Books by Mark Johnson

Spitting in the Soup: Inside the Dirty Game of Doping in Sports

Spitting in the Soup investigates the history of drugs in sport–athletes turning to dope to go faster, longer, and higher. From pro cycling to the NFL, Major League Baseball to track and field, Spitting in the Soup reveals why elite and amateur athletes have always turned to pharmaceuticals. The book also explores why, in a society that encourages the wholesale use of performance enhancing drugs like Viagra and Adderall, it is so difficult to change athletes’ chemical ways. Press coverage and chapter excerpts

Spitting in the Soup: Inside the Dirty Game of Doping in Sports (VeloPress, 2016)

Argyle Armada: Behind the Scenes of the Pro Cycling Life

Mark Johnson spent 2011 traveling with the Garmin pro cycling team. In words and photos, Argyle Armada takes readers along from early season training camps in Girona, Spain to victories at Paris-Roubaix and the Tour de France to fall racing in Quebec, Canada. Along the way  learn why it is so hard to finance a pro cycling team, why riders don’t form a union, and what it takes to be a pro cyclist. Argyle Armada book review.

Argyle Armada: Behind the Scenes of the Pro Cycling Life (VeloPress, 2012)

The Art of Spanish Guitar: A Method by Celino Romero

We photographed this book for internationally renown classical guitarist Celino Romero. 


The Art of Spanish Guitar: A Method by Celino Romero (Amsco, 2007)

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• Surf photography and private water photo sessions
• Cycling photography for manufacturers, media, events, and individuals
• Lifestyle, music, and social event photography
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• Writing
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Mark Johnson graduated from UCSD and has an MA and PhD in English literature from Boston University. Read about Mark in the Boston University Arts & Sciences magazine

He spent a year travelling the globe with the Garmin pro cycling team while writing and shooting his book Argyle Armada: Behind the Scenes of the Pro Cycling Life.

Mark’s history of drugs in sport has become a defining document in this fascination corner of sports history: Spitting in the Soup: Inside the Dirty Game of Doping in Sport. 

Read about Mark Johnson at Surfline.

Our clients include

• The New York Times
• The Washington Post
• The Wall Street Journal
• Microsoft
• Surfer Magazine
• Transworld Surf
• VeloNews
• Intuit
• Sony Music/RCA
• Marriot Hotels
• Backpacker Magazine
• Clif Bar
• Garmin
• Kashi
• CamelBak
• People Magazine
• Parade Magazine
• Sharp Electronics
• Rusty Surfboards
• San Diego Padres
• Penguin Books
• Hatchette/Quercus Books
• California State Travel and Tourism Commission
• Covadonga Verlag Books
• CyclingNews
• RIDE Cycling Review
• Surfline
• Challenged Athletes Foundation
• Road Magazine
• Fuji Bicycles
• Cervelo Bicycles
• Castelli Clothing
• Pearl Izumi
• Kenda Tires
• Bianchi Bicycles
• Giant Bicycles
• San Diego Reader
• San Diego Union-Tribune
• Holland Bicycles
• The Daily Racing Form
• Competitor Magazine
• Adventure Cycling Magazine
• Cycling Weekly
• Wieler Review
• Paved Magazine
• San Diego North County Convention and Visitors Bureau
• DZ Nuts
• J.R. Filanc Construction
• Sheffield Platers
• Excel Sports
• 2XU Clothing
• Active.com
• Har-Bro Construction
• Squadra Clothing
• Lezyne Design Bicycle Products
• Modern Language Association
• Natural Curves Surfboards
• Saris Cycling Group
• Bike Nashbar
• AMC Outdoors Magazine
• Editor and Publisher Magazine
• CitySports Magazine
• KHS Bicycles
• Neurology Today
• Popular Photography and Imaging Magazine
• Road Bike Action Magazine
• SKLZ
• San Diego Unified School District
• Shutterbug Magazine
• Tomac Bicycles
• University of California, San Diego
• UCSD Department of Orthopedic Surgery

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