Former Mr. California and bodybuilder, Rich Piana has died. The pro bodybuilding champion who is famous for openly admitting to the use of steroids was placed in a medically induced coma after he collapsed two weeks ago while his girlfriend cut his hair.

Rumours of his death had earlier circulated the internet but his ex wife, Sarah Piana on Friday confirmed the news via a Facebook post. She wrote “I’m in tears writing this that @1dayumay has just passed away. I can hardly believe this… I am so saddened & heartbroken that he didn’t make it.”

Fellow body building star and friend, Bradley Martyn posted a picture of himself with the 46-year-old workout champ on Instagram saying, “Rest in peace”. His work out plans and social media posts have gained momentum, especially on Instagram.

Mr Piana’s wealth is estimated to have been boosted massively by the growth of social media in recent years – to a staggering $2.5million (£1.9million).

Who was Rich Piana?
Rich Piana was an American bodybuilder, actor and YouTube​ celebrity.

The pro bodybuilder from Florida kept over 1.2million followers on Instagram hooked with his muscle selfies. He took the internet by storm in the final years of his life, with his ripped social media posts, workout plans and supplement business.

In 2016 he revealed he weighed a whopping 22st and that number was actually “down” on previous gains. Fitness was in his blood. His mum is a bodybuilder too, and introduced him to the sport when they lived in their native California.

How did Rich Piana get into bodybuilding?
After going to gym to watch his mum train for a competition, Piana was introduced to the world of weightlifting when he was 11-years. He entered his first competition at the age of 15, where he failed to place, says Deadspin.
After a number of failed attempts, he turned to steroids to help his training, and saw greater success in the field.

He placed 7th and 11th in national bodybuilding championships and was even named Mr California in an inter-state competition.

Career
He posts workout videos for his more than 600,000 subscribers. He is famous for his iconic saying “one day you may.” He has won competitions that include NPC California Championships, NPC Orange County Championships, NPC Los Angeles Championships, NPC Sacramento Championships and NPC Border States Classic.

He worked on television series including NBC’s Scrubs and Ripley’s Believe It or Not. Piana was a stunt actor in Tim Burton​’s Planet of the Apes​.

Does Rich Piana take steroids?
For more than 30 years, Piana injected his body with anabolic steroids, and was thrust into the spotlight in 2016 when he openly admitted he uses the drug to gain muscle mass.

His fitness regime consisted of a massive steroid cycle, nine meals a day, a series of workouts not fit for the average human being and, according to one profile, “protein shakes big enough to drown a toddler in”.

His Death
Rich was put into a medically-induced coma two weeks ago​. On Thursday 24 August, he died of unknown causes.