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Patrick Arnold | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1966 (age 58–59) Guilford,Connecticut, U.S. |
| Known for | Role inBALCO scandal |
| Criminal status | Released |
| Conviction | Conspiracy to distribute steroids |
| Criminal penalty | 3 months imprisonment 3 months house arrest |
| Alma mater | University of New Haven |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Organic chemistry |
Patrick Arnold (born 1966)[1] is an Americanorganic chemist known for introducingandrostenedione,1-androstenediol, andmethylhexanamine into the dietary supplement market, and for creating the designer steroidtetrahydrogestrinone, also known as THG and "the clear".[2] THG, along with two otheranabolic steroids that Arnold manufactured (norbolethone anddesoxymethyltestosterone (DMT)), not banned at the time of their creation, werehard-to-detect drugs at the heart of theBALCO professional sports doping scandal.[3][4] BALCO distributed these worldwide to world-class athletes in a wide variety of sports ranging from track and field to professional baseball and football.
Patrick Arnold also reintroducedmethylhexanamine into the market as adietary supplement[5] under the mark Geranamine, a substance that has gained popularity.
Arnold, who is also an amateur bodybuilder, initially gained notoriety as "the Father of Prohormones."[6]
Arnold grew up in Guilford, Connecticut. At age 11 he started working out after his father gave him a set of weights. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, despite following protein diets, he grew frustrated with his inability to put on much muscle mass. According to his version of events, Arnold's first contact with steroids happened when "a guy in a gym got him a cheap counterfeit steroid that contained just enoughmethyltestosterone that it added 10 pounds of muscle in all the right places."[7] This sparked his interest in chemistry, and in 1990 Arnold graduated with a bachelor's degree in chemistry from theUniversity of New Haven.[6][7]
After graduation Arnold took a lab job in New Jersey that allowed him enough free time to research performance enhancers. He also took classes onorganic synthesis at theUniversity of Connecticut andMontclair State, and "devoured" books on supplements and steroids, studying both approved and unapproved Western drugs and those used by the East Germans in their doping heyday.
In 1996 he befriendedDan Duchaine, who introduced Arnold to Stan Antosh, the owner of Osmo Therapy, a supplement company then based in San Francisco. Antosh persuaded Arnold to move his research to a small company inSeymour, Illinois, called Bar North America, which was owned by Ramlakhan Boodram. In Seymour, Arnold reviewed old patents looking for drugs that had never made it to market or were used only briefly. Later that year he introducedandrostenedione, also known as "andro," to the North American market, which became successful afterMark McGwire was found using it. But, because their company didn't sell andro directly to consumers, but only as an ingredient to other supplement makers, Arnold missed out on a financial windfall.[7]
In 2001 Arnold's company introduced the prohormone1-Androstenediol, under the marketing name 1-AD. Like andro, 1-AD is a prohormone that is easily converted by the body into1-testosterone, and it sold well. But the boom was short-lived. In January '05 an amendment to the federalControlled Substance Act banned prohormones. The company lost 60% of their sales, and became unprofitable.[7]
According to Arnold,Victor Conte contacted him in 2000 seeking undetectable drugs. Arnold offerednorbolethone, which he had synthesized in 1998. About this new venture Arnold recalls, "I didn't feel I was jumping into anything more than [a potential problem] with a sports governing body," and attributes his motivation for involvement to his curiosity about the responsiveness of well-trained athletes, as well as pride in his own work. In 2001 Arnold switched to providing Conte withtetrahydrogestrinone after norbolethone started to draw scrutiny from drug testers.[7]
In 2006, Arnold was sentenced to three months in prison atFederal Correctional Institution, Morgantown inWest Virginia followed by three months ofhouse arrest for his role in theBALCO scandal.[2]