Bodybuilder Who Suffered “Most Aggressive Kidney Disease Known to Man” Explained His Reasons for Walking Away From the Sport in 2000

Flex Wheeler started his professional career in 1983. After a brief career as a police officer, The Sultan of Symmetry focused full-time on bodybuilding. Reaching the glory was not a straightforward thing for him. It was only in 1989 that he, for the first time, secured a title by winning the NPC Mr. California Championships.

Though he never won the prestigious Mr. Olympia title, his skills as a professional bodybuilder remain undisputed. He enjoyed a successful career by winning Arnold Classic four times and Ironman Pro five times. However, his professional journey faced disruption after he suffered the “most aggressive kidney disease.”

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Flex Wheeler shared his constant struggle with health 

Bodybuilding is a tough sport. Professionals have to undergo intense training regimes and dietary habits to get into the masculine structure. As Flex was preparing for his competition, he realized that it was getting difficult for him to train as days passed. That is when he enrolled for a medical checkup.

After running various tests for about a year, the doctors informed him that he had the “most aggressive kidney disease known to man, and there was no cure.” He also mentioned that his life was “hanging in the balance” and he would “need a kidney transplant.” Talking about it with David Robson, he explained that preparing for the shows was getting difficult.

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He revealed that everybody around him was aware of his struggle. However, the doctors could not explain to him the duration he had been dealing with the condition and how progressive it got. At least, the diagnosis helped him realize the reason he wasn’t always able to come in the condition that he achieved back at the Arnold Classic in 93.

Flex eventually went for a Kidney Transplant 

When diagnosis revealed that Flex was suffering from hereditary kidney disease, a kidney transplant became the inevitable choice. As the Men’s Open veteran suffered from deteriorating health, he was eventually rushed for an emergency kidney transplant in 2019.

The ace bodybuilder suffered severe complications following blood clots and eventual kidney failure. The doctors hence decided to amputate Wheeler’s right leg partially. Flex has now recovered and is slowly but surely getting back to normality.