Big dead bodybuilders

Here is a brief summary

1. Becoming a bodybuilder at the highest level requires the use of powerful pharmaceutical substances that have been linked to organ failure and premature death.
2. Although massive use of anabolic steroids is evident, other pharmaceuticals such as insulin, growth hormones and diuretics can contribute even more to health problems.
3. A distinction must be made between use, misuse and abuse when it comes to bodybuilding pharmaceuticals. We are now seeing the consequences of the latter in bodybuilders from the nineties and the first decade of the 21st century.

Dead in 5 years

In the 1980's, Dr. Robert Goldman began asking top level athletes if they would make a proverbial deal with the devil if he would guarantee them victory in every competition they entered...but also guarantee their death within 5 years. Goldman consistently found that the majority of these athletes would gladly make such a deal. This phenomenon became known as "Goldman's Dilemma".

Lean and muscular bodies

Professional bodybuilders are only known within a relatively small community that follows this niche sport. So one has to wonder why so many willingly risk their lives and health for success. Is it for money? Fame? Or are they simply rolling the dice to build more muscle and lose more fat than the competition?

Massive abuse of anabolic steroids, growth hormones, insulin and diuretics are some of the main factors believed to be responsible for the disproportionate number of lean and muscular corpses. For a sport that at its core involves good nutrition, body fat loss and training, why do we see so many bodybuilders dying at an unusually young age for similar reasons?

The goal is muscle, not health

"Most guys think nothing bad will ever happen to them. But watch out. You're going to see more and more serious heart problems and worse as these guys hit 40."

- Mike Matarazzo, professional bodybuilder

Matarazzo had triple open-heart bypass surgery at age 38, a heart attack at age 41 and died at age 47 while waiting for a donor heart.

He was at the height of his competitive career in his early thirties, when "mass monsters" dominated bodybuilding and he claimed to have eaten up to 7 pounds of red meat a day during his bulkiest days. But during the years leading up to his drastic physical decline, Matarazzo was one of the few pros who spoke openly about what the underlying cause was - the amount of anabolic steroids and related substances necessary to become a successful professional at the highest level.

Matarazzo's public statements regarding the negative effects of bodybuilding pharmaceuticals may sound far-fetched to some, but there is anecdotal and scientific evidence to support his view. It is an indisputable fact that numerous top level bodybuilders have died from some variation of "natural causes" - often a heart attack or some form of organ failure - before reaching 40. A handful didn't even reach 35. Some top pros have come close to 50, but few pass 55 without serious health problems. Try to find a dozen healthy IFBB pros who competed successfully in their nineties. You won't have much luck.

The predictable reaction

When a bodybuilder dies of organ failure at a young age, the predictable reaction you'll hear from bodybuilding fans is: "He suffered from a pre-existing condition and would have suffered from the same problem regardless of whether he became a teacher or a bodybuilder." The big question, however, is whether pre-existing conditions are exacerbated by excessive use of performance-enhancing substances? And would these competitive athletes have lived much longer if they had not used these substances? Or is it the massive abuse of these pharmaceuticals in combination with the rigorous mass-building and dieting phases for numerous competitions that ultimately led to these health problems?

There will certainly be cases where underlying natural causes were the key factor in a death, but it seems to be more of a common, unfortunate excuse whenever a bodybuilder or figure athlete dies.

Reward of extremes

Bodybuilding began to separate from training for physical fitness in the fifties. Building muscle gradually became a more important goal than athleticism, strength and speed. The fact that anabolic steroids found their way into gyms in the sixties was no coincidence.

A lower body fat percentage at a higher body weight meant building more muscle and the more this look was rewarded, the more competitive bodybuilders began to strive for it. Health became a secondary consideration. It would probably be more accurate to say that it's not the use of steroids that kills people, but the abuse of them. And it is probably also true that other pharmaceuticals associated with bodybuilding carry a higher risk than anabolic steroids.

Insulin, growth hormones and various diuretics became increasingly popular starting in the nineties and these substances tend to have a poorer benefit to risk ratio.

The consequences of "leaner and more muscular"

In the early nineties, a significant shift was observed in the field of bodybuilding in terms of the ideal body. Dorian Yates defined a new standard and his competitors tried to follow suit as the term "mass monster" entered the sport of bodybuilding, describing never before seen massive body weights and extreme definition accompanied by an extremely low body fat percentage.

The long-term results of this era are what we have witnessed over the last few decades: Consequences that are catching up with more and more bodybuilders in the form of health problems that range from mild to fatal. No, not every professional has had these problems. And it's not always the most muscular guy or one of the best pros who struggle with this either, but their use of performance enhancing substances is consistent enough to draw some conclusions.

The studies

A 2014 study investigated a possible link between anabolic steroids and cardiovascular function. The results of this study suggest that users of massive amounts of anabolic steroids are more likely to suffer from irregular heart function and have a higher mortality rate compared to steroid-free strength athletes. A 2012 report in the American Journal of Cardiology looked at nearly 50 different studies examining the effects of anabolic steroids on cardiovascular and metabolic function. This report came to similar conclusions: Anabolic steroid use may be a significant factor in heart-related deaths.

Another study, published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, looked at the incidence of kidney disease among steroid-using bodybuilders over a 2-year period and found evidence of disease in the majority of strength athletes, some of which was irreversible and incurable.

Professional bodybuilders and other athletes

Unlike bodybuilding, deaths of other professional athletes are not associated with performance-enhancing compounds to the same extent. Physical wear and tear and damage resulting from collisions in contact sports and the use of party drugs are considered to be major contributing factors in these deaths.

Performance-enhancing pharmaceuticals is a term that the general public associates with anabolic steroids, even though it is a general category. Which includes everything from insulin to EPO - a blood doping and endurance enhancing drug - to stimulants. We know that the use of such performance-enhancing compounds is widespread in professional sports such as baseball, football, soccer and MMA. But sports such as cricket, car racing, cycling and wrestling have also been in the headlines due to the abuse of performance-enhancing substances.

That professional athletes seek every possible advantage and recovery method, even when it is prohibited in their sport and by law, should not surprise us. In 2014, the Public Library of Science published a report that examined the mortality rate of active professional wrestlers. The data was collected from 1985 to 2011 and showed that wrestlers were three to four times more likely to die than the average person between the ages of 30 and 50. Cardiovascular disease and drug overdoses were responsible for a large majority of these deaths and wrestlers were 15 times more likely to die from a cardiovascular-related cause and 122 times more likely to die from medication or drugs than non-athletes. Over the past 15 years, roughly one in five wrestler deaths has been linked to a party drug overdose.

A study published in the American Journal of Cardiology in 2012 examined the mortality rate of NFL football players and found that these athletes had only half the mortality risk of non-athletes of the same age. However, not surprisingly, football players were found to have significantly higher rates of neurological and skeletal muscle-related diseases.

Use and abuse

Thirty years ago, the average non-professional athlete was not interested in using anabolic steroids. However, walk into most weight rooms and gyms today and you'll be surrounded by a handful of steroid users - whether they look it or not.

One look on the internet will lead you to countless recreational athletes discussing plans for their first, second, third or fourth steroid regimen. These are not people who want to make a living with their muscles or win competitions. They are simply recreational athletes who want to look better.

With steroids, use and abuse are very different things. Those who use anabolic steroids are those who achieve results through healthy eating and training. Those who abuse anabolic steroids massively are those who combine eight different compounds a week because they think their 130 kilo idols are doing the same. The last are those who will generally show up as victims in statistics.

The last call: The dead

In the sixties, the Iron Man editor penned an editorial to address the abuse of anabolic steroids in bodybuilding and warn readers not to use these substances.

In the 50+ years since this article was published, numerous bodybuilders have abused steroids and other performance-enhancing substances and paid the ultimate price:

1. Mike Matarazzo: Regular top 10 IFBB pro from 1992 to 2001. Four-time top 5 finalist at Night of Champions. Died of a heart attack in 2014 at the age of 47.
2. Dan Puckett: 1st place at the 2006 NPC Collegiate National Heavyweight Championships. Died of heart failure in 2007 at the age of 22.
3. Scott Klein: Four-time NPC Heavyweight competitor (1995 and 1997), two-time NPC Super Heavyweight competitor (1998 and 2000). Died of kidney failure in 2003 at the age of 30.
4. Robert Benavente: Competed in several NPC competitions 1994 (teen class) through 2003 (1st place in Southern States). Died of a heart attack in 2004 at the age of 30.
5. Trevor Smith: Bodybuilding author and coach. Never competed, but weighed over 180 kilos. Died of a heart attack in 2004 at the age of 30.
6. Andreas Munzer: 13 top 5 finishes from 1986-96, was considered a "pioneer" in the use of diuretics for a super hard and defined look. Died in 1996 at the age of 32 from multiple organ failure.
7. Mohammed Benaziza: Seven-time Grand Prix winner in 1990 and 1992, 1st place at the 1990 Night of Champions (beating Dorian Yates), two top 5 finishes at the Mr. Olympia (1989 and 1992). Died in 1992 only a few hours after the Grand Prix Holland at the age of 33 from heart failure.
8. Daniele Seccarecci: IFBB competitor from 2007 to 2013. 2010 entry in the Guinness Book of Records as the "heaviest competitive bodybuilder" with 297 pounds. Died of a heart attack in 2013 at the age of 33.
9. Luke Wood: IFBB competitor from 2001 to 2008, frequently made it into the top 10. Died in 2011 at the age of 35 from complications following a kidney transplant.
10. Chris Janusz: Amateur competitor, nutrition coach and competition preparation coach. Died in 2009 at the age of 37 from unspecified causes.
11. Art Atwood: Regular top 10 finalist at IFBB competitions from 2002 to 2004, including a first place finish at the 2002 Toronto Pro competition. Died of a heart attack in 2011 at the age of 37.
12. Mat Duvall: Four-time top 3 finalist in the NPC Super Heavyweight division (1999, 2001, 2002, 1st place 2003). Died of a heart attack in 2013 at the age of 40.
13. Ed Van Amsterdam: European champion in the mid-nineties, regular top 10 IFBB finalist in 2002 and 2003. Died of a heart attack in 2014 at the age of 40.
14. Fannie Barrios: Two-time Jan Tana winner (2001, 2002). Three top 8 finishes at the Ms. Olympia (3rd place in 2002). Died of a stroke in 2005 at the age of 41.
15. Charles Durr: Six top 5 NPC and IFBB finishes from 1988 to 1999. Competed in the 2004 IFBB North American Championships. Died of a heart attack in 2005 at the age of 44.
16. Anthony D'Arezzo: Three-time Top 10 NPC Heavyweight (1993, 1994, 1995) finalist. 1st place at NPC New England in 1997. Died of a heart attack the night before a competition in 2006 at the age of 44.
17. Greg Kovacs: Competed in several IFBB competitions from 1997 to 2005. Was known as one of the bulkiest off-season competitive bodybuilders who regularly weighed over 400 pounds. Died in 2013, at the age of 44 from heart failure
18. Ron Teufel: 1978 IFBB Mr. USA. Second place behind Samir Bannout at the 1979 World Amateurs. Top 10 IFBB competitor in 1981 and 1982. Died of liver failure in 2002 at the age of 45.
19. Hans Hopstaken: NPC Masters competitor in 1998 and 1999, IFBB competitor in 2000 and 2001, including two top 5 finishes at the Masters Olympia. Died of heart failure in 2002 at the age of 45.
20. Frank Hillebrand: Lightweight champion (1987, 1989), multiple top 10 IFBB finishes from 1990 to 1993. Died of a heart attack in 2011 at the age of 45.
21. Alex Azarian: NPC competitor from 2002 to 2009, including five wins. Training, nutrition and competition preparation coach. Died in 2015 at the age of 45 from unspecified causes.
22. Ray Mentzer: IFBB competitor from 1979 to 1982, including 1st place at the 1978 Mr. USA, and several top 3 finishes. Died of kidney failure in 2001 at the age of 47.
23. Nasser El Sonbaty: Regular top 8 IFBB competitor from 1990 to 1992, consistent top 4 finalist in competitions from 1993 to 1998, including a second place at the 1997 Mr. Olympia and a third place at the 1995 and 1998 Mr. Olympia. Died in 2014 at the age of 47 from complications of heart and kidney failure.
24. Don Ross: Amateur competitor from 1965 to 1972, professional bodybuilder from 1973 to 1980 with 10 top 5 finishes. Died of a heart attack in 1995 at the age of 49.
25. Mike Mentzer: Consistent top 3 IFBB pro from 1975 to 1979, including second place finishes at the 1976 and 1977 Mr. Universe, a first place finish at the 1976 Mr. America and a first place finish at the 1979 Heavyweight Mr. Olympia (but finished behind Frank Zane in the overall standings). First professional to achieve a perfect score in a competition. Died of heart complications in 2001 at the age of 49.
26. Don Youngblood: NPC and IFBB Masters competitor from 1994 to 2002. Second place at the 2001 Masters Olympia and winner of the 2002 Masters Olympia. Died of a heart attack in 2005 at the age of 49.
27. Stoil Stoilov: NPC and IFBB Masters competitor from 2005 to 2014. Died in 2014 one week after a second place finish at a national level competition at the age of 49.
28. Terri Harris: Regular top 5 finalist at NPC and IFBB competitions from 2002 through 2012, including multiple first-place finishes in 2011 and 2012. Died of a heart attack two days after a competition in 2013 at age 50.
29. Ed Kawak: Five-time Mr. Universe (1982-1985, 1993). IFBB competitor in 1996 and 1999. Died of a heart attack in 2006 at the age of 51.
30. Vince Comerford: Amateur competitor from 1984 to 1986. 1st place in the middleweight division at the 1987 NPC Nationals (finished behind Shawn Ray in the overall standings). IFBB competitor in 1989 and 1990. Died of a heart attack in 2014 at the age of 52.
31. Greg DeFerro: 1979 IFBB Mr. International, five top 4 finishes in IFBB competitions from 1981 to 1984, including a second place finish behind Lee Haney at the 1983 Night of Champions. Died in 2007 at the age of 53 from heart disease.

The death match?

These bodybuilders are thankfully still alive at the time of writing, but have had or are struggling with serious health issues.

1. Tom Prince: NPC competitor from 1995 to 1997, including a first place finish at the 1997 Nationals. IFBB competitor from 1999 to 2002. Suffered kidney failure while preparing for a competition in 2003 at the age of 34. Retired from the sport in 2004 and received a kidney transplant in 2012.
2. Don Long: NPC Lightweight (1992) and Heavyweight (1993 to 1995). Regular top 10 IFBB pro finalist from 1996 to 1999. Suffered kidney failure in 1999 at the age of 34. Received a kidney transplant in 2002, which failed in 2003. Participated in several IFBB competitions from 2006-2009. Received another kidney transplant in 2011.
3. Flex Wheeler: NPC competitor from 1989 to 1992, one of the best IFBB professionals from 1993 to 2000 with 17 first places. Triple second place at the Mr. Olympia (1993, 1998 and 1999) and two top 4 finishes at the Mr. Olympia (1996 and 2000). Suffered from kidney failure and "officially" retired from the sport in 2000 at the age of 35. Competed twice more including a seventh place at the 2002 Mr. Olympia (allegedly natural) and a third place at the 2004 Mr. Olympia. Received a kidney transplant in 2003.
4. Orville Burke: NPC Heavyweight in 1996 and 1997 and Super Heavyweight in 1998. Regular IFBB Top 10 competitor from 1999 to 2002, including a first place finish at the 2001 Night of Champions and a first place finish at the 2001 Toronto Pro. Two top 10 finishes at the Mr. Olympia. Fell into a coma for 6 weeks in 2002 at the age of 39 after complications from surgery.
5. Mike Morris: NPC competitor from 1990 to 1997, IFBB pro from 2001 to 2005, retired from competition in 2005 at the age of 35 after developing kidney problems.

References

1. Akcakoyun, et al. Long-term anabolic androgenic steroid use is associated with increased atrial electromechanical delay in male bodybuilders. Biomed Res Int. 2014.
2. Achar, Suraj, et al. Cardiac and metabolic effects of anabolic-androgenic steroid abuse on lipids, blood pressure, left ventricular dimensions, and rhythm. American Journal of Cardiology, September 2010;106(6):893-901.
3. Herlitz LC, et al. Development of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis after anabolic steroid abuse. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2010 Jan;21(1):163-72.
4. Herman, Christopher W., et al. The very high premature mortality rate among active professional wrestlers is primarily due to cardiovascular disease. PLoS One. November 2014; 9(11): e109945.
5. Baron, Sherry L., et al. Body mass index, playing position, race, and the cardiovascular mortality of retired professional football players. American Journal of Cardiology, September 2011, Volume 109, Issue 6, 889 - 896.
6. Connor, J, et al. Would they dope? Revisiting the Goldman dilemma. Br J Sports Med. 2013 Jul;47(11):697-700.

By Chris Colucci
Source: https://www.t-nation.com/pharma/big-dead-bodybuilders