Champion bodybuilder Dallas "Big Country" McCarver is dead after apparently choking on food, TMZ reports. A friend found the 26-year-old unconscious at his Florida home just after midnight on Tuesday, per McCarver's girlfriend, the WWE star Dana Brooke. She says she spoke to McCarver shortly before he died as he was about to make dinner. His last words to her were, "I love you. Goodbye." Law enforcement sources tell TMZ there were no signs of foul play. No cause of death was given. TMZ notes McCarver had worked out earlier on Monday with 160-pound dumbbells and appeared to be fine.
Bodybuilding.com reports that McCarver's roommate and training partner, Josh Lenartowicz, found him facedown in the kitchen with food in his mouth. He failed to revive him and called paramedics. In March, McCarver collapsed on stage at the Arnold Classic, but he later appeared to be recovered in videos he posted, the New York Daily News reports. The 6-foot-1, 300-plus-pound weightlifter has been competing since he was 21. A rising star, he became the youngest pro in 2012 when he won the North American Championships, per Bodybuilding.com. Fans are posting tributes on McCarver's Facebook page. (More bodybuilding stories.)