The first abuse of steroids occurred shortly after the testosterone structure was isolated and manufactured in 1935 (Thorne & Embleton 533). Nazi Germany was attempting to take over the world, and German scientists were aware that testosterone increased aggressive impulses in man. The Nazi hierarchy figured that it would be a good idea to give German infantrymen an added boost of aggressiveness via testosterone injections. The first use of anabolic steroids by athletes is alleged to have been in the 1930s. In 1931, four Swedish Olympic athletes admitted to using the drug Rejuven as a training aid (Thorne & Embleton 535). Athletes were unaware that they were taking an anabolic steroid, at that time there were no rules against anabolic steroid use because anabolic steroids as a class of drugs did not exist. While the first uses of anabolic steroids were among Swedish men, the first steroid use among bodybuilders in North America was in California. In 1958, a very successful bodybuilder, Bill Pearl (Mr. America, Mr. Universe), was told by Arthur Jones (inventor of the Nautilus exercise machines) about a new "chemical" that the soviets were using (Thorne & Embleton 535). He started researching it on his own at the University of California, a veterinarian informed Pearl about the anabolic steroid, Nilivar. Pearl took this drug for 3 months and gained 25 pounds of muscle mass. Then in 1959 in California, Dr. Ziegler supervised a study of anabolic steroids and their effects on athletic performance (Thorne & Embleton 535). The drug used was Dianabol and subjects reported tremendous gains in strength and size while using the steroid. The two most commonly used methods of taking anabolic steroids are orally (Winstol, Maxibolin, Dianabol, Nilivar, Anavar, Primobolan, Halotestin, Anadrol-50, and Metandren), or by intramuscular injection (Deca-Durabolin, Android, Oreton, Perandren, Delatestri, Equipoise, Winstrol-V, Teslac, and Durabolin)(Thorne & Embleton 539).
