Åbo Akademis bibliotek

Doped: My life as a Heavyweight Bodybuilding Champion is the autobiography of Mats Kardell, Sweden's first professional bodybuilder and one of the most decorated Swedish musclemen of all time. In 1988, he reached the pinnacle of his career with a silver medal in the Mr. Universe contest in Brisbane Australia, after previously being crowned Swedish Champion four times.

Mats Kardell tells about his life as an elite athlete with tough training, extreme diets and doping, but also about the time after his career when he descended into a severe drug and alcohol addiction. This led to homelessness, spells in prison and the loss of contact with his two children.

Doped: My life as a Heavyweight Bodybuilding Champion is also a story about eating disorders, ADHD, dyslexia, body dysmorphic disorder, assault, struggles with impotence and a body subjected to almost every kind of mistreatment. Above all though, it is a story of a man hitting rock bottom and being written off, only to pick himself up again and return to a sober and dignified life.

Mats Kardell was born in 1959, and now lives in the town of Mjölby, Sweden, where he grew up. He has been sober since 2008, and currently works in a gym.