I AM DOPING FREE: PAUL MECCANICO'S COMMITMENT IN THE BATTLE AGAINST DOPING

How many times have you heard of doping? In recent decades it has often been treated by the media, albeit often inaccurately.

Doping is "the use of drugs and medical practices used not for therapeutic purposes but for the sole purpose of improving the psycho-physical performance of athletes". All sports and not so far have always stated, at least on paper, that they want to defeat this phenomenon. To fight, however, you must first know the enemy.



DOPING HAS ALWAYS EXISTED

Clarifying doping means, first of all, recognizing that it has existed since the dawn of sport, it is not an invention of the last half century. Galone, who lived between 130 and 200 AD, in the writings he left us, describes the Roman athletes as heavy consumers of hallucinogenic mushrooms, stimulating drinks and healing plants.

In the last fifty years we have only become more aware of it: studies on the subject have begun and bodies have been established, such as Wada (World Anti-Doping Agency), aimed at regulating and sanctioning its use.



INFORM TO FIGHT DOPING

Doping is a shortcut to achieve results faster through deception. It is cheating towards oneself and towards others. It is the cancer of sport, the death of an ideal.

In an ideal world these words would be enough to convince sportsmen to deny it. Unfortunately this is not the case, because narcissism, the God of Money, the (false) image of the winner lurks behind doping. The economic interests of those who speculate on the career of sportsmen lurk.

But are those who freely and voluntarily choose to cheat really aware of the consequences of doping? No. Many sportsmen use doping substances or techniques convinced that “nothing happens anyway”.

Correct information, then, becomes essential. The kid who wants to break into sport, the guy who wants to put on a tight shirt on Saturday night, the one who expects many likes from his selfie on the beach, they know that doping is a deception. But are we sure they know just as well that you can die of doping? Are we sure they are aware of the fact that doping is the beginning of the end?

It is up to teachers, technicians, instructors, coaches, athletic trainers to warn these young people. It is up to them to explain to those who train or to those who approach training to take care of their body and improve their results honestly. It is up to them to get out of the silence first and denounce whoever makes an unscrupulous profit on this cowardly business. Doping must stop being taboo.



IS THERE AN ALTERNATIVE TO DOPING?

There are alternatives to doping. They are called sacrifice and passion. And again it is up to sport teachers to transmit these values, because in sport, as in life, there is no victory without commitment. And to win or achieve the desired goals, it is necessary to plan each individual workout in a targeted manner, evaluate the results obtained, follow the right lifestyle, eat well and healthy, rest well, listen to the signals of the body but above all always believe in it with determination, determination. and stubbornness.



I AM DOPING FREE: A REAL COMMITMENT

There is an association that has distinguished itself in the fight against doping in recent years: it is called I AM DOPING FREE. It was born from the will of Filippo Magnini, the best Italian liberal style swimmer ever, and his partners Jessica Cipriani and Giulio Bardi, who have decided to promote an anti-doping campaign in which many athletes have joined including Valentino Rossi, Federica Pellegrini , Ivan Zaytsev and Bebe Vio just to name a few. I AM DOPING FREE organizes meetings with young people in schools, gyms, swimming pools and during sporting events: meetings to talk about sport as a synonym of health, authenticity, well-being but above all to provide information on the damage caused by doping.

The commitment of sports personalities of this caliber is commendable and their appeal to young people is enormous, but it is not enough. Every sports lover can and must do his part to promote and spread the anti-doping philosophy. Campaigns such as I AM DOPING FREE are financed, in fact, through merchandising in collaboration with manufacturers and brands such as Paul Meccanico. To give our contribution to the campaign we have created a limited edition line consisting of carry bags and bracelets, of the highest quality craftsmanship 100% made in Italy.

Never before in this project have clean sport and fashion been so united.

Wear a product from the I AM DOPING FREE collection by PAUL MECCANICO and contribute to the fight against doping!