Dead Bodybuilders...From Tnation

[212OlympiaBound]

Thought this was interesting. 30 bodybuilders who have recently died young from PED use.

Mike Matarazzo: Frequent top 10 IFBB pro from 1992 to 2001. Four-time top 5 finisher at the Night of Champions. Died from a heart attack in 2014, age 47.

Dan Puckett: 1st place 2006 NPC Collegiate National Heavyweight. Died from heart failure in 2007, age 22.

Scott Klein: Four-time NPC Heavyweight competitor (1995 and 1997), two-time NPC super-heavyweight competitor (1998 and 2000). Died from kidney failure in 2003, age 30.

Robert Benavente: Competed in multiple NPC shows from 1994 (teen division) to 2003 (1st place in Southern States). Died from a heart attack in 2004, age 30.

Trevor Smith: Bodybuilding writer and coach. Never competed, but weighed over 400 pounds. Died from a heart attack in 2004, age 30.

Andreas Munzer: 13 top-five placings from 1986-96. Considered a "pioneer" in the use of diuretics for a super-peeled look. Died from multiple organ failure in 1996, age 32.

Mohammed Benaziza: Seven total Grand Prix wins in 1990 and 1992, 1st place at the 1990 Night of Champions (beating Dorian Yates), two top 5 Mr. Olympia showings (1989 and 1992). Died from heart failure hours after winning the Grand Prix Holland show in 1992, age 33.

Daniele Seccarecci: IFBB competitor from 2007 to 2013. 2010 Guinness World Record Holder for "heaviest competitive bodybuilder" at 297 pounds. Died from a heart attack in 2013, age 33.

Luke Wood: IFBB competitor from 2001 to 2008, often breaking into the top 10. Died from complications following a kidney transplant in 2011, age 35.

Chris Janusz: Amateur competitor, nutrition coach, and contest prep consultant. Died from undisclosed causes in 2009, age 37.

Art Atwood: Consistent top 10 finisher in IFBB shows from 2002 to 2004, including 1st at the 2002 Toronto Pro. Died from a heart attack in 2011, age 37.

Mat Duvall: Four-time top 3 finisher in NPC Super-heavyweight division (1999, 2001, 2002, 1st in 2003). Died from a heart attack in 2013, age 40.

Ed Van Amsterdam: European champion in the mid-1990s, frequent top 10 IFBB finisher in 2002 and 2003. Died from a heart attack in 2014, age 40.

Fannie Barrios: Two-time Jan Tana winner (2001, 2002). Three top 8 placings at Ms. Olympia (3rd place in 2002). Died from a stroke in 2005, age 41.

Charles Durr: Six top 5 NPC and IFBB finishes from 1988 to 1999. Competed in the 2004 IFBB North American Championships. Died from a heart attack in 2005, age 44.

Anthony D'Arezzo: Three-time top 10 NPC Heavyweight (1993, 1994, 1995). 1st at NPC New England in 1997. Died from a heart attack the night before a contest in 2006, age 44.

Greg Kovacs: Competed in several IFBB shows from 1997 to 2005. Known in the industry as one of the largest off-season bodybuilders, regularly weighing over 400 pounds. Died from heart failure in 2013, age 44.

Ron Teufel: 1978 IFBB Mr. USA. Runner-up to Samir Bannout at 1979 World Amateurs. Top 10 IFBB competitor in 1981 and 1982. Died from liver failure in 2002, age 45.

Hans Hopstaken: NPC Masters competitor in 1998 and 1999. IFBB competitor in 2000 and 2001, including two top 5 placings at the Masters Olympia. Died from heart failure in 2002, age 45.

Frank Hillebrand: Light-heavyweight champion (1987, 1989), several top 10 IFBB finishes from 1990 to 1993. Died from a heart attack in 2011, age 45.

Alex Azarian: NPC competitor from 2002 to 2009, including a total of five 1st place wins. Training, nutrition, and contest prep consultant. Died from undisclosed causes in 2015, age 45.

Ray Mentzer: IFBB competitor from 1979 to 1982 including 1st place 1978 Mr. USA, and several top 3 placings. Died from kidney failure in 2001, age 47.

Nasser El Sonbaty: Frequent top 8 IFBB competitor from 1990 to 1992, consistent top 4 finisher in shows from 1993 to 1998, including 2nd at the 1997 Mr. Olympia and 3rd at the 1995 and 1998 Olympias. Died from complications from heart and kidney failure in 2014, age 47.

Don Ross: Amateur competitor from 1965 to 1972, pro bodybuilder from 1973 to 1980 with 10 top 5 placings. Died from a heart attack in 1995, age 49.

Mike Mentzer: Consistent top 3 IFBB pro from 1975 to 1979, including 2nd in the 1976 and 1977 Mr. Universe, 1st place 1976 Mr. America, and 1st place 1979 heavyweight Mr. Olympia (lost the Overall to Frank Zane). First pro bodybuilder to be awarded a perfect score in a contest. Died from heart complications in 2001, age 49.

Don Youngblood: NPC and IFBB Masters competitor from 1994 to 2002. 2nd place at the 2001 Masters Olympia and winning 1st in the 2002 Masters Olympia. Died from a heart attack in 2005, age 49.

Stoil Stoilov: NPC and IFBB Masters competitor from 2005 to 2014. Died in 2014 one week after placing 2nd at a National show, age 49.

Terri Harris: Frequent top 5 finisher in NPC and IFBB shows from 2002 to 2012, including several 1st place wins in 2011 and 2012. Died from a heart attack two days after a contest in 2013, age 50.

Ed Kawak: 5-time Mr. Universe (1982-1985, 1993). IFBB competitor in 1996 and 1999. Died from a heart attack in 2006, age 51.

Vince Comerford: Amateur competitor from 1984 to 1986. 1st place Middleweight at 1987 NPC Nationals (lost the Overall to Shawn Ray). IFBB competitor in 1989 and 1990. Died from a heart attack in 2014, age 52.

Greg DeFerro: 1979 IFBB Mr. International, five top 4 placing in IFBB shows from 1981-1984, including 2nd to Lee Haney at the '83 Night of Champions. Died from heart disease in 2007, age 53.

~Credit to Tnation

[RaginCajun]

Wow, looks like most died around late 40s with heart or liver failure.

It doesn't really surprise me though, injecting copious amounts of whatever for years has got to have a toll on a body.

[Bonaparte]

Wow, looks like most died around late 40s with heart or liver failure.

It doesn't really surprise me though, injecting copious amounts of whatever for years has got to have a toll on a body.

Only Ron Teufel died of liver failure. Most died from heart disease or renal failure. Hypertension will cause both, and a decade or two of piss-poor lipids will heavily contribute to the former.

[inchamery]

wow that is a real eye opener...

[jomathan]

What type of drug is it

[Bonaparte]

What type of drug is it

What?

[AR's King Silabolin]

i wonder, will bad lipids during cycle cause some degree of cronic damage even if you run a good offperiod with normalization of lipids?
I personally think so cause bad lipids clogs the arteries and even if your triglycerides and cholestrol come back normal and the bw shows good cholestrol it doesnt tell how your arteries are doing, just the blood.

So maybe an arterietest is important. But is there anything to do to solve clogged arteries. I have no medical education but this i guess has nothing to do with cholestrol, which can be fixed.

[Metalject]

Not arguing that there haven't been several bodybuilders to die, but we're still talking about a miniscule number of people. Further, pick any sport and you can make a similar list...for example, Pro Football:

15 players that have died from similar causes as this posted list of bodybuilders. Does not include players over 35. Does not include college players. Does not include death related to injury sustained during the game. Include any of those three things and this list expands dramatically.

Gaines Adams: Bears - cardiac arrest 26yrs old
Ricky Bell: Chargers - Dermatomyositis 29yrs old
Leon Bender: Raiders - Seizure 29yrs old
Frank Buncorn: Bengals - Blood Clot 29yrs old
J.V. Cain: Cardinals - Heart attack 28yrs old
David Croudip: Falcons - Drugs 30yrs old
Larry Gordon: Dolphins - Heart attack 28yrs old
Thomas Herrion: 49ers - Heart failure 23yrs old
Mack Lee Hill: Chiefs - Pulmonary embolism 25yrs old
Chuck Hughes: Lions - cardiac arrest 28yrs old
Eugene Lipscomb: Steelers - Drugs 31yrs old
Damien Nash: Broncos - heart failure 24yrs old
Lucien Reeberg: Lions - Heart attack 21yrs old
Don Rogers: Browns - Drugs 23yrs old
Dave Waymer: Raiders - Heart attack 34yrs old

The point: 1,600 men play pro football every year, a minuscule number compared to the number of people bodybuilding and you can easily find as many if not more deaths at a young age in football. Does that mean butt loads of steroids are good for you? Of course not...I simply don't care for ignoring other areas that are just as deadly.

[tarmyg]

What type of drug is it

Creatine

[marcus300]

Without a doubt its related to PED

[Honkey_Kong]

I was saying it in another thread, but in those deaths (both the football players and the bodybuilders), how many of them were either caused by or had a contributing cause by recreational drugs, pain killers, muscle relaxers, and diuretics?

I'm not going to say bodybuilding or PEDs are healthy to partake in, but I'm willing to bet a good number of those deaths had a different smoking gun than what the media attributes their deaths to.

I've heard stories of pro-wrestlers, football players and bodybuilders abusing those other drugs on a very regular basis. But when one of them dies, it's never the rec drugs or pain killers that the media blames. It's always the steroids or growth hormone . Despite the fact that they will pop Vicodins as if they're Tic Tacs and wash it down with gallons of beer and hard liquor and do this on a daily basis.

[212OlympiaBound]

I was saying it in another thread, but in those deaths (both the football players and the bodybuilders), how many of them were either caused by or had a contributing cause by recreational drugs, pain killers, muscle relaxers, and diuretics?

I'm not going to say bodybuilding or PEDs are healthy to partake in, but I'm willing to bet a good number of those deaths had a different smoking gun than what the media attributes their deaths to.

I've heard stories of pro-wrestlers, football players and bodybuilders abusing those other drugs on a very regular basis. But when one of them dies, it's never the rec drugs or pain killers that the media blames. It's always the steroids or growth hormone. Despite the fact that they will pop Vicodins as if they're Tic Tacs and wash it down with gallons of beer and hard liquor and do this on a daily basis.

I agree with this.

Just by looking at the list, you can figure that a good portion of these deaths are not due to steroid /hgh abuse.

There is a large group that can be attributed to heavy stim abuse (still bb-ing related), and there is another portion that can most likely be attributed to acute narcotic overdose.

[kelkel]

Ton's of people die every day from the same causes, and they're not BB'ers or professional athletes.
Not saying irresponsible AAS usage isn't a contributing factor but I have trouble pinning it directly on it by itself.

[thisAngelBites]

Not saying irresponsible AAS usage isn't a contributing factor but I have trouble pinning it directly on it by itself.

I like what you did there.

[musclestack]

Ton's of people die every day from the same causes, and they're not BB'ers or professional athletes.
Not saying irresponsible AAS usage isn't a contributing factor but I have trouble pinning it directly on it by itself.

While I agree, this is true, there is an obvious trend in the list. First thing that comes to mind is "Not everyone who dies of heart disease is a body-builder, but every body-builder dies of heart disease". Obviously, this statement is statistically incorrect and far exaggerated, I'm just trying to get a perspective across.

It would be interesting to see a larger list of deceased body-builders who did not die of heart/liver disease, and what they passed on from.

[jimmyinkedup]

Not arguing that there haven't been several bodybuilders to die, but we're still talking about a miniscule number of people. Further, pick any sport and you can make a similar list...for example, Pro Football:

15 players that have died from similar causes as this posted list of bodybuilders. Does not include players over 35. Does not include college players. Does not include death related to injury sustained during the game. Include any of those three things and this list expands dramatically.

Gaines Adams: Bears - cardiac arrest 26yrs old
Ricky Bell: Chargers - Dermatomyositis 29yrs old
Leon Bender: Raiders - Seizure 29yrs old
Frank Buncorn: Bengals - Blood Clot 29yrs old
J.V. Cain: Cardinals - Heart attack 28yrs old
David Croudip: Falcons - Drugs 30yrs old
Larry Gordon: Dolphins - Heart attack 28yrs old
Thomas Herrion: 49ers - Heart failure 23yrs old
Mack Lee Hill: Chiefs - Pulmonary embolism 25yrs old
Chuck Hughes: Lions - cardiac arrest 28yrs old
Eugene Lipscomb: Steelers - Drugs 31yrs old
Damien Nash: Broncos - heart failure 24yrs old
Lucien Reeberg: Lions - Heart attack 21yrs old
Don Rogers: Browns - Drugs 23yrs old
Dave Waymer: Raiders - Heart attack 34yrs old

The point: 1,600 men play pro football every year, a minuscule number compared to the number of people bodybuilding and you can easily find as many if not more deaths at a young age in football. Does that mean butt loads of steroids are good for you? Of course not...I simply don't care for ignoring other areas that are just as deadly.

The issue I see with your position is this one. There are not hundreds of thousands of "amateur" (or even 10's of thousands) football players engaging in the same activity that claimed the pro football players lives like there are bodybuilders.
There are so many people/bodybuilders engaging in the same or similar behaviors as these pro bodybuilders, the same cannot be said for football. There is an alraming trend taking place over the years when it comes to aas use. The dosages being used are getting out of control. It is one thing if bodybuilding pays your bills and you make a concious decision to take the necessary risks but to take those risks as a recreational bodybuilder is alarming and it is taking place far more often than in other sports. Recreational football players arent using PED's like the pros. Recreaational bodybuilders are. Thats what makes the stats so alarming to me personally.

[marcus300]

While I agree, this is true, there is an obvious trend in the list. First thing that comes to mind is "Not everyone who dies of heart disease is a body-builder, but every body-builder dies of heart disease". Obviously, this statement is statistically incorrect and far exaggerated, I'm just trying to get a perspective across.

It would be interesting to see a larger list of deceased body-builders who did not die of heart/liver disease, and what they passed on from.

Very true

Years ago I would of said its not related at all everyone dies of the same things over a wide range of different lifestyles but the older I get and the people I know in the sport nearly all of them have some kind of issue going on what most of the above list have died from.

I have kidneys issues, enlarged heart, enlarged kidneys, enlarged bladder, enlarged prostate, high RBC and my bloods are all over the place and I only cycle once or twice per year now at very low dose. Was it my past dosages and heavy use I would say it is and I am not professional or even competed in the sport.

I would say 8 out of ten guys I know who are BB'ers have some of the health related issues what have been listed and the guys age range from young to old. I don't know anyone who has died though but I know plenty who are having problems just like myself.

[Hazard]

Nasser, Paul, and 3 others Ian named. Said he can remember being in a room with all 5 and now he's the only one left.

[212OlympiaBound]

I think it is tough to deny that high doses of AAS/GH over long periods of time will exponentially increase your chance of an early death due to cardiovascular issues.

[bass]

wasn't there a study we read few years back posted here about all older men who died prematurely had one thing in common, testosterone deficiency? AAS can be a life saving or deadly depending how its used. This is why us TRT'ers believe less is more and more is less. like mentioned above, BB's know the risks and they are real, no one can deny this.

[kelkel]

I like what you did there.

I enjoy hearing that from women. It's so infrequent....

[kelkel]

I think it is tough to deny that high doses of AAS/GH over long periods of time will exponentially increase your chance of an early death due to cardiovascular issues.

No doubt. Odds are though that the over-whelming majority of users do not engage in routine BW to mitigate issues down the road...

[GirlyGymRat]

No doubt. Odds are though that the over-whelming majority of users do not engage in routine BW to mitigate issues down the road...

Or ignore the BW results.....

[noon]

Not arguing that there haven't been several bodybuilders to die, but we're still talking about a miniscule number of people. Further, pick any sport and you can make a similar list...for example, Pro Football:

15 players that have died from similar causes as this posted list of bodybuilders. Does not include players over 35. Does not include college players. Does not include death related to injury sustained during the game. Include any of those three things and this list expands dramatically.

Gaines Adams: Bears - cardiac arrest 26yrs old
Ricky Bell: Chargers - Dermatomyositis 29yrs old
Leon Bender: Raiders - Seizure 29yrs old
Frank Buncorn: Bengals - Blood Clot 29yrs old
J.V. Cain: Cardinals - Heart attack 28yrs old
David Croudip: Falcons - Drugs 30yrs old
Larry Gordon: Dolphins - Heart attack 28yrs old
Thomas Herrion: 49ers - Heart failure 23yrs old
Mack Lee Hill: Chiefs - Pulmonary embolism 25yrs old
Chuck Hughes: Lions - cardiac arrest 28yrs old
Eugene Lipscomb: Steelers - Drugs 31yrs old
Damien Nash: Broncos - heart failure 24yrs old
Lucien Reeberg: Lions - Heart attack 21yrs old
Don Rogers: Browns - Drugs 23yrs old
Dave Waymer: Raiders - Heart attack 34yrs old

The point: 1,600 men play pro football every year, a minuscule number compared to the number of people bodybuilding and you can easily find as many if not more deaths at a young age in football. Does that mean butt loads of steroids are good for you? Of course not...I simply don't care for ignoring other areas that are just as deadly.

Fun fact here

Buttload: “A 'butt' is a traditional unit of volume used for wines and other alcoholic beverages. A butt is generally defined to be two hogsheads, but the size of hogsheads varies according to the contents. In the United States a hogshead is typically 63 gallons and a butt is 126 gallons.”Jun 23, 2011

[kelkel]

Fun fact here

Buttload: “A 'butt' is a traditional unit of volume used for wines and other alcoholic beverages. A butt is generally defined to be two hogsheads, but the size of hogsheads varies according to the contents. In the United States a hogshead is typically 63 gallons and a butt is 126 gallons.”Jun 23, 2011

I'll sleep better now!

[Bonaparte]

i wonder, will bad lipids during cycle cause some degree of cronic damage even if you run a good offperiod with normalization of lipids?
I personally think so cause bad lipids clogs the arteries and even if your triglycerides and cholestrol come back normal and the bw shows good cholestrol it doesnt tell how your arteries are doing, just the blood.

So maybe an arterietest is important. But is there anything to do to solve clogged arteries. I have no medical education but this i guess has nothing to do with cholestrol, which can be fixed.

Your fears are correct. Once arterial plaque (composed partially of LDL) accumulates, it is there to stay. So the damage is cumulative.

However, lipid numbers are not the only factor contributing to plaque formation, as the process of atherosclerosis also requires arterial inflammation (from an imbalanced intake of Omega 6 to Omega 3 fatty acids), as plaque is mainly comprised of white blood cells. Do a bit of research on Omega 3's anti-inflammatory properties for more info.

[Metalject]

The issue I see with your position is this one. There are not hundreds of thousands of "amateur" (or even 10's of thousands) football players engaging in the same activity that claimed the pro football players lives like there are bodybuilders.
There are so many people/bodybuilders engaging in the same or similar behaviors as these pro bodybuilders, the same cannot be said for football. There is an alraming trend taking place over the years when it comes to aas use. The dosages being used are getting out of control. It is one thing if bodybuilding pays your bills and you make a concious decision to take the necessary risks but to take those risks as a recreational bodybuilder is alarming and it is taking place far more often than in other sports. Recreational football players arent using PED's like the pros. Recreaational bodybuilders are. Thats what makes the stats so alarming to me personally.

I understand what you're saying. Just to give this discussion a little perspective here are some statistics:

*There are 1,696 NFL players: 53 per team, 32 teams.
*There are approximately 16,000 NCAA football seniors per year.
*There have been 126 deaths in the NFL and NCAA related to drug use, injury sustained in game or practice or cardiac incident. The number increases significantly if you add in suicide, which some attribute to past head injury but I've left those out since that's impossible to prove outright.
*All 126 deaths are young men, most are under the age of 24. (More college players so there will be more young deaths in that category)

Now the only way to answer the next question, which has lead to more deaths, football or bodybuilding? That may be a very difficult question to answer. You'd need to know how many bodybuilders there have been, which again is probably near impossible to answer. However, although I may be wrong, I find it very difficult to believe that we could find 126 bodybuilders in the last 50 years that have died young.

[< <Samson> >]

Well, since I am bored & awake


WTF - really, you think these guy's bodies did not go through extreme beating.

Just in the recent decade if that is when we made serious health advances related to AAS. Yet, some guys can still care less - everyone I know in real life think I'm some sort of roid guru when I say that I get quarterly blood work to make sure I am doing okay.

People just do - they get some juice & spike away & eat handfuls of dBol .


These big guys of course we're into this life a whole lot more. But, we know the game - fvck it, hit it hard if you want to be the best.


Will anyone have exact proof of what did the most damage to them - ? - Never. We just speculate & for the most part, prob get a fairly good idea from what we know.

[BG]

I understand what you're saying. Just to give this discussion a little perspective here are some statistics:

*There are 1,696 NFL players: 53 per team, 32 teams.
*There are approximately 16,000 NCAA football seniors per year.
*There have been 126 deaths in the NFL and NCAA related to drug use, injury sustained in game or practice or cardiac incident. The number increases significantly if you add in suicide, which some attribute to past head injury but I've left those out since that's impossible to prove outright.
*All 126 deaths are young men, most are under the age of 24. (More college players so there will be more young deaths in that category)

Now the only way to answer the next question, which has lead to more deaths, football or bodybuilding? That may be a very difficult question to answer. You'd need to know how many bodybuilders there have been, which again is probably near impossible to answer. However, although I may be wrong, I find it very difficult to believe that we could find 126 bodybuilders in the last 50 years that have died young.

You have to wonder how many of those football players used steroids .....probably most.

[Metalject]

You have to wonder how many of those football players used steroids.....probably most.

Agreed