Uploaded March 2023 | Updated September 2026, 4 days ago
Cult, we’ve been working on this one for weeks. We’ve got Desmond Butler on this episode, the lead journalist who wrote the recent Washington Post series on the corruption, exploitation, and health and safety controversies in the NPC/IFBB pro league. We previously discussed this article series both in a duo episode as well as with Dr. Guillermo Escalante, and now, we’re privileged to sit down and hear it from the source (or rather the the man with the sources). In this episode you’ll learn how Desmond’s father directed the cult classic (pun intended) Pumping Iron, and then how years later he’d go on to revisit bodybuilding from a very different perspective. You’ll also learn just how much research went into the Post articles, and how many people they spoke to. This was a monster episode for sure folks and an eye opening exposé.
00:00 Intro to a MONSTROUS episode and bodybuilding in Desmond’s life
Washington Post BUILT&BROKEN investigation washingtonpost.com/investigations/interactive/2022/bodybuilding-then-and-now/?itid=bodybuilders-series-box
Iron Culture Ep. 203- Can Enhanced Bodybuilding Be Safer? (Ft. Dr. Guillermo Escalante) youtube.com/watch?v=7G_c1umHswE
10:47 What lead to the article series
washingtonpost.com/investigations/interactive/2022/women-bodybuilding-ifbb-pro-porn/?itid=bodybuilders-series-box
21:30 What actually happened and lead to these issues?
33:25 Why have these issues only surfaced recently?
44:17 The NPC as a non-profit organisation and its privatisation
1:03:17 Organisational responsibility for the safety of its competitors
1:11:38 What Desmond has in the pipeline and the journalistic process
1:19:10 Closing out
Cult, we’ve been working on this one for weeks. We’ve got Desmond Butler on this episode, the lead journalist who wrote the recent Washington Post series on the corruption, exploitation, and health and safety controversies in the NPC/IFBB pro league. We previously discussed this article series both in a duo episode as well as with Dr. Guillermo Escalante, and now, we’re privileged to sit down and hear it from the source (or rather the the man with the sources). In this episode you’ll learn how Desmond’s father directed the cult classic (pun intended) Pumping Iron, and then how years later he’d go on to revisit bodybuilding from a very different perspective. You’ll also learn just how much research went into the Post articles, and how many people they spoke to. This was a monster episode for sure folks and an eye opening exposé.
00:00 Intro to a MONSTROUS episode and bodybuilding in Desmond’s life
Washington Post BUILT&BROKEN investigation washingtonpost.com/investigations/interactive/2022/bodybuilding-then-and-now/?itid=bodybuilders-series-box
Iron Culture Ep. 203- Can Enhanced Bodybuilding Be Safer? (Ft. Dr. Guillermo Escalante) youtube.com/watch?v=7G_c1umHswE
10:47 What lead to the article series
washingtonpost.com/investigations/interactive/2022/women-bodybuilding-ifbb-pro-porn/?itid=bodybuilders-series-box
21:30 What actually happened and lead to these issues?
33:25 Why have these issues only surfaced recently?
44:17 The NPC as a non-profit organisation and its privatisation
1:03:17 Organisational responsibility for the safety of its competitors
1:11:38 What Desmond has in the pipeline and the journalistic process
1:19:10 Closing out
