Neco Padaratz is the only surfer that has ever been caught using steroids by the Association of Surfing Professionals

Anabolic steroids are utilized by surfers too. Sport governing body confirms that forbidden medicines are a significant problem in this sport. That’s why the Association of Surfing Professionals decided to implicate testing for anabolic steroids and other prohibited products which are applied for enhancement of performance.
The Association of Surfing Professionals had certain discussions with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). They asked how they could introduce testing for forbidden products into surfing. Since anti-doping program of the WADA is considered to be the best policy, the surfing organization intends to apply this protocol. Of course, this is the next victory of the WADA which promotes the possibility to control anti-doping programs in sports.
Everybody knows that surfing is a competitive sport. So, strength, speed and endurance are chief skills which promote winning. So, surfers could decide that usage of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs promotes success greatly. It is also necessary to take in consideration that amount of money that is received by winners is large. Winners obtain no less than 100, 000 dollars. Desire to receive money could lead surfers to decision to administrate anabolic steroids.
Nevertheless, it is said that intake of anabolic steroids and other products that have performance-enhancing effects is not widespread in surfing. Numerous people think that application of recreational drugs is more widespread among surfers than usage of steroids. Sport of 1970s and 1980s was oftan associated with marijuana and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). Current facts justify this impression. The number of surfers who are caught taking marijuana, methamphetamine and cocaine is quite high.
The professional surfer Andi Irons died in November 2010. A heart attack that he had was caused by drug abuse. It was defined that steroids hadn’t been implicated in this fatal case. Traces of methamphetamine, cocaine and methadone metabolites were found in his system.
Another surfer, Peter Davi, died in December 2007. High levels of meth were also found in his system.
As for the professional surfer Anthony Ruffo, he was caught distributing meth.
Only Neco Padaratz, a professional surfer from Brazil, was caught taking steroids. He was banned for one year. This person tested positive for forbidden drugs in 2004. This person confirmed that he had used these drugs to get a full recovery from back injuries. In spite of his defense, he was sentenced to a ban. He was the first individual who was caught administrating steroids by the Association of Surfing Professionals. According to certain reports, he remains to be the only surfer who has ever been caught by the ASP.
The ASP has already the initial budget to introduce the WADA steroid program into surfing.
However it is unlikely that steroids represent a problem in surfing, the new anti-doping program may create a wrong public impression.