A Brazilian influencer whose staggering 32-stone weight loss made him the star of a reality TV show has died aged 37 after piling on the pounds again following the loss of his dad and brother ahead of a new attempt to drop to just 15 stone without surgery or medicine.
Gabriel Freitas, whose 70,000 Instagram fans were following his daily battle to shed his excess pounds, passed away following a heart attack on December 30 as he napped in bed although close friend Ricardo Gouvea only went public with his loss yesterday.
He said: ‘Gabriel died practically sleeping, he didn’t suffer. He died trying. He fought to the end, he was very strong and I have a lot of respect for him. He was a very good person with a very good heart.’
Gabriel made headlines in 2017 in his native Brazil after appearing on a Record TV programme called Programa do Gugu which featured a section titled ‘Virou Outra Pessoa’ that in English translates as ‘Became Another Person.’
Millions of viewers tuned into the amazing story of how he shed more than 30 stone with a more balanced diet and exercise after starting to put on weight as a teenager.
In 2015 6ft 4ins Gabriel weighed just over 50 stone but in a year and a half with his amazing lifestyle transformation managed to drop to just 18 stone.
Programme host Gugu Liberato congratulated him for ‘going further than most people could imagine’ as Gabriel showed off his handsome good looks thanks to his size transformation.
The subsequent death of his father and brother led to his weight ballooning again and he was weighing in at nearly 60 stone just before he passed away as he embarked on his new health drive.
Brazilian influencer Gabriel Freitas whose 32-stone weight loss made him the star of a reality TV show has died aged 37 after piling on the pounds again following the loss of his dad and brother. Image shows a before and after of Gabriel’s weight-loss journey
Gabriel made headlines in 2017 in Brazil after appearing on a Record TV programme. Millions of viewers tuned into the amazing story of how he shed more than 30 stone with a more balanced diet and exercise after starting to put on weight as a teenager. Here, Gabriel poses in a picture were he looks visibly slimmer
The reality star had put on weight again recently following the death of his brother and father
Shortly after appearing on TV and recounting his amazing first weight loss story, Gabriel posted a self-motivation message on his Instagram showing before and after pics which said: ‘Don’t give in nah, I’m here bro! If you don’t fight I’m here to fight for you..Setting an example so you don’t fall…
‘Stare at the target, take a deep breath and go, go, go… Just come back with a win…It’s a matter of honour, not glory. ‘
He charted that weight loss in a YouTube channel he launched seven years ago called My Parallel Universe, writing at the time: ‘My name is Gabriel Freitas, I’m 29 years old, I’m 1.94 metres tall, I weighed 320 kg when I started my weight loss process and 310 kg when I started recording for YouTube.
‘I decided to share my struggle to lose weight with all of you in order to help you with motivation and to show that it is possible to lose weight without surgery or medication.
‘Here you’ll see all the changes from a guy who weighed 320kg to the body he always dreamed of. Welcome to my life.
Last October after announcing his new weight loss plans, he wrote on his social media: ‘A new phase is about to begin for me.
‘Whatever it takes I’m going to get out of bed on November 1 with the help of God.
‘Until then I’ll take it to the extreme.
He was weighing in at nearly 60 stone just before he passed away as he embarked on his new health drive
In 2015 6ft 4ins Gabriel weighed just over 50 stone but in a year and a half with his amazing lifestyle transformation managed to drop to just 18 stone. Image shows a before and after of Gabriel following his astonishing weight loss
‘Total fasting to day one to recover my legs. Getting closer to God in prayers.’
A well-wisher responded at the time by saying: ‘I will never doubt you my friend. You’ve already proved how strong and capable you are.’
Another said: ‘We are going to get up with you and we’ll be here to cheer you on.’
Reacting to news of his death follower Daniella Ribeiro wrote: ‘I can’t believe this, my God.’
Another said in a message to his friend Ricardo who announced the death of the man he called his ‘brother’: ‘What sad news Ricardo. My condolences to you and Gabriel’s family. May God protect him. We know he was a warrior.’
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
