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Iconic Bodybuilder Remembered as ‘Gentle Giant’ Has Died at 60

By sharing his views on life and fitness in unique and outlandish ways online, Lenny Persin launched himself to internet bodybuilding stardom.

Bodybuilding personality Lenny Persin has died following a battle with congestive heart failure. He was 60. Fellow muscleman Dave Palumbo confirmed the news on Saturday. “Big Lenny Persin is no longer with us. He passed over the last couple days, we’re not really sure exactly what day,” he said in a YouTube video. Persin was known for his larger-than-life personality and unconventional appearance due to palumboism. Unashamed of his eccentricity, he led a bodybuilding group called the Delray Misfits. Friends and fans referred to him as a “gentle giant.” By sharing his views on life and fitness in unique and outlandish ways online, he launched himself to internet bodybuilding stardom. “If there’s one thing we can all learn from Big Lenny is that he lived each day to the fullest,” industry expert Jon Bravo said of Persin in a YouTube tribute. “And it didn’t matter if he lived in a rundown apartment filled with roaches and dirt and mold, each day, he had a smile on his face and each day he found a way to make himself happy.”