In Iraq, Muscle Is a Growth Industry

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Bodybuilding in Iraq

Baghdad's bodybuilding obsession is going public after years of repression under the former Iraqi regime. Gyms are opening all over Baghdad, bringing young men new muscles and jobs in security.

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Torkey, the owner of the Future Gym, has capitalized on the craze. He trains bodybuilders and administers steroids, which he injects himself.

"I cannot give it to someone who is new," explained the 24-year-old high school dropout. "After two or three months I begin giving it to him."

One day last week, most of the men at Torkey's gym were working out barefoot. Since the gym's two treadmills were broken, a cardio workout was not an option. The stereo blasted songs by Lil' Kim, the Pussycat Dolls, Shakira and Eminem.

Before the U.S. invasion, bodybuilding aficionados relied on months-old, dog-eared bodybuilding magazines for information about muscle-building protein supplements, which were banned by the government, and other techniques to lose weight and build muscle.

"We used to see them in magazines only," Ahmed Ridha, 30, a bodybuilder and personal trainer at the Dragon Gym, said of the supplements. "We didn't have them."

With government oversight gone, gyms started opening in virtually every Baghdad neighborhood and in other large cities. Some bodybuilders started smuggling whey protein and other substances into Iraq, but their exorbitant price made them inaccessible to most.

Large posters of ripped men in briefs showing off oil-slicked bodies appeared on the streets. Owners began importing weightlifting equipment from Asia and the United States, and many bodybuilders started taking supplements.

Baghdad's first few gyms, including one named after the governor of California, opened in Karrada, a relatively secure neighborhood. But they soon started appearing -- and filling up -- in volatile areas such as the impoverished Shiite district of Sadr City.

Monthly memberships cost $10 to $15. The more expensive gyms have newer equipment and offer perks such as personal training and cardio machines. Through the years, upticks in violence hurt business, but the industry found ways to cope.

"Even if there are mortars, even if there are sandstorms, people come in and exercise," Ridha said. Adil's nutritional supplement business, which opened two years ago, now has two locations in Baghdad.

"We have a big store on the other side of the river," Adil said proudly as customers walked in and out of his small shop. "The situation is very good."

The shop owner said he doesn't sell steroids because he said they can have significant and long-lasting side effects. Ibrahim Talib, 37, who coaches a youth bodybuilding league, said steroid use has killed some bodybuilders.

Torkey was a scrawny teenager when he started lifting weights five years ago.

He has a photo on his wall to prove it, alongside a more recent one that makes for a startling contrast. In his late teens, as he began hanging out with professional bodybuilders, he started hitting the gym almost daily.

Whey protein and steroids allowed him to enter competitions. His office is filled with medals and photos of him posing in tiny briefs, muscles flexed, as men rub oil on his body.

He says he is judicious about whom he sells steroids to and says they can be used safely. As their physiques have improved, Torkey and other bodybuilders who compete in tournaments have grown fond of veterinary steroids, which he said produce quicker results than regular ones.

But he doesn't recommend them to everyone. "Those who are amateurs, we give them something else," he said.