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Bodybuilder Victor Richards — also known as Vic Richards — is not dead, contrary to false reports on social media. His daughter confirmed to Generation Iron that he is alive.
According to Generation Iron, his daughter gave the outlet a statement that the death reports are false. The false report emanated from a Facebook post by bodybuilder Andreas Cahling, who posted a picture of Richards on his Facebook page, writing: “R. I. P. Victor Richards, 56,” The Sun reported.
Here’s what you need to know:
His Daughter Criticized a ‘Wildfire of False Information’
Generation Iron reported that it had received the following statement from Richards’ daughter, who declined to share her name to protect her own privacy:
“I’m pleased to assure you that my father is in fact alive and well. An inaccurate Facebook post has caused a wildfire of false information throughout social media and news outlets. Thank you all for your concern, my family appreciates all of the love the bodybuilding community has shown to my dad.”
“UPDATE! It looks like MASS Monster Vic Richards is alive and well!” Muscle Insider wrote on Facebook.
Fitness Volt told readers it had retracted a previous story that falsely said Richards, a Nigerian bodybuilder, was dead. Generation Iron also retracted their initial report.
Richards Is Known for His ‘Gigantic Size’
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According to Fitness Volt, Richards is known for his “gigantic size,” which led him to finding popularity in the 1980s and 1990s.
He was “considered one of the first mass monsters that bodybuilding had ever seen,” Fitness Volt said.
According to Generation Iron, his competitive career began in 1982 with The American Cup, in which he “finished first in the teenage heavyweight division and second overall.” By 18, he was 240 pounds, the site reported. By 19, he was better known, and by 21 he was “appearing on the cover of fitness magazines,” the outlet said.
People expressed grief on the Generation Iron Facebook page before learning that Richards was alive. They expressed concern for the health of bodybuilders.
“Seems like every week another bodybuilder is for… I mean ya steroids and all but fairly certain it’s something else cause this is happening way to often,” one wrote.
“Bodybuilding is extremely safe! Especially if your only looking to live into your 50’s!” wrote another person sarcastically.
“I imagine only the 5% of bodybuilders can actually have this ‘sport’ as their main source of income. They go into it knowing this so death for vanity is the common denominator here,” wrote another.
“Something needs to be done in relation to all these athletes dieing. Some form of medical screening whilst competing atleast at a minimum should be made compulsory,” another person wrote.
“I see two things here. Intense training which eventually makes the heart muscles lose its elasticity to pump and second is the roid abuse,” wrote another.
“Generation dying … this is just the start … another 10-20 years there will be double the deaths from the amount of young lads juiced up to the eye balls for no reason but to look good in the town,” another person wrote.
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