Matheus Pavlak was a “viral teen bodybuilder” from Brazil who was found deceased inside his home on September 1, according to First Post.
The cause of death was a heart attack, First Post reported on September 4. Pavlak was famous in Brazil for undergoing “a dramatic transformation, turning to bodybuilding as a way to overcome obesity,” First Post reported, calling Pavlak an “icon” in Brazil.
“Today ends in a sad day with the loss of a great friend, a spectacular boy who leaves us early, a tragedy that took us by surprise,” his former coach Lucas Chegatti wrote on Instagram. “He had a brilliant future ahead of him as a respected athlete. God has his plans but it’s hard to understand, I don’t have the words to explain the weight I feel in my heart.”
Men’s Journal reported that the bodybuilding industry is “reeling” from Pavlak’s death. According to TMZ, Pavlak was “one of the most inspiring athletes in the sport” of bodybuilding. He placed 4th and 6th in regional bodybuilding competitions in Brazil, TMZ reported.
Matheus Pavlak Posted on Instagram About His Transformation
In a post on Instagram in 2022, Pavlak shared photos of him as an overweight youth and then a muscled weightlifter and wrote, “No matter how difficult or impossible your dream is, if you really want it, you will get there.”
His most recent post showed him at a bodybuilding competition in fall 2023. “All your effort will be rewarded, always credit it, no matter how long it takes!” he wrote with that picture.
He also posted videos and photos showing him working out at the gym.
Pavlak also posted a photo in 2022 showing him on a sidewalk, and wrote, “It is our light and not our darkness that most frightens us.”
According to The New York Post, Pavlak was named “Mr. Blumenau” after “he won a U23 competition last year.”
People posted comments on his Instagram threads after his death. Some raised concerns about the sport of bodybuilding or speculated about what caused his heart issues. “Whatever happened, respect the pain of family and friends!” read one. “Rest in peace. May God comfort the families,” wrote another.
Matheus Pavlak’s Friend Can’t ‘Believe That This Happened to Him,’ a Report Says
Globo reported that Pavlak began lifting weights in 2019 “to lose weight and, from that, changed his habits.”
Matheus Hennings, his close friend, told Globo that Pavlak “turned his own mind.”
“I still don’t believe that this happened to him so quickly and so soon. I didn’t expect to lose such a new friend,” Hennings told Globo.
He was buried on Monday September 2, Globo reported. According to Globo, Pavlak was the son of the “2nd Sergeant of the Military Police of Santa Catarina.”
According to Men’s Journal, Pavlak was discovered dead at his home in Blumenau, Brazil.
According to BarBend, Pavlak is the second wellness athlete in Brazil to die young in recent weeks. Daniela Schulz was killed in a plane crash on August 9 along with her husband, the site reported.
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