Rich Piana was a professional bodybuilder turned entrepreneur who owned the supplement firm 5% Nutrition.
But what was the story behind Piana and what was his net worth?
Who is Rich Piana?
Rich Piana was born in 1970 in Glendale, California.
His love for bodybuilding started at the age of just six when he started to watch his mother train for bodybuilding events at the gym.
He first started lifting weights at the age of 11 and competed in his first bodybuilding contest at the age of 15.
At 18, Piana started taking steroids to enhance his growth.
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Piana won the NPC Mr. Teen California competition in 1989 – aged 19.
In 1998, aged 28, he was named NPC Mr. California and continued to compete on and off for around 25 years – winning multiple competitions.
Piana also made a series of appearances in Hollywood, and from 2008 amassed an online following of more than 1 million – mainly on YouTube and Instagram.
In 2014, Piana started to feel the side effects of his years of steroid abuse which included hair loss, enlarged breasts, which he treated with medication, and signs of liver toxicity.
In a 2016 YouTube video, Piana said he didn’t regret taking steroids but told his viewers: “If you have the choice to do steroids or stay natural, stay natural.
“There’s no reason to do steroids. You’re only hurting your body and hurting yourself.”
He went on to add that professional bodybuilders have no such choice, saying: “I was competing on stage and I was getting to the point where I was going to keep getting blown off the stage if I didn’t do them.
“So I took that step and that’s the road I chose, and here I am.”
Piana was spending around $8,000 per month on steroids and had nine meals a day.
He was also spending around $2,500 on growth hormones per month.
Piana founded 5% nutrition in 2014, which “represents the percentage of people that are out there actually doing whatever it takes to fulfil their dreams, to accomplish their goals, and to live the type of life they want to live”.
5% Nutrition sells supplements to ‘hard-core bodybuilders’ who are looking for strong products.
5% Nutrition also sells fitness clothing.
In August 2017, aged 46, Piana collapsed and spent two weeks in a coma before dying.
His autopsy report was inconclusive on the cause of his death.
What is Rich Piana’s net worth?
Rich Piana had a net worth of $4 million at the time of his death.
Piana made the majority of his wealth from programmatic advertising on YouTube, sponsorship deals and his business – 5% nutrition.
Piana wasn’t renowned for flexing his wealth but did own a Bentley and a Maserati.
At the time of his death he was living in Tampa, Florida but prior to that owned a house in Hollywood Hills, California.
His 5-bedroom, 5-bathroom house sat on 5,000 square feet of land and came with a pool and home gym.