, I think), struggling actor, and of course, an American Gladiator. Throughout his struggles, the one constant thing in his life void of positive emotion is steroids. Clark glosses over stories of 'roid rage with friends, surgeries, smuggling steroids, death, sexual escapades, and other relevant topics that were present throughout his twenty year binge on steroids. While the language is rough at times, the story is told in a manner that is not over the top; yet completely engaging.

Nitro was every one's hero during the prime time days of American Gladiators; but maybe for all the wrong reasons. After reading this book, Nitro should be a legend for honestly telling his story about steroid abuse.

Other recommendations about steroids:
* Game of Shadows: Barry Bonds, BALCO, and the Steroids Scandal that Rocked Professional Sports by Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams; and,
* Faust's Gold: Inside the East German Doping Machine by Steven Ungerleider and Bill Bradley.

Good reading,

J.Stoner
More Reviews

[Tony Hightower · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's becoming a genre unto itself now: The Steroid Memoir, where a previously respected member of the athletic aristocracy decides, at the end of their career, to unburden themselves and tell "the kids out there" that the path they took to fame, riches and adulation is ultimately destructive, and not to be followed.



Of course, such messages ring hollow. These athletes have inevitably achieved incredible amounts of success in their fields, and regardless of the effects their lives may leave, that story is not going to reach those ubiquitous kids. Who cares if you can't walk when you're 50 if you get to party like a rock star between now & then?



Dan "Nitro" Clark tries very hard to avoid this pothole. He lays on the horror stories very thickly, and never loses focus on the childhood trauma that he feels sparked his drive to make it in the NFL, and after that, the TV Sports arena. He softpedals the club life, the women, the money, the comraderie & the fame, and spends a substantial amount of the book alone in hotel rooms, staring at syringes and wondering how it's all going to end.



The problem with this approach is that after a couple hundred pages, it starts to feel a lot like a journey through one man's self-pity, and really, I don't know who wants to read about the Perils Of Being Nitro. Clark's inability to get past the unfortunate events in his life may have fueled his success, but more than once, I found myself turning the page to see another scene with him staring into the mirror and seeing his dead brother or the son he'd abandoned, and thinking, okay, we get it.



I'm glad he's made it through, and I hope he can continue to deal with his addiction -- when he's off the juice, it sounds like there's a decent guy in there. But, and Clark admits as much in the epilogue, if you want an honest and yet readable steroid memoir, the standard against which all others are to be judged is still Jose Canseco's "Juiced."



Maybe if I was an recovering addict looking for a story I could relate to as some kind of catharsis, then "Gladiator" would signify with me more. But as a straight-up memoir of one man's journey through his personal demons, it lacks a certain amount of perspective.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr. Clark's story is about the closest thing there is to a typical drug addiction story: traumatic childhood, pressure to succeed, introduced to a drug that was meant to help. Soon it becomes a cycle of using, good times, abusing, consequences, promises to quit, and promises broken. Now a few years removed from that behavior, Mr. Clark reflects on it with a reasonable level of maturity and responsibility.

The book feels like it was rushed, at least on the publisher's side. Celebrity memoirs are easy sales, and with the "Gladiators" reboot happening, Scribner seems to have pushed this through without much editing. My copy had several typographical and grammatical errors, but more importantly, there were several episodes that just didn't seem to relate to the broader story. Sometimes the author's sex life is relevant, both because he's on the juice and because Hollywood life is crazy, but other stories feel like they're only there because they popped into Clark's head as he was writing.

On a related note, I feel like this book would be better if it had waited a few years. For a book subtitled "'Roids, Rage, and Redemeption", it's a bit light on redemption. I suppose he's redeemed in the sense that he realized what he was doing and saved himself, but what then? Only briefly does he talk about the clean life or the long-term consequences of steroids, and there's barely any mention of the work he's done since to keep kids off the juice and encourage ordinary folks to get active.

[Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a nice surprise, and a very honest look into the life of a not-particularly-likable man who can't live up to any of the expectations he places on himself. If you're looking for a big, dirty expose on the behind-the-scenes of American Gladiators, this book may leave a little to be desired. If you're looking for graphic descriptions of steroid use and abuse, the difficulties of fame thrust upon an unstable person, or drunken self-destruction and debauchery, you'll probably enjoy this book a lot. Believe it or not, you'll find something quotable on just about any randomly-selected page. It should be noted, to any who would assume so, that this book was not ghost-written or co-written, and Dan Clark proves to be a variably competent writer, offering more than a few bizarre non-sequiturs and stretched metaphors, for example: "I stand stock still, then thrust a fist up in the air like a revolutionary black Olympic sprinter." I won't ruin the end for you (if that matters), but, um, he got it together enough to write a book and, in that sense, the autobio has a sort of forced "arc" feel to it a la the Prodigal Son, but not nearly as heavy-handed on the redemption angle as some of the addiction memoirs out there. So, on the spectrum of addiction-memoir-armchair-moralizing, which begins with garbage like "A Million Tiny Pieces" and ends with Lemmy's absolutely unapologetic "White Line Fever," I'd say "Gladiator" could be positioned somewhere in the middle.

[matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

as in many celebrity memoirs, the story of american gladiators' "nitro" was compelling, the message was moving, but the format left something to be desired. the style shifted from one extreme to the other, trying too hard to find descriptive flourishes, then falling back on tough guy straight talk with no attempt at artistry. something consistently in the middle ground would have been perfectly suitable to a story of this nature.

the present tense narrative and the italicized, stream of consciousness dream sequences often caused the genuinely tragedy and struggle to feel more like melodrama.

the themes were pretty simple (addiction, insecurity, and survivor's guilt), so the instances of abuse could be a bit repetitive. the phrase "slammed the needle in my ass" was overused, for example.

overall, it was a story worth hearing. the bulk of the book focused on clark's journey to funnel his difficult childhood into a passion to use violence to pursue success, the conscious compromise of his long-term health to find immediate satisfaction, and the terrible consequences when those decisions caught up with him. it was honest and sad, and you can see the struggle right on the page as clark fought the vanity he'd been building his whole life to express the personal cost of his actions for the benefit of future generations.

a few later chapters also revealed neat insights into the show, not as celebrity gossip, but a unique insider's perspective on a shared american experience.

[Carmaletta Hilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dan Clark speaks candidly about his steroid abuse, the effects of 20 years of abusing steroids, and the early tragedies that led him down the steroid road. One thing that bothered me, though, was what seemed like an assumption on his part that everyone who is big and ripped must be on steroids. I can only attribute it to the fact that he was on it, that's how he did it, and he can't really fathom that these huge guys could do it without steroids. I don't contend that there was a lot of steroid use going on, especially considering that no one saw it as that huge of a deal before the Hulk Hogan/Vince McMahon affair, however, I still believe that there are guys out there who do it the right way. I think I just wished that he'd have pushed that idea a little more, too, that you can get that way without the 'roids, instead of just pushing so many people who did it the wrong way.

Overall, it was a good book and a quick read. Dan is very conversational with this book, and it helps push the reader to keep going. I also found the stats in the epilogue about teenage steroid use, especially female teenage steroid use, interesting and think it may be helpful to parents out there who may have missed the signs that their children are using.

[Tj · Rating 3 out of 5]

This books is definitely entertaining, but isn't particularly well written and leaves you with an extremely "loose" message.

Basically, Clark walks you through a crazy life story, that leaves him famous, well known and with more stories than an army of 100 men, but b/c it was fueled by steroids it is natural for the reader to assume, "none of this would have happened if he didn't take steroids". And to be clear, if that stuff didn't happen Clark would have been an unemployed, nearly illiterate meat head on the street corner. Instead, he is rich, famous and has some serious health problems due to the steroids... unfotunatly I think that's a trade off a lot of young athletes are willing to make.

I know he is trying to send a message through the book, but I really don't think it's particularly effective and it often seems like he is leveraging the book to forgive himself for being such an a55hole for so many years.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about an addict and granted it's not a drug addict the way most think of it but he's still an addict. This is about Dan Clark who was once an American Gladiator called Nitro. But it's about so much more than that. It's about how he got there. It's about what caused him to go where he went. He also played NFL football during the strike as a scab player and Italian professional football player who won the Super Bowl over there. This book has some flaws. I think it needed an editor and I think he needed to be a little more detailed. He was passionate in his writing but isn't really into describing a lot of things. However he does describe his addiction to steroids. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in addictions, biographies or American Gladiator, however I wouldn't buy it full price. I would get it on the bargain book table for under $7.00 or less.

[Paul]

Meet Dan Clark -- A1 douche and legend in his own mind. Seriously, there's a reason why autobiographies like this almost always have a co-author. Dan aka "Nitro's" prose makes Linda Lovelace's Ordeal read like Ulysses. What, you never heard of "Nitro" from the original American Gladiators??!! Well, you must be the ONLY person in America -- no, make that the entire planet -- who hasn't because this dude was a "reality television superstar." Just ask him. This guy slept with more porn stars than John Holmes, was a better athlete than Bo Jackson, and most assuredly as you can say decadurabolin a bigger TV star than Simon Cowell. No really, all you have to do is ask him...

[Mark Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This memoir was written by Nitro from the original American Gladiators. It's the story of his life and his struggle with steroids. Yes, we get some time talking about the show that made him famous, but the majority of the time was actually spent on the price of that fame. You can tell Dan is trying to issue a warning to others about the dangers of steroids.

At times the book is a tough read just because Dan never holds back on the effects of the drugs. However, I enjoyed the book overall and I'm definitely glad I read it.

Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.

[Terry McCarthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

No one would ever expect such a good book out of Nitro!
I read a tantalizing review of this book and bought it...glad I did. Dan Clark's story of his descent into a particular kind of darkness is wonderfully told. I once read that good writing is HONEST and I believe that. Dan delivers honesty in spades. He is unflinchingly honest about that one subject most difficult for any man: himself.

This book is an easy and surprisingly rewarding read.
Well done, Dan!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book surprisingly compelling. I mistakenly thought Dan Clark would have used a ghost writer like so many other celebrities, but he wrote it himself...good job! He wrote of a world I know nothing about (other than an American Gladiators fan) and it was very interesting. His language and tone was crass at times and I am shocked he called out so many women, but it was an interesting story. I'm thankful it's his and not mine, though. If he wrote another memoir I'd totally read it.

[Kim Tucker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Roids Roids Roids

I wasn't expecting much from this one (something about never meeting your idols I suppose) but got a very honest and genuine perspective into one of my fav gladiators from my youth. Must read for any AG fans

[Nathan Rabin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprisingly engaging and ruthlessly candid if a little melodramatic at times. It's a harrowing cautionary "Requiem For A Dream" to "Juiced"'s Cheech and Chong-style celebration of illegal drugs.

[Monique · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you were a fan of the original American Gladiators, then this book is a must read. Dan Clark (aka Nitro) writes a candid autobiography about his struggle with fame, steroids, and life.

[Alexa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very honest and eye-opening biography.

[Aziz · Rating 3 out of 5]

a sad and pretty humorous biography of Dan Clark aka " Nitro " and his struggle with roids'..