Illia ‘Golem’ Yefimchyk, World's 'Most Monstrous Bodybuilder,' Dies at 36 After Heart Attack

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo:Jam Press

Jam Press

Illia “Golem” Yefimchyk, known as the “most monstrous bodybuilder” and “The Mutant,” died on Sept. 8, his wifeAnnashared on social media. He was 36.

The 6-foot, 340-pound Belarusian athlete — who famously maintained his 25-inch biceps throughintense workouts,steroid usageand a “monster diet' of16,500 calories a day across seven daily meals— suffered a heart attack on Sept. 6 before falling into a coma, Australia’s7 Newsreported.

“I thank everyone for their condolences,” she added. “It’s very heartwarming to realize that I am not left alone in this world, and so many people have offered me help and support.”

BodybuildingInstagramaccount @whoisthebestbb led the tributes to Yefimchyk, calling him “the 340 LBS. beast” and writing alongside a photo of him to, “Rest in peace ♥️🙏🏻.”

Despite not competing professionally, Yefimchyk boasted over 300,000 followers onInstagramand would regularly talk fans through his day-to-day lifestyle as a bodybuilder inYouTubeclips.

He earned praise from his audience for being fully transparent about his process, including thesupplementsandgrowth hormoneshe would take.Back in 2020, he spoke to bodybuilding magazineMuscular Developmentabout his transformation.

“Just two years ago, I was eating 7,000-8,000 calories a day, and I was sure it was impossible for me to eat any more than that,” Yefimchyk said at the time. “My goal was to take in 10,000 calories daily, but I doubted I could do it.”

Illia Yefimchyk.Illia Yefimchyk/Instagram

Illia Yefimchyk/Instagram

He said he wanted to be likeArnold SchwarzeneggerandSylvester Stalloneas a teenager. “I saw movies likeThe TerminatorandRambo, and I wanted to be big and muscular like they were. I wanted to be The Hulk, to be so big that everybody would notice,” he told the outlet.

“I had no books or magazines to look at, and [the] Internet was just coming to our area at that time, so it was too expensive for most of us. All I knew was that I wanted to have a chest and biceps like Arnold," Yefimchyk added.

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While speaking about his workouts, Yefimchyk said, “My sets can be in the three to six rep range, or as high as 20. One day my workouts will be more like a bodybuilder with more reps and a faster pace, another day I might rest more and go heavier for lower reps like a powerlifter."

source: people.com