Local trainer living healthy after giving up steroids

August 28, 2006

KNOXVILLE (WATE) -- Despite illegal steroid use ruining the careers of some sports stars, it's still too tempting for some to pass up. And it's a decision one man living in Knoxville now regrets.

Larry James looks a lot younger than he really is. He's 50 and in top form. The popular personal trainer at Ft. Sanders Health and Fitness Center now lives a healthy lifestyle after giving up steroids.

"Basically I started when I was 38, kind of got a late start. I did body building naturally for two years, then when I moved to Hawaii I met some celebrities in a gym and they kind of brought the subject up."

"I thought, you know, I might give it a try. Then I started doing multiple kinds of steroids at a time. It's called stacking when you do more than one."

Larry says it wasn't too long before he was hooked. "I was getting them prescribed legally, which made it easier because I didn't have to go out on the street to get them."

"After about five years, they started getting concerned and they kind of did me a favor by cutting me off and I still thank them to this day for that."

But the damage was done. Larry suffered an embarrassing and painful problem caused by steroids.

"Since then, I've had surgery on my chest from the gynecomastia. It's a buildup of tissue in your breast around the nipple area and it takes on a female characteristic. It's psychologically troubling for a guy to say I kind of look like a female in a way."

Surgery corrected the problem and in a way cured Larry of ever wanting to go back to the world of steroids. Now he spends his time helping others build muscle, the healthy way.

Larry will be part of WATE's town hall meeting on Wednesday, September 6. It's called "Pressure to Perform."

In a partnership with Covenant Health, WATE has assembled a local team of experts to answer questions about a wide range of performance-enhancing behavior including steroid abuse. Parents, coaches and athletes will make up the studio audience.

"Pressure to Perform" airs from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m.