Victor Conte, a prominent figure in the performance-enhancing drug scandals of the early 2000s, passed away on Monday at the age of 75. He publicly shared his diagnosis of pancreatic cancer back in June.

Conte founded BALCO (Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative) in 1984, which originated from his previous career as a musician with the R&B group Tower of Power. BALCO provided supplements and performed blood and urine analysis for athletes. In 2000, he began collaborating with several Major League Baseball players, most notably Barry Bonds.

A federal investigation in 2003 unveiled that BALCO had supplied banned performance-enhancing substances to elite athletes across multiple sports. Bonds, along with other stars such as Marion Jones and Shane Mosley, was identified as a client of BALCO.

In 2005, Conte admitted to conspiracy to distribute steroids and money laundering, resulting in four months of prison time. After his release, he founded Scientific Nutrition for Advanced Conditioning (SNAC), focusing on clean performance enhancement for boxers and became an outspoken advocate against doping practices.

Despite some of his athletes testing positive, Conte emphasized maintaining a drug-free approach, insisting that positive tests were not linked to the work conducted at SNAC.

“We are heartbroken by the passing of our fearless leader, SNAC mastermind, CEO, anti-doping advocate, creator of ZMA, former Tower of Power and Herbie Hancock bassist, Victor Conte,” stated SNAC in a message. “We will honor his wishes, and his legacy will live on, strong and forever. We love you, Conte!”