A bodybuilder has died after suffering a heart attack during a punishing training session.
Jose Mateus Correia Silva, 28, was working out with friends at a gym in Aguas Claras near the Brazilian capital Brasilia when he fell ill.
He was rushed to a nearby fire station by a firefighter pal he was with but efforts to revive him lasting more than an hour proved unsuccessful.
Jose’s heartbroken brother Tiago paid tribute to him in an emotional social media post, writing alongside a photo of the tragic athlete: ‘You were incredible. Thank you for so much. I love you.’
Insisting his sibling was ‘in good shape’ and didn’t have any health problems he was aware of in an interview with local media, he added: ‘Heaven has gained an angel. Jose was a much-loved man.’
The dead man had competed, finishing ninth in the Men’s Physique Class up to 179cm in the 2018 South American Championships after an eleventh placing a year earlier in the Men’s Bodybuilding Class up to 100kg in the Arnold Classic South America.
Although he wasn’t competing when he died, Jose kept himself busy between training sessions preparing other bodybuilders for competitions and was the owner of an online supplements store.
He had also qualified as a lawyer and completed a nutrition course.
Jose’s funeral on Sunday, two days after his death last Friday which went unreported in his homeland for several days, was attended by hundreds of mourners including his widow who he got engaged to in July 2020.
Tiago described it as a ‘beautiful farewell, full of family and friends’, adding: ‘There were so many people they couldn’t fit inside the chapel.
‘We had an evangelical ceremony and a Catholic one. It wasn’t a sad ceremony although there was a lot of emotion.’
It has not yet clear why Jose fell ill during his training session and what lay behind his death.
Although some of his more recent social media posts have been removed from the Internet since he died, older photos show him posing with medals he won while he was still competing.
One well-wisher responding to news of Jose’s shock death wrote alongside the tribute penned by his brother: ‘My deepest condolences to you and your family.
‘I hope God gives you the comfort you need to overcome the pain you feel at this time.’
Another said: ‘What sad news! My heart goes out to you. God comfort you and all your family.’
Others linked his early death to the use of anabolic steroids, although there is no evidence to suggest Jose had used drugs to enhance his body and performance.
Cilene Rodrigues de Brito wrote on Facebook after comparing photos of Jose while he was still competing and more recent snaps of him: ‘It’s shocking how these bodybuilders age so quickly with the use of anabolic steroids.
‘He was 28 but he looked twice as old. How sad! I hope God looks after him in a good place.’
Another added: ‘Not wanting to judge but that man was 28 and had the face of a 50-year-old.
‘We know some anabolic steroids age people, that’s a fact. You gain muscle mass but you lose many other things.
‘I lost a young friend as well, the same age as Jose.
‘He didn’t drink or take drugs and hardly trained. But he began to use a multi-vitamin drug called Potenay to boost his muscles and improve his performance during training.
‘One day he decided to take caffeine with it and unfortunately suffered a heart attack.’
Jose’s death is the latest in a string of high-profile tragedies involving bodybuilders.
In September a teenage bodybuilder with a ‘brilliant future’ ahead of him has been found dead at his home in Brazil.
Matheus Pavlak, 19, had transformed his body in just five years after taking up the gruelling sport to overcome his obesity.
The police officer’s son was a regular competitor in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina where he lived and last year won an U23 contest to become Mr Blumenau in his home city of the same name.
In May this year he finished fourth and sixth in other regional competitions.
He was found dead on September 1 at his home after suffering a reported heart attack.
In May a Majorcan bodybuilder who survived cancer and life-threatening peritonitis died aged 50.
Xisco Serra’s premature death was attributed locally at the time to natural causes after he suffered stomach problems.
The sports science graduate, who started lifting weights as a 16-year-old, began competing three decades ago and went on take part in around 90 contests.
His most notable wins on the international stage have included Mr World IBFA in Rome in 2011 and Mr Universe IBFA in the 40-plus category in 2014, the same year he was voted overall Musclebeach Champion after competing in Venice, California.
He was still competing last year when he was crowned champion of a competition held in Tenerife.
In April a Brazilian bodybuilder and fitness instructor died aged 29 after losing his battle against Covid.
Jonas Filho, known as Jonas Big, had left his 10,400 Instagram followers worried after publishing pictures of him on a respirator in hospital in the city of Fortaleza soon after he was admitted.
He wrote alongside the snaps: ‘Only God knows the pain and tears of the clown.’
In a previous post, referring to his humble upbringing in the north-east Brazilian state of Ceara, he wrote alongside a photo of him in the gym during a workout: ‘Whoever comes from a poor family has only one option and one chance. The option to work to have the opportunity to turn the game around. And I don’t think about anything else.’
Days before his death it emerged a Portuguese bodybuilder had died aged 46 in Cologne in Germany.
Marco Luis, better-known by his nickname of Monster or Monstro in his native language, worked as an online coach and motivator.
His Canadian-born wife Mariza Luis confirmed the sad news, saying he was ‘in his ‘paradise’ doing what he loved.’
Marco Luis, who hailed from the volcanic island of Terceira in the Azores archipelago, had nearly 25,000 followers on Instagram alone as well as his own YouTube channel.
He called bodybuilding ‘his life and passion’ and had referred to himself online in the past as the ‘most shredded bodybuilder ever.