Monstro is gone too – heart attack at 46! The madness of “chemistry” in bodybuilding continues

The family of the famous Portuguese bodybuilder Marco Luis confirmed the death of the 46-year-old athlete from a heart attack in a hotel room during the FIBO Power exhibition in Germany.

The athlete, nicknamed Monstro, hardly appeared on stage anymore, but was a popular motivator and online trainer.

His acquaintances claim that he was obsessed with various nutritional supplements and preparations that help build muscle mass.

Unfortunately, his death is another fatal end for a relatively young man in the world of big muscles.

Tragedies in bodybuilding have become a daily occurrence, but this does not stop athletes.

The doping subculture

Luis suffered from health problems since birth and to strengthen his physique, he started practicing judo. However, he quickly gave up and decided to start bodybuilding. Marco opens a gym and supplement store.

For the first time, he participated in bodybuilding competitions only at the age of 40, in 2018. But Monstro gained his main popularity on social networks and YouTube, shocking the public with his muscles and bulging veins.

The Portuguese does not hide that he uses preparations that accelerate muscle growth and improve the effectiveness of training.

Lewis says he first tried “chemistry” when he was only 32, but then became addicted to it.

“Monstro was an enemy of his health and never took his foot off the gas pedal in terms of drugs,” said acquaintances of the bodybuilder on social networks.

“He was literally obsessed with Gear and was so addicted that he didn’t even think about stopping in the face of his health problems. When the knife went to the bone, he just switched supplements. His family pressured him to reduce the doses and do research, but he just couldn’t stop. Monstro loved what he was doing and couldn’t leave the bodybuilding world voluntarily.”

Attempts to combat doping in bodybuilding with the help of bans and punitive measures are, alas, doomed.

In forums and social networks, some amateur athletes even flaunt their disregard for anti-doping rules and the health risks of experimenting with PEDs (Performance-enhancing drugs).

It is a real subculture with its own jargon and specific concepts. A particularly amazing group are the “testers” – people who, on their own initiative (not for money), try new drugs on themselves, theoretically dangerous to cause damage to the body for life.

A dangerous profession

Bodybuilding knows dozens of stories about the sudden death of famous athletes and influencers. Usually, the premature death of such people is not directly related to “chemistry”, but parallels inevitably arise in public consciousness.

This creates a dark reputation for extreme sports as the kingdom of doping – an extremely dangerous activity for life and health.

Only six months ago, bodybuilding fans were shocked by the death of the famous British athlete Neil Carey. The 34-year-old athlete was found dead in his home, and police suspect suicide due to depression while taking steroids, as well as a narcotic mixture of methamphetamine and cocaine.

In the summer of 2023, many were shocked by the sudden death of the famous German bodybuilder Joe Lindner. The blogger died at the age of 30 from an aortic aneurysm. This athlete was a star on social networks and did not hide the fact that he was taking doping.

He publicly stopped steroids for a year, but was forced to resume “treatment” because his body, due to his addiction to the drugs, was no longer producing testosterone.

Lindner was vaccinated against covid, after which he felt ill. He undergoes a procedure to cleanse the blood of toxins – plasmapheresis. But this only worsened the situation and eventually led to his death.

In 2009, at the peak of his acting career, the famous Russian bodybuilder Vladimir Turchinsky rested from a heart attack. The then 46-year-old athlete is a promoter of a healthy lifestyle and is still debating the reasons for his sudden death. There are rumors that about a month before his death, Turczynski went to the naval hospital and complained to the doctors about chest pains. Also, the day before the tragedy, according to unofficial information, he underwent a blood purification procedure – the same therapy that accompanied Lindner’s death 14 years later.

In 2022, at the age of 44, during a workout on a treadmill, the most famous bodybuilder of the 21st century, Cedric McMillan, passes away. In 2017, he had a heart attack, and in 2021, he had severe covid.

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Anabolic steroids were stopped from over-the-counter sale in the United States only in 1990.

In 2023, WADA declared the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) non-compliant with the Anti-Doping Code. The allegations relate to the lack of “an effective testing system as well as sufficient resources to develop an anti-doping program”.

It’s clear that something needs to change, as bodybuilding tragedies have become alarmingly frequent.