A teenage bodybuilder with a “bright 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 under-23 contest to become Mr. Blumenau in his hometown of the same name.
In May this year, he finished fourth and sixth in other regional competitions.
He was found dead on Sunday afternoon at his home after suffering a suspected heart attack.
Matheus Pavlak started bodybuilding in 2019 to overcome childhood obesity.
The 19-year-old was a regular competitor in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, where he lived.
Matheus (right) won an Under-23 contest to become Mr Blumenau last year in his hometown.
Former coach Lucas Chegatti posted an emotional tribute to the teenager after news of his death emerged alongside photos of his former star pupil celebrating one of his competition triumphs, writing: ‘Today ends on a sad day with the loss of a great friend, a spectacular boy who leaves us early, a tragedy that took us by surprise.
‘He had a bright future ahead of him as a respected athlete.
‘God has his plans but it is difficult to understand, I have no words to explain the weight I feel in my heart.
‘I was Matheus’ first coach and I am very proud to have had the opportunity to take care of him like a son.
‘I promised him that one day he would beat me and, as he said and done, the first time we competed against each other, he ended up winning.
“He was no longer part of my team, but I know that I managed to form a great athlete. May God comfort his family and take care of our boy.”
He went on to reveal that Matheus decided to take up bodybuilding to overcome his childhood weight issues, saying: ‘He started training harder around 2019 due to obesity.
‘In 2022, when we met, we aligned our training and started aiming to make him a champion.’
Matheus himself had posted photos and videos of his remarkable body transformation on his social media, showing how he went from being a chubby young man to a perfected athlete in just a few years.
Along with the images she wrote: ‘It doesn’t matter how difficult or impossible your dream is.
The teenager was found dead on Sunday afternoon at his home after suffering a heart attack. Pictured: Matheus before he began his career as a bodybuilder
In May this year, the teenager finished fourth and sixth in other regional competitions.
Matheus himself had posted photos and videos of his remarkable body transformation on his own social networks.
“If you really want it, you’ll make it happen. I DID IT.”
Critics have claimed that anabolic steroids are likely behind Matheus’s untimely death.
One wrote on Instagram: ‘It’s impossible to get that kind of muscle definition at just 19 years old.
“If anyone is to blame here, it is the person who prescribed this torrent of steroids.”
Another replied: “It is not the fault of those who sell them but of those who decide to use them.”
But an acquaintance of the tragic teenager was furious: “How can there be human beings capable of offending the memory of a boy who is no longer here to defend himself?”
‘Much strength to Matheus’ family.
“And a message to the authors of these toxic and inhumane comments: be careful. What you sow, you reap.”
Matheus’ death is the latest in a series of high-profile tragedies involving bodybuilders.
In May, a Mallorcan bodybuilder who survived cancer and life-threatening peritonitis died at the age of 50.
Xisco Serra’s premature death was attributed locally at the time to natural causes after suffering from stomach problems.
Critics have claimed that anabolic steroids are likely behind Matheus’s untimely death.
He went from a chubby young man to a perfected athlete in just a few years.
The sports science graduate, who began lifting weights at the age of 16, started competing three decades ago and went on to take part in around 90 competitions.
His most notable international victories include IBFA Mr. World in Rome in 2011 and IBFA Mr. Universe in the Over 40 category in 2014, the same year he was named Musclebeach Overall 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 at the age of 29 after losing his battle with Covid.
Jonas Filho, known as Jonas Big, had left his 10,400 Instagram followers worried after posting photos of himself on a respirator in a hospital in the city of Fortaleza shortly after being admitted.
Along with the photos, she wrote: “Only God knows the pain and tears of the clown.”
In a previous post, referring to his humble childhood in the state of Ceará in northeastern Brazil, he wrote alongside a photo of himself in the gym during a training session: “Anyone who comes from a poor family only has one option and one chance. The option to work to have the chance to change the course of the game. And I don’t think about anything else.”
Days before his death, it was learned that a Portuguese bodybuilder had died at the age of 46 in Cologne, Germany.
Marco Luis, better known by his nickname Monster in his native language, worked as an online coach and motivator.
His Canadian-born wife, Mariza Luis, confirmed the sad news and said he was “in his ‘paradise’ doing what he loved.”
Marco Luis, originally from the volcanic island of Terceira in the Azores archipelago, had almost 25,000 followers on Instagram alone, in addition to his own YouTube channel.
He called bodybuilding “his life and his passion” and had in the past referred to himself online as the “most ripped bodybuilder of all time.”