1 month ago
33
Another prominent bodybuilder has died young as the worrying trend continues to plague the sport.
According to reports on social media, former pro bodybuilder Craig Licker has passed away at the age of 57.
No cause of death has been provided.
Licker won the middleweight title at the 1994 NPC Nationals (the largest amateur bodybuilding event in the US), before earning his IFBB pro card and debuting at the Houston Pro Championships and Niagara Falls Pro Invitational the following year.
According to Generation Iron, Licker competed in a total of 13 pro events over the years - and returned to pro bodybuilding in 2015 after a decade away.
Fellow bodybuilder and friend Dave Palumbo said, via RxMuscle, that Licker had a 'really gifted structure and discipline for bodybuilding.'
Former pro bodybuilder Craig Licker has died at the age of 57, according to reports
Licker reportedly competed at 13 pro events after winning the 1994 NPC Nationals
Licker's passing is the latest in several other bodybuilder deaths, including Haley McNeff
'If you told him to eat dirt, he’d ask you 'how many [ounces]," he said.
Palumbo added that he began coaching Licker after the pair met in 1995, and said both were 'BMW fanatics' as he remembered his friend.
'I will miss our always interesting conversations and his great sense of humor … RIP my friend!"
Licker reportedly went on to work as salesman for Species Nutrition offstage.
His death comes as the passing of another bodybuilder, 37-year-old Haley McNeff, was reported this week as well.
McNeff, a native of Concord, Massachusetts, passed away on August 8 - but tributes didn't start pouring in until Wednesday.
Her cause of death was also not disclosed, though her obituary says her passing was 'unexpected but peaceful'.
At least six other bodybuilders have died in the past six months.
In late July, Spanish bodybuilding star Lorena Blanco died at age 37 of a suspected heart attack while she was preparing to travel to Las Vegas to compete at Ms. Olympia.
A month prior, Colombian bodybuilder Zunilda Hoyos Mendez was killed in a horrific hammer attack in Spain at age 43 after telling her husband she wanted a divorce.
Her husband, Jarrod Gelling, was also found dead with knife wounds that police believe was a suicide.
In May, a pair of Brazilian weightlifters died within a week of each other. On May 6, 30-year-old bodybuilding champion Gui Bull died due to asphyxiation. Just days later, another 30-year-old - Wanderson da Silva Moreira - passed away while competing in the Pantanal bodybuilding championship.
In April, male bodybuilder and actor Vito Pirbazari died at age 44 from a heart attack after collapsing on a treadmill.
And back in March, a 20-year-old bodybuilder - Jodi Vance - died when her heart stopped due to 'severe dehydration', according to a statement from her family.
More to follow
