'The Mutant' Dies at 36 of Heart Attack

A Belarusian bodybuilder who was dubbed "The Mutant" and the "most monstrous bodybuilder" has died at the age of 36. Citing local media, TMZ reports that Illia "Golem" Yefimchyk suffered a heart attack at home on Sept. 6, and that his wife, Anna, "tried all she could to save her husband," to no avail. Yefimchyk fell into a coma after being airlifted to a hospital, where he died. "I spent every day by his side, hoping," his wife says.

The 6-foot-tall Yefimchyk, whom Muscle & Fitness says was "first inspired to lift weights by the physiques of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone," was said to weigh 340 pounds and boast 25-inch biceps. Yefimchyk ate seven meals a day, devouring 16,500 calories and not batting an eye at scarfing down 100-plus pieces of sushi or 5 pounds of steak.

He reportedly claimed a 600-pound bench press, as well as a 700-pound squat and 700-pound dead lift. Yefimchyk never competed professionally, but that didn't stop him from amassing an online following as large as his muscles, with more than 300,000 followers on his Instagram. His wife is now thanking those fans for their well wishes. "It's very heartwarming to realize that I am not left alone in this world," she says, per TMZ. Check out old footage of Yefimchyk in action at the gym, via the New York Post. (More bodybuilder stories.)