A 31-year-old bodybuilder has died of a stroke following the passing of his beloved cat, his heartbroken mother has revealed.
Ricardo Nolasco dos Santos died last week in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul.
The strongman, better known as Kadu Santos, was an 11-times bodybuilding champion and two-times overall champion of a prestigious regional Muscle Contest competition.
Known for his punishing gym routines, he also showed off his bulging biceps to his 13,000 followers on Instagram where he also offered advice on how to keep in shape.
Santos’ mother, Iva Nolasco, said the stroke he suffered led to a lung infection, adding that the strongman’s health problems were complicated by a congenital defect.
He was filmed in July going down on one knee on stage to propose to his partner Sabrina Wollman after a four-year romance, who he started dating in August 2021.
Sabrina, in an emotional social media post on Sunday, broke her silence following Santos’ death to say: ‘If I had known that our end in this life would be this, I would do it all over again because these were the best four years of my life and I know they were yours too.’
She also mentioned her partner’s pet cat Baki, who Santos’ mum referenced as she explained the factors behind his death, saying: ‘Today I understand our Baki departed because there’s no way a world can exist where you two aren’t together.’
The brunette ended her message by saying: ‘We’ll see each other in the next life, my love.’
Lifting the veil of mystery that had been hanging over the death of Santos, Iva told followers in a social media post he had experienced a week of ’emotional distress’ following Baku’s death.
Saying he fell ill on October 4, sparking a two-week fight for life in hospital, she added: ‘His blood pressure rose and he decided to go out for dinner with his partner and friends to try to relax a bit.
‘He complained of a headache, started having seizures and then suffered the stroke.
‘In hospital he was diagnosed with a brain lesion where the haemorrhage had occurred.’
Revealing Santos also aspirated fluid during the seizure, which caused a lung infection, Iva, who is herself a regular gym user, added: ‘He was born with a bicuspid heart valve instead of a tricuspid one.
‘With the effort for the lungs, the heart became insufficient.’
Santos’ family announced his death on social media but had not previously disclosed any details about his two-week fight for life and the reasons for his passing.
His funeral took place on October 21 in Novo Hamburgo on the outskirts of the city of Porto Alegre following a wake.
Friend and fellow bodybuilder Diego Wiegand said in an emotional social media tribute at the time: ‘Today, heaven is certainly celebrating. [Santos] was a person who was completely out of the ordinary, incredible as an athlete, coach, and even more so as a person.
‘It is with great sadness that I say goodbye to you today.
‘It is very difficult to accept, and I still haven’t come to terms with it, but you have left a legacy here on earth and will always be remembered by everyone for the man you were! I love you, brother.’
