Bodybuilder Dies After Collapsing During Haircut

Cause of death for Rich Piana, 46, not yet clear
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 25, 2017 11:42 AM CDT
Bodybuilder Dies After Collapsing During Haircut
Rich Piana is shown in one of his YouTube videos.   (YouTube)

Another bodybuilder has suffered an untimely death, just days after Dallas McCarver apparently choked to death at 26. Rich Piana, 46, collapsed while his girlfriend was cutting his hair at his Florida apartment Aug. 7. He was rushed to a hospital and placed into a medically induced coma, but never recovered; he died early Friday, TMZ reports. In its initial report on the incident, TMZ Sports reported that Piana's girlfriend, Chanel, said that he hit his head when he fell. She also told authorities that he at one point in the past had a slightly enlarged heart.

His cause of death is not yet clear, but TMZ notes that in a search of his apartment, authorities found not only steroids but also a crushed-up white powder near a credit card and a straw. Emergency responders gave him two doses of Narcan in an attempt to revive him, though his girlfriend told authorities she believed Piana, who did struggle with opiate addiction in the past, was currently clean. Piana had won several bodybuilding competitions, including Mr. California, and was a hit on Instagram. Both his girlfriend and his ex-wife have posted remembrances on social media. (More bodybuilder stories.)

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