A legendary bodybuilder hailed as one of the "greatest ever" had his leg amputated to save his life.
Flex Wheeler won numerous competitive titles during the 1990s, including the Arnold Classic four times and Ironman Pro fives times.
He was lauded for his body's symmetry and strength and his peer, record-breaking Ronnie Coleman, said he was the best bodybuilder he had ever competed against.
While Arnold Schwarzenegger called him one of the greatest bodybuilders he had ever witnessed.
But in 2019 the industry was left in shock when Wheeler had to undergo emergency surgery to amputate his lower right leg - otherwise he could die.
Wheeler said that it was either losing his leg or losing his life, reports The Daily Star, a decision that was "due to escalating circulation difficulties" that had reached a dangerous point.
He said: “At that time, the doctor just stared at me, and I started crying because I knew. She said ‘Flex we’re there.’
"So I said ‘just take it.'"
Wheeler was the inaugural recipient of the Olympia Inspiration and Courage Award in 2020, given to bodybuilders displaying courage when facing adversity.
Born Kenneth Wheeler in Fresno, California in 1965 he practised martial arts in his teens before becoming a police officer.
Soon after he began a successful bodybuilding career and was given the nickname Flex because he could do a full split.
In 1994 he nearly died in a car accident.
He also admitted taking anabolic steroids to enhance his physique : "I put on like thirty pounds, and I was like ‘is this safe?’
"I remember asking one of the old timers, and he goes ‘don’t stop son.
"Don’t stop, keep going,’ and I’m like ‘yeah, but look what’s happening.’
“(I had) stretch marks everywhere - they were so painful, they were like big worms…you can still see them on my forearm, in between my legs."
He was diagnosed with unexplainable kidney failure in 1999 and his hands, feet and even genitals began to excessively swell.
Wheeler called his condition hereditary but others have said that his steroid use may have contributed to it.
Despite many procedures to try and fix his circulation problems, in the end he was left with no choice but have his leg partly amputated.
He could even have more limbs removed in the future: "I’m at risk of losing my left leg.
"I’m at risk of losing my right arm, my left arm, because it attacks your limbs."
Wheeler, who retired from action in 2000, posted a video of himself post-operation back in the gym.
In it he can be seen lifting weights, including at one point using his prosthetic right leg.
One caption read: “I will not be denied".
