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0708_Roddick.final_0512:Feature 5/12/089:07AMPage66 y p p tiles t se and s g t I h p m s 6 L y i o f O a F s b T s z p c S s s t R f i c w f ant, R w th p i w a a n n a e n r a h h e t n o t i o n l h h e e n 6 i c w O o r h en e o able i o a n o p o r o i h r v a r c a g l s r g d e a e I T i T e a ar l r e c d u a t n i f u y u e e dic n O Outside a v m e t t n en c e s r i n i n a v a so t a r a i a m m h h t s c e m t n mat g n f n g l a e h c i k e t e n - s l h i e t k s w K e h p l z d g i i t k d w l e e a o g g , is e n , c l t , i r c i r o l i , h - p e n o xt as w e I h e o n b , an r e . s o p t o c I o u l a e t s R inc e a N o i r A i l , b s i W e r i b i r h ” i h i k t d o g h h r f t n n d p s d o f s a s n s m s o l emp T r n c l o n t u s : T u o o a a o i c w a . a a c p r o a a a wing r g n h is e r h t n e u f dic o o p f d A t t t h M d d t s t l o o T f luding e n d o a o d V r l u ag t u e i o r h l y a s m A . i - h w n a p n g s e n a e M s l n h ntiued m h c n t u v n d th h d f h s l h u t s i A e i T c r u i j u m enig N w r n l m l g l k k d a i a e i o i o n i r e g , u d ’ N e t i e r o o e n - s t i i n e s n s c t l t e n e p so m , t e y C D n r a r m n g i k t a l h i s o 1 w i u t t l n o e o p o f k o t r a aneo t t le e e o , a s y m r t 1 w i r i o a Y R R i c m a a s i t . t r t i w t r . z n n u u — d v e r m m t r n a 7 o w a , g h m ast . h h l p u f r t B d o o s a a y t a i n e th 3 o i r i t ) n e o u o n a R a t a , —o e T H e f t g t m p se a , l d e e e k g u s p r o w h t t o e f n o o w w b R u m uld i m O s N s h but s n m f i a p r o e a o o d . e t l n e f e n us i f r s t t o e l n t h t o e b o e n M c a t A r s b t o i sit D n r r a i n o s R n o e t b u r t r a 20 br u a n c m a h d d , ist i o a c e y t h f a t l d s o , e p v s c i h “ D o o s o l f t t h F k t l bundle lo i e u up e n h r p d s c a a e v t f th e c e: m o D o r a a k h a e I a s f p a d a h k m e a d I e e e d r h , a o r i e g b i d e h ’ ( m k w n o ak sing i s C t e r c s a n w m d p i e d i o d s d a . h n n r , o e 3 r g i e l e c an d n s t s o e k c j s z c a t i d t n o P e K b i ic f H n D i s u e d a e e r h e c w n p t v y c , Amer U g N h m h M , a R e e t f r ade n t abl T t w a t n n c o s c u I e k r o al t j e l r , g a d a e t m o a e e b t o i efusi . a c t o p o o e t a o —a w o r u o c m h a c t n h S s n r s r t r h i f f R e s t i c o n k n w . d h e f u n t o e p o o b l r r n o o f o e y d . y e h o h d a h t i i b a o u o e o r c ic e t i t i k i t r u f f a d . e l d r n w u 1 p i O e t c a n c t a s e i S t — 2 s o a n w h h r d h v r t c i e t s mat 0 ic r s l emo h s n k , d n g , e r l i r t s mas s g n g y 0 L o d e t r t d t d r i p ’ e a e n e o e c b i 3 s w r S i’ h e c l i i t a i v o . o an e u e n e s h f i n v m 0 s i u a s B en) n a s n t r l m a s — e f e s c e c r e, t r e D n u e s e a p g a a s y e e 2 i b e ’ a e r i m 8 n g e u r , n k r k c s t s e p x s v c ’ i n a s s p n i 5 t n w tio l a a ( d si b s lo i E n , O n s s h e s m , e e y h 3 e t er h a s h l i a m m p f P d v n r ’ d t a a t and e e i a s n h o d s r a ment xuber . h t i t v - n e e e p e o i a st. d r e f o i l f r n d g e i t . i i o c W t n v n n, p e o s e a 2 v m l o a a v a c l i d ’ a n N s d e s i h n d h a p 2 s l g a n s e, . t - g s e r t y r g s m t i n C , o g r s i i w e , 0 a i b l h u o o d h o a o H s c l n 2 b o th i r t n t o i i , h h h i s h f H f i l f e n u n o p d i n . v l n h a c e h h 0 i e a- u z 2 k e o a u o e e n i s l e al l is is i i i n n d d h p d ------g g a 2 a e e e e e e e e s s s s s s s r 1 r t t t . , 1 r T t c t W w tier d p R l c t s w m O h m i y v a b c H int a s t d u u o p e c o enth N m p h O O R o n a a h r h e o a a o v n r e i l a l nt o a ast n a a e o i o h h F a a adl, as w e ist t d e c e n o n o a r O T U I I l I n e ar er nalit i u s y h n r r N F d i w g e t l o j o s w e n v t s t m l n n w m e y t e k e o ’ i t e s S l h s d u d e o , t C ’ pon w s o e l s d y o j s . l o d d t DI T c y a s h : r t i usiat k destin a E r e u a i l d d e o t , s e R f O t o n I th T ( h s f s r t e a i n — t w a y e m r r h r i r s y F w d h s i f r i , l t n o R e y n t h t h w M o g o t e e b f e U y . n i i y a s z t e e a o th y e , w H e r v t c v e a r t a R g o w a o a a d m a i I w b e e A g w t a d l e e h o R w a o y u c p r k er b t th s c p i o t f r k c r h dic “ o d a o r l , r as O g e a e h k f e n u t e S d m l o E e s w e i h CK i h e u s o h p f r s ; o i r a i o d d w al t r lo n n i r i at r , E r g l m c t th f w l bit 2 e t a s l . f m e o h r n o c and a y f f a i - T q d d e : d r o s g i e A k s W h , i n o e r u N b r t s h L s nable a u a e r c i h p u w r i A n h m r b , e i a , p - s h k m y f o s c r g t n t e I c al n O k u ng, e g e e t a a f e o o a o a e e e n i i . u y e h n e e t o l o n c O e o k d b o - I n S f e a g ny lo n d t . H e a i n N t t n s s H b ar e i p o d a Dj t r ar f n R d n k d i S a r y s t t , t l g p s o d e t s h t k w e o ar o u lang i a i e o r t st enis E h N w l . e t y t o e i o a g n i 5 t s t o R t f R I e h d l d w i a i med f a t n h i o o h o p p o t a t r h AN n h - n , m n g w s - g M r a r m t . r h R od o i o d a c o a p br l k n n e , s t w t t s o e entim. 4 e s h e t. g t e t o y e y o s t e o o o n i d n a p h a o o o l e , i d r C t h o d a s s r d , d a f uish ld i A W a n d v s g ic f s u t y R d d di d e l v w n e’ d m c m . O c F r t m e s O e c d r i i r t i l y a i . a F e u l i ic a i , r o A r e be s i . n T d t t h g edr i s k i s a f o s d h d i c v e ck i G EF v d c e i t S i e a a f r n t i s w e y d m I c n c i i r e r t F t g e , k e o r a 2 t k er , u c v p d n n t : c P g p w d e r o o h en at e i d s als t e a r h s o d th s r 0 n c N t e e 1 b s c k w l e a d e i s a i anish r t t t i e i A a d A t i a c al o 5 c u o n s t c a n o t a k c o h 0 h r t l n , k r n er th f s h e a l a y 5 wr i e o , e h i — f r k c t h o l l k o e e me i o e e i ru e t 3 l x d B g t d l o . a e e e s a d U m o m m r n l b e h i r M h e e r o with e lan n t e — r t . in a a s t r 1 i Aft n n t o n w n ’ p . a o t L t f o it o f m t ” t u st e a s u s c 5 t h c n R i G e i F s S alen w o e i i ensuig y n u n o o e t m d l c O l n a r e er c n T h P t m t O . s E r d a e c . o h o d e th n ky r e - t r k n d o r a s I h . f hi t e er m d s p ap e t p l h b d d a n f a e 2 p i i e s l t g h a d a VE, l f p c Y n er f M a n t o t O e p e e i l l a h d n a 1 d t e s s o o 1 i y a i m o e ; n a i t i t h t and o 21 c e o bur n a n , c r s e 6 m e o e u n e d i e l e h u y u f p h c a g nuc q d i- h u e t c A l l k F se r n i d r e r beh o E m r e m i . e - e t r i r rm s r e e m times k p u e n n t in p h n c t x o m b a r I t r i e p O w h y N h o a o N o sting c m o n i W n e , . a m h w l t o s t w a l E p i J a e e ant w ag e f a o o a p e T o s p le g d h t o a f s N f i c u o b t t th ind t t ar e t t d y o e l e t s i e t r T XTEM n n l n h n e h h . k c h e h h a l d v ur r 2 u r o ar t e e r i- . i e i o s w w I y i ) n - d h d - - - - o o y - - ? e e e e e e e e 5 s s r . r 1 t t t f : . N . , , A N T a t t w p s g t M b n C a a p s h s p N D m o l w h o s t d w S p t b p e b t U a i b I t i n o o o h h h h e I a t t n v a n n n f i a e o u i r r l r i e e e t w s . a z a a a h L a g a z i m o N l a i i e T T r A W O e e H e o m S e r n t d t y d m l s ’ i a u d n t l v f e d a h d l s yi e a y s e g n a g i w PO o m e t l r b , n a h . a t k s n E t f m c , , m d c i e n er J e t a f r e a i n e h o s e a i w t s h G Y s a n k t a m h l k g a o i t s y d r n e h a h e v c r b d e l d s l k l e r u s i n A i y k s i e a w o u i j b o y e i e i s l e’ C x e n n a k e e a t e g : n f a a n r u e n w b o y b t . , e — w . e n I t g e a q u s t o n l t t s s n s s d c c R t i n v u t c S s g a y s y a a A s H d b z g o i v , t t t r b d u . t e o p m r p w e a r h “ n k a d k h o t o t t r r e p he h o t F e h , o H a d w c t e h t f o ” l T i n O a s u ANE s e h a i o I s t h i n w 1 g a l s h o e h [ t r m h a D e t p e c i e s a y l r u M e . r . t 9 t t d t s a ” ” i o t h e h h t p s y e b e o o d l r e b e e ’ t e a i s n k t . o g h h h o R . e j t c s t H t 9 o a s n t b k h e s w a e h e i w at w o a , e P h r o t a i h r d t a l i I o a r o W a l n ou e o a c t a n n t r 5 i o a m u r i c g e e f k . t t w e i r i e u k s o a t e I o s h u p c t k f n t . e L r e t w I n n r o s p e n h A a o o m ’ e h r e ’ s i e p t l u t n t t h z E o h s e g r p o w c e r S e i s r R s l s n e a r p v g i r h u O z O h h n h e s s s e o o d p s a t o t i h f t m n n s n o i e t o t b s s v o p a e i o R . n a T b o a s h n n l a ” e i e g h i v f s r s l y e h c u n e t t s n t e g m r T v e i m n l g l a s n r S U n w t g o t i e e s t i e d i d r e . y f a e s r I l t d g A e D m o O e o e n R e m , g s a e F r , o t e d e r d d v D e t h t y e e : s a I a n f , o q o t r w v h a f m t n h b d h T i e o S o 3 s e n h u r y M i d i r s t p h “ o e r n N r a v I e g e i i l t f R u F c F r e , i a : g d 5 i c o , d s e o i m P n r c a s s i ’ I t i l a s t e w w s o g t r e h e h d n r a A a e b i t t s c m e s i B o e p a c d . k t i t z h b p t I b t l G e a a d i h n r m s e 2 e s i n T e i k k hi f l o l o r h i d r c c e n n i e t i a C s u r i a n s n l i m y t a t s n i e U e , t c d 0 e r s h t e i o e u o n h s . r e e , s e e s w d t h a — e . t b s D g n n e c r d m w k R r c x t I 0 w r e a t s u u l t r A p m , R e h i o e y m “ t t t s , h u e d NDL g l e , d , e as i t s h o u t f i k t a h s . ] w h l 8 s r r t r t e ” f i I o g r n i h t w i A m n n h R d m h . R . t a . e k o e d h h L b n o , a t a n , t i h p s w a h d t c e h e h g A o t g I t c u n i o o e B w n d o a R t i e h r t t i r h e a a n e n i o o e l o d L t r n e a h h f t u e o s d e r l M i t f g s n i i t d s d a e o l i e n n d . s o t s u i d , y v i f k i t c t t n . al t Y s n e e r o u o o d r n n d oprt r h c i 7 d d b e G e u e r w k t s , n h l s i r , h m b J f . r u t l t i o k - t a o t f s n e h r . d E r e A i i m s I t a u c d s v e e i t y r o s i s a “ a g v o t c q e n r 5 p s a t n t a i r F e o s a k w s e s l e o l o o o d c c . W n T t h l k j i a u s u b t d l i p m t th e e a n r g n t m e u a t r h m o i e n a k s u k i T t a t n i r l e i l a n s d r h m o i p y n w s n f d s l h n C d e e c k c c o e d s n e h i v f , e d w h inkg e e k i e e t n g i l g t t n k o i t e m l n c n u y t a n e d e , l r u w d e o t o s r e e t S r s B e u e a o H g s , h r j a e b a h m t t s o s ’ s h “ e t o n i g g f n u a l n u t a l a e o g w d a n a a l n . t e a t s o t r o t t t i a I i l m h h o e r i r i n n n d n n l y S u h d c t l h h h e h h h c t t c t o t t m f m i i i o l l l y f f s i ’ ’ n n n d h h d - d - - o y o y y o y y y y g g a e e e e e e e e e s s s t f f , , ,

SHIRT BY MARTIN MARGIELA; SHORTS BY TIM HAMILTON; VINTAGE SUSPENDERS. STYLING BY RYAN HASTINGS; GROOMING BY FRANCELLE/MAGNET NY; PROP STYLING BY LILI ABIR REGAN/ART DEPARTMENT. 0708_Roddick.final_0512:Feature 5/12/08 11:13 AM Page 67

UPSETTING KING FEDERER AGAIN WILL TAKE MORE THAN BEING THE FITTEST MAN IN . ALSO HAS TO CHILL OUT. MO OD SWI NG photo- graphs bymarc hom

byjosh dean 0708_Roddick.final_0512:Feature 5/12/08 9:08 AM Page 68

his commitment to off-court training. He has always been ahead of tennis’s fitness curve. Though he’s gone through a string of coaches, including, from 2006 until early this year, in the role of consultant (Rod- dick insists they parted amicably after Con- nors decided he didn’t want to endure the travel obligations of the pro tour), he now seems to have settled into a groove with a team composed of his coach/brother, John, 32, and athletic trainer Doug Spreen, 38, hired away from the ATP in 2003. a remote practice court in Miami,the day before Roddick would face Federer, I watched Spreen dilute a drink, cutting it in half with water so that it “absorbs quicker.” Rod- dick, Spreen said, has two things working against him when it comes to fitness.One is his size: At six-two and 195 pounds,he’s taller and

Roddick in New thicker than most top pros. The other is a York, April 2008. higher-than-normal sweat rate.(“I’mdisgust- For a video of this photo shoot, go to ing,” Roddick said, pausing to set up his own outsidonline.com/ joke, “which was a real problem with my per- andyroddick. sonal life for a long time.”) Because he’s losing more fluids than his opponent, Roddick has to make a real effort to stay hydrated.“When I’m training I go through six, seven, eight liters of water just replacing what I need to. It’s defi- nitely more effort.” Out on the court,Roddick was blasting balls. “Theforehand’scomingoffgoodtoday,”hesaid tohisbrother.Roddick’sforehand,likehisserve, is among the best on the tour and requires both strength and resilience—more every year as

PacificLifeOpen,hearrivedinMiamifeelingas “ANDY’S WORK ETHIC IS INCREDIBLE,” SAYS HIS SPORTS- sharp as he had in years. One reason became clearduringthetournament,whennewsleaked PERFORMANCE COACH. “ONLY A HANDFUL OF TENNIS that he’d gotten engaged to his girlfriend, the PLAYERS COME CLOSE TO WHAT HE DOES OFF THE COURT.” gorgeous blond Sports Illustrated swimsuit model , 21, thus ending his events] are as good as they’ve been in years. playersgetstrongerandfaster.“Ifyou’regonna tabloid-covered bachelor years, during which So Roddick heads into the meat of this hit 150 balls that much harder in a match, it he’d dated, most prominently, Mandy Moore —toWimbledon,thehardcourts,andhis takes that much more energy,” Spreen ex- and(allegedly) .“I think being homeslam,theU.S.Open—withanewfiancée, plained. “And two guys hitting the harder happy and content off the court is only going a clear mind, and something even more signif- at each other means that they’ve got to move to help in my mind,”he told reporters after the icant: a giant Swiss monkey off his back. that much quicker to get the ball. They have to Federer match. Another boost came in the “If I’m serving for a set next time, I’m not be ready to play a more explosive .” N

form of Federer suddenly appearing, if not going to be thinking, Is this the time? God, To this end,in 2005 Spreen enlisted the help A A vulnerable, then at least less invincible. He’d please let this be the time,” Roddick told me of Lance Hooton, the Austin-based owner of H L E O

already stumbled in the early part of the sea- two weeks after his victory, the relief in his Hooton Sports Performance Training,an out- C Y son, losing to Djokovic and Scotsman Andy voice still palpable. “I think it’ll be a little bit fit that focuses primarily on what Hooton calls B S E

Murray, and in February he was diagnosed more straightforward.” “power-speed athletes.”Hooton says Roddick O S H withmononucleosis.InMiami,Roddickwould Meaning you’ve had those thoughts before? was in excellent shape and, more important, ; T E S

go on to lose in the semifinals to 27-year-old “I’d hope you’d call bullshit on me if I said, eager. “I can go down a list of phenomenally O C

Nikolay Davydenko,but the Russian was by all after losing 11 times in a row, I’m serving for gifted athletes who are not willing to learn,” L A Y B

accounts playing the best tennis of his career. match and that thought didn’t creep into my Hooton says.“Andy is the opposite of that.His S T R

Two days later,Davydenko absolutely smoked . That’s why I said it was huge mentally work ethic is incredible. I only know a handful O S H Nadal in the final. for me in Miami.” of tennis players who even come close to what ; A “Roddick has matured a lot,” says Davis he does off the court.” N P I A

THAT RODDICK HAS O

Cup captain Patrick McEnroe. “He still has been entrenched in ten- Still, some of Roddick’s athletic skills were R O the same drive and intensity—he just seems nis’s top ten for most of the past six years (at lacking, and his training had been focused on L Y B

more balanced. And that helps him in big press time, he was still ranked sixth) without endurance. Hooton set about creating a regi- T I R

matches. I think his chances [in suffering serious injury is solid proof of men to build power and continued on page 117 S H

68 Outside 0708_Roddick.final_0512:Feature 5/12/08 9:09 AM Page 117

Roddick serves for broke at the Pacific Life Open, March 2008.

ANDY RODDICK continued from page 68 speed, particularly important for the world’s hardest-serving player, whom Hooton calls “the Nolan Ryan of tennis.” Hooton stepped up Roddick’s weight training, implemented body-weight-resistance programs and plyometrics, and added sprint intervals. The intervals to increase his quickness and, as Spreen reminds me at another with Christmas sandwiched in the middle) is when he gets the opportu- , his recovery. nity to “build, build, build.” Once get rolling, he plays so “If you’re playing a service game, you go out and you play a 45- often that his fitness program is highly erratic. Hooton gives the team a second point and you’ve got 25 seconds before you’re serving again,” numberofoptionsforlight-,medium-,andhigh-intensitydaysandalso Spreen says. “That’s where you get into the interval training: sprint, plansfordaysonwhichRoddickshouldonlyjogandstretch.“Youhaveto recover, sprint, recover. You train the body to be stressed and to re- give yourself time to give your body a break,”Roddick says.“I’ve become cover quickly from that stress.” realparticularaboutthat.Ihavetohavewindowseverycoupleofmonths Roddick says tennis’s ephemeral off-season (more or less a month where I can put my body back together.” He also makes sure to have some non-tennisplaytime,tearing aroundTexas’sLakeAustin(where I’d Rather Be Playing Tennis he’s owned a home since 2003) on Off-season for A-Rod? Not really. Check out this three-hour,“medium-to-medium-high- hisspeedboatandtrail-runningin intensity” workout, courtesy of his sports-performance coach, Lance Hooton. a nearby wilderness preserve. “People make fitness out to be WARM-UP: 100 meters 40-meter sprints. Walk over 30-inch hurdles. chest, 3 sets of 15 reps this whole specific thing,”he says. each skips, side shuffles, back between reps, rest For one, alternately of walking lunges to “But,basically,if you’re willing to backpedals, and jog. 3 minutes between sets. jump a 30-inch hurdle, Russian twists (lunge to put in the hours and go through >Static stretches, held > Medicine-ball throws then laterally duck one side, then twist the grind,you’re going to be OK.” 20–30 seconds. >20 (8–10 pounds): 6 reps under a 36-inch hurdle. torso to same), alter- meters each down-and- each overhead back, >Easy 400-meter nating with 3 sets of WHICH LEAVES only one thing: back A-skips, butt kicks, forward between legs, jog on grass, ideally “wipers”(with plate at What of the supposedly fragile backward skips, back- hip hammer throw barefoot. STRENGTH: arm’s length, rotate and mind? “You know, you’re out ward runs, lateral walks, (right and left), and >Holding dumbbells arc arms from one hip there for two or three hours by crossover walks, lunge squat chest. >Holding a (25 percent of body to eye level to other hip. yourself and you’ve got to figure walks, power skips, and seven- pole, 10 reps weight total), 4 sets of 8 COOLDOWN: 7 minutes it out on your own,” says Spreen. carioca. >10 reps each each of 16 different step-ups to an 18-inch of easy stationary biking; Tennis is probably sports’ most side leg swings, scissors, torso-mobility exercises box, alternating with 4 protein-and-carbohy- individual game. Mid-match T Y E G

/ eagles, mule kicks, and (found in an old Finnish sets of 5 pull-ups. drate-rich smoothie; coaching is illegal. The pro player W

O leg whips. SPEED: 6–8 javelin textbook). >4 >Holding a 25-pound then 10 minutes in an is utterly alone on that metaphor- H Y

R reps each: 20-, 30-, and rounds skips and jumps plate 6 inches from . ical island, left to work himself R A

H into or out of crises.

Outside 117 0708 GROOVER_final_0509:Feature 5/9/08 11:17 AM Page 118

GROOVER BOY continued from page 104 humanity. Intellectually, that’s very satisfying to me. I suppose it’s kind of a metaphor for life. Don’t you agree?”

THAT’S HARD TO DISPUTE. My only teensy gripe with Carothers’s system is that it funnels most of the degrading labor onto one guy: me. A poo captain’s day is long and hard, and it usually begins at first light, when he gets up with the rest of the crew. On this particular expedition, the routine is pretty standard: While Andre, Billie, Milty, Bronco, and Monte fix breakfast and clean the dishes, I focus on my duties as the trip’s turd-transport specialist. I start by rounding up my 16 pee pails—small plastic paint cans, pur- chased at Home Depot, which I place in front of the passengers’ tents every night so they won’t have to stumble off to the groover after dark. Then I stuff whatever garbage I can scrounge into a trash bag and drench it with liquid bleach to prevent the Jackass from turning into a floating fly farm. Today marks the end of our first week on the river, so I also perform a quick inventory to confirm that we have an adequate supply of toilet paper (one roll per person for every five days), Clorox crystals, hand soap, air freshener, and, most important, empty rocket boxes. (I carry a total of 11 to see us through a 19-day trip, with a one-groover safety margin.) Fi- nally, I check the day-tripper—two smaller ammo cans containing a roll of TP, a jar of hand soap, and about four pounds of Feline Pine kitty litter. This system is for clients who cannot avoid using the toilet during the day. Around 7:30, as the crew starts dismantling the kitchen, it’s time for me to encourage everyone to finish groovering. This is demeaning, but it’s also a bit of a power trip. When I yell “Last call on the groover!” what I’m really telling people is “No matter how important you are, I’m about to revoke your bathroom privileges for the next eight hours.” It doesn’t matter that Steve sits on the board of the New York Stock Exchange or that Maureen is a highly placed at the Commerce Department. It also doesn’t matter that Ben pounds nails in Portland or that Emily, who runs a crane at the docks in Port Arthur, , has been saving pennies ANDY RODDICK for most of her adult life to afford this trip. In the eyes of the groover, “It’s something we’ve talked about,” says his brother John, who was everyone is created equal. once ranked sixth in the world as a junior. “When I played I was similar, Everyone except me, of course. When the passengers are finished, I’m so I can relate. You want to keep your composure so you [can] give your- the guy who gets to grab a guide, dash up through the tamarisk trees, self an opportunity to win the match if you’re not playing your best ten- and break down the system. nis. And for the most part he does a good job of that. Sometimes he’ll let If the groover is getting full, I lift it and drop it on the sand a time or two an umpire get on him or something, and it’ll upset him.” to “settle” things—being extremely careful not to compress the contents But John points out that, at least in his brother’s case, there’s an upside too tightly. (After baking in the sun for another two weeks, the contents to the volatility. Roddick is a fiery athlete who feeds on emotion. He’s of a compressed rocket box can cement to form what we call poo glue, never going to be Mr. Cool on the court, and it wouldn’t make sense to ask which will be almost impossible to remove at the Wildcat Hill Waste- him to try. “If Andy just bottled everything up, he wouldn’t be able to water Treatment Plant, in Flagstaff.) Then I shower the inside with a fu- play very well,” John says. “He’s gotta let that out. To be honest, him get- rious deluge of Clorox crystals, which helps beat back the odor. We cart ting a little upset on the court is not something we tend to focus on.” the toilet seat down to the river with the riser and urine bucket, where In fact, they let Roddick work things out all by himself. The team the urine is dumped in the water and all components get a thorough never hired a sports psychologist or attempted to mix any specific scrubbing. Finally, we seal the lid and begin the Morning Poo Parade. mental training into his routine. This can be embarrassing. As we haul our load toward the beach, the “I think it’s just experience,” says Roddick. “You’ve done it before”— passengers spot us coming and conversation often grinds to a halt. lost your shit, he means—“and maybe you can handle it a little more. But Someone might break the silence with a remark such as “Stand back, I don’t think I’m ever going to be one of these guys who can just mute it.” here comes Groover Boy!” Other times, there is a subdued chuckle He tells me this on a beautiful April day in , where punctuated with a joke like “Hey, did you know that Grand Canyon he’s come to help his fiancée move them into a new Manhattan pied- poop boatmen never die—they just smell that way?” à-terre. He’s fresh off a convincing quarterfinal win over Ha-ha, I laugh, that’s really funny. Then I pretend to stumble, which and has been instructed by Spreen and John to leave the racket sends everyone running down the beach screaming. in its holster for a few days. But Roddick is set to meet with Patrick As the guides hoist the components onto my front deck, I leap aboard McEnroe in the morning, which he says has him “jonesing” to hit and start tying everything down, often rigging double and triple back- some balls. “It’ll be hard not to play tomorrow,” he says. ups to ensure that nothing goes flying out. It’s a complex operation—I Roddick’s publicist and sister-in-law, Ginger, who’s been escorting use nearly 40 cam straps to properly anchor the pee bucket, the 16 pee him to interviews, gives him a . “Do something else,” she pleads. pails, the riser, the three bags of toilet paper, the garbage, the groover Roddick looks right back: “I’m not good at anything else.” o seat, and the rocket boxes, plus all my Clorox and cleaning supplies. When the lashing is done, I’m surrounded by a mountain of trash and JOSH DEAN WROTE ABOUT SKIING IN IRAN IN AUGUST 2007. toilet products. You’re probably familiar with those wheeled carts used

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SLIPSTREAM continued from page 96 of their heroes fall—Basso, Pantani, Heras, Hamilton, Landis, Ullrich, Vinokourov, Rasmussen. The fans want to believe that that was then and this is now—that cycling is cleaning up. But after a particularly bad doping year in 2007, one could be forgiven for maintaining a cer- tain amount of skepticism about the newest fix. Even Catlin, while praising Slipstream’s efforts, sees room for improvement in any system in which only the UCI or the teams control who sees the test results and who gets sanctioned. “What kind of tests are they using?” he said when I asked him to as- sess the biological-passport programs. “Some markers are better than others. Also, who is monitoring the data and making the decisions?” Indeed, aside from , Vaughters and team doctor Prentice Stef- fen are the only people who see the results and make decisions for Slipstream. To be fair, though, Steffen, the former team doctor for U.S. Postal, has been such an outspoken critic of cycling’s doping culture that, for a period, he had difficulty finding work in the . As for the UCI program, keep two things in mind: (1) This is the same organization that has already done a less than fabulous job of keeping the sport clean for the past century, and (2) the new pro- gram—involving more than 800 cyclists getting tested 16 times each in 2008, eight times before July alone—was only announced in Octo- ber and launched in January. It would be understandable if a few bugs remained. Still, by the end of April, the UCI claimed to have conducted 2,172 tests, of which 23 warranted further analysis. In early May, the UCI announced that one of those would likely lead to a suspension, the first rider to be snagged under the new program. Catlin still has concerns. “The testing program looks at levels at random points in time,” he said. “There are drugs that are here and gone in a few hours. Still, what Slipstream is doing is definitely an im- provement. What I like about these programs is that they have the ability to help change the culture.” GROOVER BOY No system is foolproof, of course, especially in a world where the current state of affairs looks and sounds like failure. But on a night like dopers are always a couple of steps ahead of the testers, and where the this, as I lie on my boat floating in an eddy at the bottom of the canyon, financial rewards of successful cheating are huge. Cycling’s recent with Jupiter’s lantern swinging in the sky, it doesn’t quite feel like failure. history doesn’t inspire confidence in any system that asks fans to Granted, I have spent some truly miserable moments on the river. But trust that team managers and the UCI are telling the truth. those ordeals have also been leavened by moments of simple, unvarnished But my time with Slipstream suggested that this team and its ex- perfection. I have seen thunderstorms send dozens of waterfalls ample may actually be changing a culture that has accepted and simultaneously plummeting from the rimrock to the river. I’ve rowed even encouraged doping. Of course, I had no prior knowledge of past bighorn rams battling each other on the cliffs, the sound of their what professional cyclists act like during their off-hours—the Slip- head-knocks echoing off the stone. I’ve napped on beds of columbine stream guys could have been donning robes and sacrificing rabbits and hellebore orchids, and gazed at the turquoise waters bubbling from when I wasn’t around. But I can report that their hotel-room doors the subterranean pool that the Hopi believe to be the wellspring of life. were open more often than not and that the only things the Those are wondrous things, to be sure. But the real reason I don’t feel soigneurs delivered were laundered uniforms for the next day. The like a complete loser has less to do with the gifts that I’ve been given and eight riders at the Tour of California (all Americans, except for Mil- more to do with what’s been taken away. By stripping most of my pride, lar) look like an indie rock band after sound check—wool hats my apprenticeship has laid bare one of the more intriguing paradoxes of pulled over their ears, backward ball caps, long hair. They talk about the Grand Canyon: the fact that this place has the power to render a per- girls, music, and notable bowel movements. They are typical young son not only profoundly diminished but also radically expanded, often in American men from places like Salt Lake City, Lemont, , and the same breath. Of the many things that the canyon and the river sup- North Bend, Washington. posedly offer, this may be the purest of them all. Vaughters has made community and connectedness a big part of So, yes, it’s true: If I keep at this baggage-boat gig for a few more his attempt to eliminate secrecy. At a November training camp in years, I may someday enjoy the privilege of actual passengers Boulder, Colorado, he brought in a corporate consultant who made down the Grand Canyon. In the meantime, the Jackass needs a cap- riders split into groups and talk about effective communication tech- tain—a role that commands, in my experience, an unexpected dimen- niques. They took psychological surveys, helped each other up and sion of dignity and even a measure of grace. It’s a job whose principal down the walls at a rock-climbing gym, and partied together in Boul- dividend, I suppose, is a subdued and somewhat battered frame of der clubs. “We were a new team,” Vaughters said, “so before we did mind that, as the moon prepares to rise over the rim and the night cups the serious work, we needed to understand everyone, what their per- the river in its hands, feels almost like happiness. o sonalities were about, how to function as a group.” While cyclists on most teams live apart, training on their own or CONTRIBUTING EDITOR KEVIN FEDARKO WROTE ABOUT with the help of private doctors and advisers, most of the 25 Slip- EVEREST BASE CAMP IN JULY 2007. stream riders live and train in Girona, , which makes it easier to

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