The Business
How the doping doc 'Icarus' morphed into a real life thriller
Bryan Fogel's original plan for his documentary Icarus was to investigate pervasive doping in cycling by becoming a human guinea pig. He recruited chemist Grigory Rodchenkov in Moscow to guide him. Then Rodchenkov was revealed as the architect of Russia's state-run doping program -- and he was ready to blow the whistle. Fogel helped Rodchenkov flee, and then things got really scary.
By Kim Masters • • 28m ListenFour years ago, first time documentarian and amateur cyclist Bryan Fogel had an idea for a film. He'd put himself through a doping regimen to see whether he, like Lance Armstrong, could compete and evade detection. He lined up a charismatic Russian chemist named Grigory Rodchenkov to guide him, and the two men formed a friendship over Skype. Then things took a turn that transformed Fogel's film. Rodchenkov was revealed as the mastermind of Russia's massive state-run doping program for Olympic athletes. Filmmaker Bryan Fogel tells us how things got crazy and really, really scary during the making his new documentary Icarus.
Photo: Director Bryan Fogel in his documentary Icarus
