RIP Nasser El Sonbaty - Dead Age 47

[BendtheBar]

RIP Nasser El Sonbaty - Dead Age 47



Nasser El Sonbaty Dead at 47 - MuscleMag

By Frank Hoffmann

Typically, I’m the last guy who’ll buy into any rumors lurking around on the internet, but when I heard that one of my favorite bodybuilders of all time may have suddenly passed away, I had to dig. I combed through every bodybuilding forum and exhausted every search engine in an attempt to disprove the tragic news that I so desperately wanted to be a hoax. Sadly, it has been confirmed that on March 20, 2013, Nasser El Sonbaty passed away at the age of 47. Sources confirm that he died in his sleep while in Egypt. He will truly be missed and remembered for the contributions he made to the sport of bodybuilding.

Before I ever became a bodybuilding fan, I was an admirer of Nasser El Sonbaty. I remember when was a kid, about fourteen years old, I stopped by a local convenience store to buy a slushy after playing with some friends. On my way out, I decided to check out the magazine rack and for the first time I picked up a bodybuilding magazine. I don’t recall who was on the cover, but as I flipped through the pages one bodybuilder in particular captured my attention– it was Nasser! I’ve been hooked on the sport ever since.

Nasser El Sonbaty was one of the true mass monsters of the ’90s. Wearing his signature spectacles, he would walk around at 315 lbs. with visible abs during the offseason and then shred down to 280 lbs just in time to dwarf his competition on stage. Personally, I think that Nasser is the greatest bodybuilder to never win The Sandow, and to this day feel that the 1997 Mr. Olympia was the biggest judging debacle in the history of the sport. Despite finishing second to an injury riddled and 5-time defending champion Dorian Yates, I still believe Nasser was the clear winner. Over his career, Nasser competed in over 50 IFBB sanctioned events with his biggest victory coming in 1999 at the Arnold Classic. His bodybuilding superstardom aside, Nasser was also a keen intellectual who stayed on top of the news and boasted advanced degrees in political science, history and sociology. Earlier this month, when all the past Arnold Classic champions were called out to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the show, I was disappointed that Nasser wasn’t there to take the stage. It would have been great to see the man one last time.

[Tannhauser]

Wow. 47. RIP. Supposedly a very nice chap.

Wonder of it was BB related? I seem to remember T-Nation mentioning him in those grim 'Dead Pool' articles years ago.

[LtL]

Quick google showed Shawn Ray touting kidney failure from an infection as probable cause. Who knows though.

[gaspers04]

Damn, sad to hear.

[Squatter]

Way too young to die, way too young. My condolences to his family, friends, and followers.

[IrishHitman]

When I first got into lifting for the sake of lifting, I picked up Arnold's Encyclopedia. The two guys that really jumped of the page at me were Lee Priest and Nasser. Always dug on the specs because I could identify with them. May seem silly to some of y'all, but it was a connection. RIP, and my thoughts are with the family.

[Soldier]

Originally Posted by IrishHitman

When I first got into lifting for the sake of lifting, I picked up Arnold's Encyclopedia. The two guys that really jumped of the page at me were Lee Priest and Nasser. Always dug on the specs because I could identify with them. May seem silly to some of y'all, but it was a connection. RIP, and my thoughts are with the family.

It was the exact same thing for me. Nasser and Priest were the pictures I always cut out to motivate myself when I was in high school. The two of them were perfection. This is very sad.