19-Year-Old Bodybuilder Matheus Pavlak Found Dead in His Home from Reported Heart Attack: 'No Words'

Mar. 15, 2025

Matheus Pavlak.Photo:Matheus Pavlak/Instagram

Matheus Pavlak/Instagram

A teenage bodybuilder has been found dead at his home in Brazil.

19-year-old bodybuilder Matheus Pavlak suffered an apparent heart attack at his home in the city of Blumenau on Sunday, Sept. 1, according to the Santa Catarina Fire Department, reported local outletsRede GloboandO Estado de Sao Paulo.

Pavlak became a young icon in the sport after he transformed his body to overcome obesity as a young teen, his former training coach Lucas Chegatti shared, perO Estado de Sao Paulo.

Pavlak was found dead at his home from a reported heart attack on Sept. 1.Matheus Pavlak/Instagram

“It’s difficult to understand, there are no words to express the weight he has in my heart,” he continued. “I was his first coach and I’m 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 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 develop a great athlete 🖤. May God comfort the family and take care of our boy.”

Pavlak regularly competed in regional bodybuilding contests in southern Brazil where he lived and in 2023 he won the U23 contest. He would often post his accolades on his social media, sharing photos of himself posing at competitions.

Pavlak entered bodybuilding in 2019 to overcome obesity as a teen.Matheus Pavlak/Instagram

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In August 2022, Pavlak posted avideo montageof his body transformation over the previous few years on Instagram. “No matter the difficulty or impossibility of your dream, if you really want it, you will get there. I HAVE ARRIVED!!” he wrote in a message translated from Portuguese, alongside the clip.

News of Pavlak’s death has left the bodybuilding community shaken.

Trainer Eduardo De Oliveira wrote in the comment section of Chegatti’s tribute, “He was my student, he always told me that he wanted to compete, he always wanted to know what it felt like to go on stage and one day his dream came true … be at peace my brother 🙌.”

source: people.com