Rich Piana Facts: Things To Know About Bodybuilder Amid His Coma

Champion bodybuilder Rich Piana's health problems began after he collapsed and hit his head in the bathroom of his Florida home on Aug. 7, leading to a medically induced coma. His girlfriend, fitness model Chanel Jansen, had been updating his fans about his critical status but lately there has been no word on his health. The last update was on Aug. 17, when Jansen thanked Piana's fans for praying for his recovery.

Who is Rich Piana?

The 46-year-old is a former Mr. California and received the title in 1998. He won the Sacramento Pro and the Border States Classic XXX Bodybuilding, Fitness and Figure Championships in 2009. In 1999, he was placed 7th at the NPC USA Championships and came 11th in 2003 edition.

Piana gained fame through his videos posted on YouTube and has a net worth of $2 million. He makes most of his money through his clothing line and range of supplement marketed under the name 5% Nutrition.

"The 5% Nutrition mission is to provide the best possible supplements for the best possible results to help you be the best possible version of you. Leading ingredients backed by research combined with high end quality, formulated and manufactured in a cutting-edge, technologically advanced facility," the mission statement for 5% Nutrition reads.

Piana also has a huge social media presence with over 1.2 million followers on Instagram and Facebook. Most of his videos posted on YouTube channel garner 200,000 or more views.

Piana was earlier married to Sara Heimis, with whom he split after nearly one year of marriage. He is currently dating Jansen, who worked in Las Vegas as a blackjack dealer, according to Heavy.

Rich Piana health update:

The bodybuilder has been in a critical state ever since he hit his head, and many fans speculated he was dead. However, his girlfriend slammed the rumors saying he was doing "OK."

"I just want to be clear @1dayumay is STILL ALIVE. All myself and his family are asking for is POSITIVE thoughts, prayers, and love. PLEASE i'm BEGGING you all to have some respect and realize how EXTREMELY difficult this is for us. Thank you to all of you staying positive and sending well wishes, prayers, and love. We appreciate it more than you will ever know," she wrote alongside a photo on Instagram.

The most recent update came Aug. 17 when Jansen thanked all of Piana's fans for praying for him.

When Piana collapsed, police found 20 bottles of steroids in the house, and his girlfriend admitted that he had been taking the drugs for more than 20 years.​

In 2016, Piana opened up about taking steroids.

“If you have the choice to stay natural or do steroids, stay natural. There’s no reason to do steroids, you’re only hurting your body, you’re hurting yourself,” he said in an April 2016 YouTube video. “If you want to become a professional bodybuilder, guess what – you’re probably going to have to f---in’ do ‘em. You’re not going to have a choice.”