Controversial Bodybuilder Rich Piana’s Girlfriend Denies His Drug Use After Sudden Death

While controversy has always swirled around Rich Piana—a bodybuilder and former Mr. California who had publicly stated that steroid use was an accepted part of the business—it seems that there are even more rumors around him now that he has passed away.

Piana’s long-time girlfriend Chanel Jansen took to Piana’s YouTube channel last week to clear up some of the hearsay surrounding his unexpected death, namely discounting the rumors that drugs were to blame.

In the emotional video, Jansen recounts how she was giving Piana a haircut at home when he collapsed. She states that his eyes rolled back in his head and he began gasping, at which point she called 911. Piana was rushed to the hospital and remained in a medically-induced coma until his death.

Jansen refused to shy away from the topic of steroids, stating in the video that “You all know he’s been doing steroids for 20 years and it shouldn’t be any surprise that he had steroids in his house”.

However, Jansen remained firm in her belief that the steroids weren’t to blame as TMZ and other outlets had implied, and that Piana had been using only small doses. She then moves on to discuss the rumor of cocaine use, refuting any claims that the white powder found at Piana’s home was cocaine.

Instead, Jansen insists that the powder was a pre-workout supplement. Piana would sometimes snort it to get a quicker effect as he was “not a conventional guy” and “always would do things his own way”, according to Jansen. She cites an earlier video as evidence toward this unconventional practice.

In the aftermath of Piana’s sudden death, Jansen has been on the receiving end of an outpouring of support and encouragement from Piana’s fans. “I don’t want all this bullshit to muddy the waters of his legacy and the wonderful things he’s done for so many people,” she says.

“We had well over six hours worth of people calling in with prayers and stories of how he’s changed their lives.” While Jansen is quick to admit that Piana wasn’t perfect, she hopes to keep his legacy clean of any unfounded drug rumors and continue his message of positivity and strength.

“Please just stay on the positive path,” she implores of Piana’s fans. “The world needs more positive people like Rich.”