WaPo's New (Long) Article on Dead Bodybuilders

https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations...

Many familiar cases to people who follow this industry, but I'm happy it's getting more mainstream attention.

Jodie Engle is profiled near the end as one of the "survivors" (her coach was Shelby Starnes).

Engle is also trying to wrap her head around the reality she is now facing.

Weeks after she won her pro card in 2020, the bodybuilder ended up hospitalized. She emailed Starnes that doctors had diagnosed her with rhabdomyolysis, a potentially fatal condition that can be caused by overuse of diuretics.

“They said my kidneys were under more stress than they could handle,” she wrote on Dec. 14, 2020.

Starnes didn’t acknowledge her illness in his response: “Let’s stay on the diet plan (the off day plan) on all days for right now, but cut the carb portions all in HALF. No cardio or training for now. Let’s see how the next handful of days go.”

Engle said she was put on bed rest for six weeks and struggled to get better over the next six months. In June 2021 she started prepping again with Starnes, but her health deteriorated over the next several weeks.

On Aug. 16 — hours after Kosinova died — Engle wrote to Starnes that she hadn’t checked in the previous week because she’d been hospitalized again after having shortness of breath and swelling in her limbs.

“The doctor told me the diuretics are what put the strain on my heart without question.. that apparently my heart never recovered from them,” Engle wrote. “Maybe one day after a potential open heart surgery to get my heart valves pumping properly again I could come back for more lifestyle type things... because my pro career is done before I ever got to start it.”

“Damn, very sorry to hear that Jodie,” Starnes responded that day. “That’s a lot to process :( Why don’t we continue lifestyle coaching for now? Having a goal/ something to work towards would help mentally and physically, no?”

“I just cant even lie when I say I am completely heartbroken over this,” Engle wrote back. “I’ve never felt so low. Like I worked so hard for years on end.. for diuretics to end my career.”

Engle was back in the hospital three days after writing Starnes with chest pains, acute kidney injury, dehydration and cellulitis, among other conditions, according to medical records.

She avoided heart surgery, but doctors told her it’s only a matter of time before she will need a kidney transplant.

Now 31, the single mom has a new set of drugs to take, including blood pressure medication, beta blockers and prednisone. She frequently has swelling in her legs and ankles and she is recovering from a shoulder replacement surgery.

Engle said she would give her pro card back in an instant — just for one day to live in her old body.

“My life is worth more than this little card,” she said. “And every single athlete’s life … is worth more than a card.”

FYI, your link brings up a paywall.

RIP to the young departed.

Thats crazy I remember Jodie and just lost track of her! Starnes does seem like a complete piece of shit. Could you just copy and paste the article in text?

I always knew that Starnes was a piece of shit, but to hear him, upon learning that his client’s bodybuilding career was over due to serious medical complications as a result of his “coaching,” didn’t offer any comfort, any sympathy, and compassion, but instead offered a different kind coaching, is completely disgusting. To call him qualified to be a life coach is laughable a beat and straight up insulting at worst.

How people can still work with him and defend him is beyond me.

FYI, your link brings up a paywall.

RIP to the young departed.

Here is a paywall-less version https://web.archive.org/web/20221207160730/ht...

These women really hit the limits of what the human body can take. it's no wonder that fbbs are so rare. most people would give up long before they reach that point.

I always knew that Starnes was a piece of shit, but to hear him, upon learning that his client’s bodybuilding career was over due to serious medical complications as a result of his “coaching,” didn’t offer any comfort, any sympathy, and compassion, but instead offered a different kind coaching, is completely disgusting. To call him qualified to be a life coach is laughable a beat and straight up insulting at worst.

How people can still work with him and defend him is beyond me.

That’s what worries me, Maria Liberman is a friend of mine and she’s decided to work with Shelby for the upcoming prep.

He brags about the women who have won, like it was all about him, but what about the ones who have died or, much less, placed last in their show? If he’s the reason these women win, then he should take responsibility for any outcome of his coaching.

That’s what worries me, Maria Liberman is a friend of mine and she’s decided to work with Shelby for the upcoming prep.

He brags about the women who have won, like it was all about him, but what about the ones who have died or, much less, placed last in their show? If he’s the reason these women win, then he should take responsibility for any outcome of his coaching.

Also, and saying this as a guy who is attracted to buff women, it’s weird that a male coach, even if it’s only online, ONLY takes women on as clients.

I read his explanation on why he does that, and it sounds like straight up bullshit.

The line: "Give her Pro Card back at an instant, just so she could live with her old body once again." This really hits hard.

FYI, why push one's body to the such extremities? Not a discouragement but a question.

FYI, why push one's body to the such extremities? Not a discouragement but a question.

Mental illness is probably a big factor.

Here is a paywall-less version https://web.archive.org/web/20221207160730/ht...

Thanks for this, Gatsby.

Mental illness is probably a big factor.

And blind faith in the coach.

Mental illness is probably a big factor.

While body dysmorphia is rampant in bodybuilding (and other fitness disciplines,) I think it's inappropriate to link mental illness as a big factor towards why athletes push themselves to such extremities. Athletes by their nature are driven people (and you can say the same about artists, musicians, and really anybody that puts a lot of time and effort into a discipline or craft.) When you are a competitor, you are competing to be the very best, and that is what these bodybuilders are pushing themselves to. The competition is much more fiercer than it was decades ago (look at how much bigger and leaner bodybuilders have gotten compared to, say, the 80s.) It becomes an arms race: to be competitive and get a podium spot, much less win, you have to push yourself a lot harder. I say that as a competitor myself, and I think it's easy to tell who in this forum is into an athletic discipline and who isn't.

and blind faith in the coach

While they are adults, and at the end of the day are responsible for what they put in their bodies and what they do in the gym, Starnes absolutely has blood on his hands for all the bodybuilders that have died or gotten seriously injured under his watch. The relationship between an athlete and their coach is very important. If you can't trust your coach, then there's no point in working with them. As an athlete, you put faith that they are going to help guide you to success on the competition floor while keeping you healthy and preventing injury. And like I said before, it sounds like it's the people who aren't competitors who mention things like "blind faith in the coach."

After reading that article, I'm now afraid to even take a sip of a protein drink.

That was a tough read. Tragic and heart-breaking, but well-written and well-researched. It really sucks when young kids lose their parents. Given the context, I am a little surprised they avoided discussion of Shawn Rhoden's passing.

Reading this reminds of Jada Beverly, who earlier this year decided to call it quits. She didn’t go into specifics on her IG, but had to listen to her body and she was dealing with a lot. So while ppl like me praise the Andrea Shaws, Sheena’s, and Hellie’s, not all women are responding the same, especially when they are moving into bodybuilding, which Jada did. During an interview, she said she wished she stayed in physique but was doing well and felt the move to bodybuilding would be great. At the end of the day, we appreciate these athletes but they are rushing there lives sadly. Since I’ve been a fan of FBBing, seeing women like Terri Harris and Tracy Hess die while in there primes was sad and shocking. From the steroid usage to pushing the limits, I only hope that some take a page from Jada and listen to there bodies. The return of women’s bodybuilding is awesome and we all look forward to those competing and the newcomers. But the extremes of the sport has taken many.

I always knew that Starnes was a piece of shit, but to hear him, upon learning that his client’s bodybuilding career was over due to serious medical complications as a result of his “coaching,” didn’t offer any comfort, any sympathy, and compassion, but instead offered a different kind coaching, is completely disgusting. To call him qualified to be a life coach is laughable a beat and straight up insulting at worst.

How people can still work with him and defend him is beyond me.

He's always had a shit physique too. Not that you need to look good to be a good coach, but it really seems odd that so many women want to work with a guy who never managed to build his own body into anything worthwhile.