“Rip Black Tom Cruise”: Fitness World Grieves With Larry Wheels as He Still Misses His Training Partner Who Died in a Tragic Car Accident 2 Years Ago

The world of fitness and bodybuilding has witnessed countless deaths in the past couple of years. The recent tragedy that the realm of bodybuilding faced was of female bodybuilding icon Lisa Lyon. Back in 2021, in a shocking turn of events, renowned power lifter Otis Perkins suffered a horrific car accident that led to his death at the age of 39 years old.

Known in the powerlifting community as ‘Black Tom Cruise,’ Perkins made sure to leave a lasting impact on his fans and the powerlifting sphere with his tremendous lifts. Larry Wheels, who was a close friend of Perkins, recently shared an old video where Perkins was spotting and hyping Wheels. As the video resurfaced, the fitness community expressed their grief over Otis’ death in the comments.

Larry Wheels pays his tribute to ‘Black Tom Cruise’

Born in 1982, Perkins was a celebrated name in the world of strength sports. After getting involved in a car crash in 2021, Otis sustained severe injuries, caught up with fever, and experienced lung complications. Unfortunately, Perkins died of pneumonia later in the hospital. Back when his death took place, Wheels wrote on his Instagram, “The man brought laughs everywhere he went. Funniest man I ever met. He possessed all the traits of a GREAT friend.”

After more than 2 years of his death, Wheels shared an old video of him training with Perkins and wrote in the caption of the video, “600lb/271kg bench on the incline! @teampersonalrecord wraps back in stock.” As Wheels shared the throwback video, Larry as well as the people associated with the fitness and powerlifting community wished that Perkins’ soul rest in peace.

How did the fans react to Wheels’ video?

Commenting on his own reel, Wheels wrote, “BTC was always there for my biggest lifts. RIP the greatest hype man.” Coming across the post, boxing sensation Omer Sastim reacted to the post by writing, “Rip black Tom Cruise.” Another comment on the post read, “Fight the grim reaper Larry! I miss the days of you, BTC, Kiger, and Oak!”

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Paying tributes to the powerlifter, a user stated, “Gone but not forgotten, rest in peace BTC,” while multiple comments from people simply read, “RIP BTC.” A fan also pointed out the heavyweight as well as Wheels’ previous injuries as he wrote, “Man those lil tendons holding on for dear life.”

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While the death of Otis Perkins came as a shock to many, people from the lifting community joined hands to pay their homage to the ‘Black Tom Cruise.’ What are your views on this? Let us know in the comments.