Who is Park Seung-hyun? Tributes pour in as fitness influencer and YouTuber dies aged 35

On January 5, 2025, word of Park Seung-hyun’s demise emerged online following his brother’s announcement of the tragedy through an obituary posted on his Instagram account. As highlighted in the post, Seung-hyun lost his life due to some health issues.

Park Seung-hyun’s brother shared the news with an Instagram post, whose caption stated:

“My brother Seung-hyun went to heaven at 3:51 p.m. on January 5, 2025 for health reasons. I will not accept condolences to the mortuary because my parents are heartbroken. I hope you pray for the repose of the deceased with your heart of consolation.”

For those unaware, Park Seung-hyun was a South Korean YouTuber and fitness celebrity recognized for his training content. His YouTube channel garnered 830,000 subscribers, where he disseminated his personal fitness experience and insights into bodybuilding. The 1990-born fitness fanatic died at 35 owing to health complications.

Following the announcement of Seung-hyun’s death, social media was inundated with tributes from his admirers. While some referred to him as a “role model,” others shared how they were inspired after watching Seung-hyun’s videos.

Internet poured tributes for the deceased YouTuber (Image via Instagram/@parksh2666)

Many fans wrote “Rest in Peace” for the influencer, while others found it hard to believe that Seung-hyun was no more.

Fans commented on the late fitness influencer’s Instagram post (Image via Instagram/@parksh2666)

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Park Seung-hyun also led the anti-drug campaign in 2018

In 2018, Park Seung-hyun gained significant public recognition for his drug campaign, which raised awareness about the dangers of illegal drug use, including steroids and growth hormones. He openly acknowledged the negative impacts of drug misuse and educated the public about the hazards of consuming illicit substances.

In 2019, he garnered notoriety after uploading a video on his YouTube channel that exposed instances of steroid usage inside the bodybuilding profession and admitted to his own drug addiction.

Furthermore, he surrendered himself for illicit drug consumption and distribution (breach of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act) and was granted prosecutorial suspension in November 2019. Park Seung-hyun admitted that he had repeatedly fallen to the lure of the substance on multiple occasions.

Simultaneously, Park Seung-hyun, who had recurrently engaged in and suspended his YouTube activities, restarted his endeavors after a 10-month hiatus in October of the previous year and disclosed his struggles with depression.

Park was acknowledged for his campaign against the abuse of drugs that boost performance in the health sector, having candidly addressed his prior engagement with these medications.

In his several recent posts, Seung-hyun expressed his loneliness. In his last post from January 4, his caption highlighted that he was feeling lonely.

“Today’s bicep exercise..The weight has stagnated at 110 kg. Because I don’t try to eat.. Passion and goal have disappeared. I’m very lonely,” the caption read.

In October 2023, Seung-hyun reportedly admitted to experiencing signs of depression. He revealed that he was taking the medication prescribed by the psychiatric department. He also said his happiness steadily diminished as many subscribers disengaged with his work.

Seung-hyun attended personal training sessions to earn a livelihood. However, he said he was accumulating weight during the day by playing games and consuming delivery meals. He expressed dissatisfaction with himself, noting that he still resided in his mother’s home at 35 years old.

Park Seung-hyun even shared a screenshot of his declining followers on his Instagram account.

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