Fitness-obsessed bodybuilder who said he was invincible died from 'massive' steroid use after he started working out again despite TWO heart attacks and THREE strokes

Oli Cooney, from West Yorkshire, had been bodybuilding since he was 16
He was told by doctors when he was 18 to limit how much exercise he did
Mr Cooney was openly taking anabolic steroids to change his body image
He had been diagnosed with chronic heart damage by specialists
The fitness fanatic collapsed and died after running to a taxi

PUBLISHED: 08:25 GMT, 2 April 2014 | UPDATED: 17:40 GMT, 2 April 2014

An obsessive bodybuilder who suffered two heart attacks and three strokes because of his massive intake of anabolic steroids died aged just 20 after ignoring repeated warnings to stop working out, an inquest heard.

Fitness fanatic Oli Cooney had been told by doctors when he was 18 that he was putting his life at risk if he did not limit his weightlifting but he refused to listen - and told family he was ‘invincible’.

Oli was openly taking anabolic steroids because he wanted to change his body image and had been working out since he was 16, his grandmother Janet Brook told a hearing in Bradford, West Yorkshire.

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Boast: Mr Cooney told his family that he was 'invincible'

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Treatment: Mr Cooney at Bradford Royal infirmary in 2013

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Tragic: Mr Cooney had been working out since he was 16 and took an ultimately lethal quantity of steroids

Mr Cooney, of Baildon, West Yorkshire, who was also taking physique enhancing supplements including milk thistle, had been diagnosed with chronic heart damage after attending hospital with chest pains.

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He had stopped taking the anabolic steroids but the irreversible and long-term damage to his heart had already been done.

Despite having two heart attacks and three strokes, which left him with weakness down one side and without speech for a time, he responded well to physiotherapy.

But he returned to working out at the gym three or four times a week, despite the warnings by doctors.

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Warning: Mr Cooney suffered two heart attacks and three strokes, one of which left him with speech problems

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Bodybuilder: Oli Cooney pictured relaxing during Christmas celebrations with his family in 2012

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Teenage years: Mr Cooney at work aged 16 (left) and aged 14 while on holiday in Tunisia in 2006

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Younger days: Oli aged 16 with his sisters Lucy, 11, and Ashlee, four. The photograph was taken in 2008

THE SIDE EFFECTS OF REGULAR ANABOLIC STEROID USE

As well as potentially lethal conditions such as heart attacks and strokes, taking steroids regularly can lead to a range of physical side effects in men and women, according to the NHS website.

In men they include:
Reduced sperm count
Infertility
Shrunken testicles
Baldness
Breast development
Increased risk of developing prostate cancer
Splayed teeth and overgrowth of the forehead (giving an 'Incredible Hulk' appearance)
Severe acne

Women
Facial hair growth and body hair
Loss of breasts
Swelling of the clitoris
A deepened voice
An increased sex drive
Problems with periods
Hair loss
Severe acne

Source: NHS

He told a nurse he would rather have another heart attack than another stroke because of the effect a stroke would have on his body.

Recording a verdict that Mr Cooney's death was from substance abuse of anabolic steroids, Assistant Bradford Coroner Dr Dominic Bell told Mr Cooney's family they were not to blame themselves.

He said: ‘He had this weakness that he was driven to alter his body image to become more confident in society.

‘For most people what had already happened to him would have been a wake-up call but he was not willing to listen to or learn from the heart professionals.

‘If he would not listen to them, he would not listen to you - it does not reflect any shortfall on you.’

The hearing was told by health professionals how Mr Cooney had seemed to be in some denial about his serious heart condition and its consequences.

He had also insisted on continuing to take bulking-up supplements, although he would always get them checked out first with medics.

On September 22 last year Mr Cooney, who worked at a convenience store in Baildon, had been on his way home in a taxi after a night out when he stopped off at a friend's house in Bradford.

He was running back to the taxi a few minutes later when he collapsed. He was pronounced dead shortly after he was taken to Bristol Royal Infirmary.

After the inquest, Mr Cooney's parents, Simon and Sarah Cooney, said they wanted their son's death to drive home the message that steroids can kill.

Mrs Cooney said: ‘Oli was driven by a passion for bodybuilding and unfortunately it was that passion that took his life. We would not want anyone to go through the hell we have been through. We will never move on from this.’

Most body builders inject anabolic steroids directly into the muscle, but they can also be swallowed in tablet form or absorbed into the body through the skin via a cream or gel, according to the NHS.

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Close family: Oliver's mother Sarah, of Baildon, West Yorkshire, with her parents Stuart and Janet. Mrs Cooney has said she will never be able to move on from her son's death