Rich Piana coma – Stunning girlfriend of critically ill bodybuilder slams false reports he’s died as she begs fans to pray for him
THE girlfriend of critically ill Rich Piana has slammed false reports the bodybuilder has died as she asked his fans to pray for him.
The former Mr California, 46, reportedly collapsed in his home and was placed in an induced come after suffering a "medical emergency", according to TMZ.
Girlfriend Chanel thanked the bodybuilder's fans on Instagram and asked for "positive thoughts, prayers and love."
She posted on Saturday: "I just want to be clear Rich Piana is still alive.
"All myself and his family are asking for is positive thoughts, prayers, and love.
"Please i'm begging you all to have some respect and realise how extremely difficult this is for us.
"Thank you to all of you staying positive and sending well wishes, prayers, and love. We appreciate it more than you will ever know."
The heartfelt post was liked more than 10,000 times on the social media site as fans sent their well wishes to the family.
Police found 20 bottles of steroids and crushed up white powder in his home after Rich reportedly collapsed.
His girlfriend, Chanel, tried to catch him when he collapsed in the bathroom, but couldn't due to his giant size.
According to TMZ, she was instructed by the 911 operator to perform CPR on the former Mr. California bodybuilding champ, but was unable to revive him.
Emergency personnel rushed to his Florida home at 1:30 pm on Monday, where they discovered white power on a table with a credit card and a straw.
Law enforcement sources told the celebrity news website: "Emergency personnel responded to a possible overdose call at Piana's home on Monday afternoon.
"When they arrived, Piana was unresponsive and was transported to a nearby hospital where he was placed into a medically induced coma."
Police later revealed they found bottles of testosterone in the house and Chanel admitted to responders that he had been juicing for more than 20 years.
Piana, who has competed in and won several bodybuilding competitions over the years, made headlines last year when he openly admitted to taking steroids.
He revealed his fitness regime consists of a massive steroid cycle, nine meals a day, a series of workouts not fit for the average human and, according to one profile, “protein shakes big enough to drown a toddler in”.
Piana explained how he takes great care with his steroids use, how he understands the importance of “on/off cycles” and why he believes nobody in the competitive bodybuilding industry can compete without using performance enhancing drugs.
He said: “If you have the choice to stay natural or do steroids, stay natural. There’s no reason to do steroids, you’re only hurting your body, you’re hurting yourself.
“If you want to become a professional bodybuilder, guess what – you’re probably going to have to f***in’ do ‘em. You’re not going to have a choice.”
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The winner of bodybuilding competitions in Los Angeles in 2003 and Sacramento in 2009, Piana said the secret to his success was his honesty.
He said: “Coming out, talking about steroids, just being straight up with people. I think people trust me.”
Piana has taken the internet by storm in recent years, with his ripped social media posts, work out plans and supplement business.
While Rich no longer competes at bodybuilding, he has a massive following online with over 1.2million followers on Instagram - who he inspires to push their bodies to greater feats.
Keen to capitalise on his large fan base, he has launched several business ventures along the way, and earns money through merchandise, supplements and endorsements.
In 2016, he launched a “bigger by the day” challenge, which promised fans they would gain 30lb of muscle if they followed his diet and workout routine.
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