Bodybuilder, 44, who starred in Netflix series dies after collapsing ‘while on gym treadmill’

A German Netflix star has sadly died at the age of just 44 after reportedly collapsing on a gym treadmill.

Vittorio Pirbazari, known for his villain role in Netflix film Dogs of Berlin, passed away on Monday, leaving behind a girlfriend and young son who was born in 2020.

An image of the bodybuilder in his role as Daher Tarik went viral, and helped the fitness fanatic gain huge popularity, as he gained well over 90,000 followers on Instagram and also had over 200,000 on YouTube thanks to his gym videos.

According to Pirbazari's close acting and filmmaking friend Said Ibrahim, he may have suffered a heart attack when on the treadmill.

Ibrahim announced the death of his friend in an Instagram video.

He said: “Vito had a soft heart like a ten-year-old, I swear to you.

“I got the sad news that he passed away yesterday and that really knocked me down and threw me completely off track […] I wish the family a lot of strength. I wish his friends a lot of strength.”

Heart attacks can seemingly happen to anyone at any age, but numerous medical investigations have found that cases in bodybuilders are surging, as pushing the body to its limits may lead to heightened cardiovascular stress.

Pirbazari shared a selfie just a day before his death, showing his progress after being involved in a near-fatal car crash earlier this year.

He wrote beneath the image: "My current form after 12 weeks without exercise or much exercise. Of course, it's no comparison to before, but I'm on the right track given the circumstances."

He suffered a fractured vertebra, tissue damage, and both of his legs required stitches, but he was back in the gym after just 12 weeks, despite also having his right pectoral muscle surgically reattached back in January.

The German father added: "I'm happy to be back in the gym at all and am focusing entirely on leg training and cardio. I'm trying intervals on the treadmill right now, but since my legs aren't 100% healed yet, I'm taking it slowly.

"The only thing that's important to me right now is not to give up and to let go, and to get better day by day, week by week. Have a nice Sunday friends."

His post has since been flooded with comments from fans paying tribute to the actor after his passing.

Further details of the actor's death remain unclear, and police in Germany are yet to provide any public updates on Pirbazari's sudden and tragic death.