Professional Bodybuilder Rich Piana Dead At 46

Bodybuilder Rich Piana, 46, died on Friday after weeks spent in a coma.

Piana collapsed while getting a haircut in his apartment on August 7. After an unsuccessful attempt to revive him by his girlfriend, Chanel, the bodybuilding champion was rushed to the hospital and placed in a medically induced coma.

According to TMZ, more than 20 bottles of steroids and a white powder were found inside Piana’s Florida apartment. His cause of death is still under investigation and it is unclear whether drugs played a role.

Back in 2014, Piana confessed he had been doing steroids for well over 30 years. In a YouTube video, the bodybuilder explained that he had to take the body enhancing drugs to become a professional.

“If you want to become a professional bodybuilder, guess what — you’re probably going to have to f—in’ do ’em,” he said in the video. “You’re not going to have a choice.”

Later in the video, he admonishes the use of steroids but maintains his position that it is impossible to compete without them.

“There’s no reason to do steroids, you’re only hurting your body, you’re hurting yourself,” he says.

Piana, who entered his first competition at age 15, had competed in and won several bodybuilding competitions over the years, including Mr. California. In recent years, Piana stopped competing in bodybuilding. He maintained an online presence, however, and garnered more than 1 million followers on Instagram. His posts mainly focused on his personal workout routines and his “bigger by the day” challenge.

The bodybuilding champion’s death comes just days after fellow bodybuilder, Dallas McCarver, choked to death at the age of 26. McCarver’s girlfriend, WWE superstar Dana Brooke, told sources she believes choking on food was the cause of death and that there were no signs of foul play.