One of the most popular bodybuilders and social media personalities, Rich Piana died on August 25, 2017, aged 46, after being in a medically induced coma for several weeks. His sudden death had sent shockwaves across the bodybuilding fraternity and his millions of followers, who were all looking for answers. Piana became popular not only due to his enormous body but also because of frank openness about taking performance enhancement medication, including steroids. His tragic death has brought wide-ranging discussions about the use of steroids and the dangers involved with doing so. In this article, we look at what surrounded the death of Piana and what could have contributed to it.
The Final Days: What Happened to Rich Piana?
On August 7, 2017, Piana suddenly collapsed while getting a haircut at his home in Clearwater, Florida. His girlfriend at the time, Chanel Jansen, was with him and immediately called emergency services. In collapsing, Piana had hit his head, which prompted the paramedics to administer CPR upon arrival at the scene. He was eventually resuscitated but the lack of oxygen to his brain during the time had already brought upon him severe damage. According to Jansen, in the days pre-symptomatically leading up to his collapse, he had been feeling short of breath and nausea, thus issuing early warning symptoms for another more serious condition.
Autopsy findings – Is it possible to clearly determine the cause of death?
The official autopsy report showed Piana’s heart and liver were massively enlarged-more than twice the normal adult male size. That is usually characteristic of very long-term steroid use, to which Piana openly admitted for decades. He often spoke of his use of anabolic steroids, among other PEDs, on his YouTube channel, always trying to point to the dangerous nature of them but also noting they were a necessary evil for anyone trying to compete at the highest level of bodybuilding.
Although the autopsy was able to determine some degree of clarity on Piana’s degrading health, it ultimately proved inconclusive into his direct cause of death. No clear-cut cause, such as a heart attack or stroke, could be determined. Complicating those issues even more, no toxicology report was available because the hospital discarded the samples necessary for an analysis in toxicology. Due to that, indeed, it is still partly open to question whether recreational drugs or any other type of drug performed in his death.
Some reports started suggesting that 20 bottles of testosterone had been found in his home, while rumors flew around of strung-out white powder found next to the body. Indeed, paramedics administered a medication meant for opioid overdose: naloxone. Jansen himself denied the involvement of recreational drugs, instead describing that the white powder could have been some high level of caffeine pre-workout booster that Piana at times snorted.
Steroid Use and Its Consequences One of the very few candid bodybuilders about steroid use in the sport was Rich Piana. He had openly admitted that his huge size, his biceps were a massive 23.5-inch, wasn’t purely all from training but with a little aid and assistance from steroids, growth hormones/and other substances. According to him, he started steroid consumption at age 18 and has continued his use throughout his career.
He would also constantly tell his audiences to stay away from steroids as it was not worth the trouble it placed on an individual unless they were ready for such eventualities.
These substances give great improvement in muscle growth and performance but have tremendous risks to heart disease, liver damage, and kidney failure. In the case of Piana, it is most probable that enlargement of his heart and liver was a side effect of the long intake of steroids noted in his autopsy. These conditions put him at increased risk for cardiac arrest, which may have been a contributing factor in his sudden collapse.
Was There Some Use of Drugs?
While the death of Piana raised speculation into possible drug use, most especially with the discovery of the white powder, Jansen insisted that Piana did not do recreational drugs. An overdose was speculated by many, with reports of paramedics administering naloxone at the scene. Without a toxicology report, though, it is not certain whether any drugs other than steroids and supplements were taken.
Adding to that, several bottles of testosterone present amongst his belongings in the house showed the severe fraternity with the PEDs. As the comments of bodybuilding community and medical experts go, he has given a heavy price regarding his lifestyle choices in the form of his health since steroid abuse is a well-known risk factor for diseases such as heart diseases and enlargement of organs
A Legacy of Fitness and Caution
Rich Piana’s memory has not died yet; it still echoes in the corridors of bodybuilding. He was not just a bodybuilder; he ran a company dealing with supplements, “5% Nutrition”, and had large followers on social media, where he shared his workouts, dieting plans, and candid insights with his audience into the world of bodybuilding.
Piana’s openness about the use of steroids and their dangers served as a kind of learning curve for many in the field. He often punctuated that as much as steroids can help one get to a certain kind of body, the long-term health risks were dire, with many of his followers seeing his death as a tragic confirmation of this warning.
Conclusion
A Tragic Reminder Rich Piana’s death is just one symptom of the dangers involved with long-term steroid use and extreme measures taken by some bodybuilders to try to reach their physiological goals. And although his full autopsy did show significant problems with his health that could very well be linked to steroid abuse, his exact cause of death remains very undetermined simply because a complete toxicology report was never performed. Nevertheless, his life remains in memory to the risks involved with performance-enhancing drugs and how important health truly is in comparison to cosmetic appeal.
