Tributes for Gold Coast fitness influencer, bodybuilder Jaxon Tippet dies in Turkey aged 30

Musicians, influencers, athletes and podcasters have paid tribute to fitness influencer Jaxon Tippet after his untimely death from a heart attack in Turkey, just days after his 30th birthday.

Jaxon Tippet has died in Turkey, aged just 30 years old.

Musicians, influencers, athletes and podcasters have come out in droves to pay tribute to fitness influencer Jaxon Tippet after his sudden death from a heart attack in Turkey, aged just 30.

The Gold Coast influencer, who had 224,000 Instagram followers and described himself as a model podcaster and coach, had risen to prominence after he narrowly avoided jail for steroid possession in Queensland during a stint of steroid addiction that had derailed his life.

He subsequently found Christian faith and turned his life around.

“I had no job, no vision or purpose in life,” he wrote on Instagram in December 2023.

“I was homeless at one stage, my health was on the edge of ending due to health reasons from drug addiction, I was facing jail time, and was heavily suffering suicidal thoughts daily while trying to attempt suicide three times.

“What saved me (was) Jesus (and) I prayed with my family on the exact day I walked into my last court case and walked out a free man.

“Since then I have never looked back. It’s been one hell of a journey but I wouldn’t change it for anything.”

Sydney rapper ChillinIt had been training with Tippet recently.

Byron Baes star Jade Kevin Foster also posted his condolences.

Tippet had spent time in Sydney in the days before his death training with Sydney rapper ChillinIt and socialising with fellow sober athlete and influencer Alex Milovanov.

“Absolutely shocked, the world is cruel,” ChillinIt wrote on Instagram.

“The world has taken you early, only last week you were spotting me, motivating me, and now you are gone.

“Fly high brother, your legacy truly lived forever, you were such a beacon of light and hope and positive energy it was infectious, you will be missed by many.”

The rapper also posted a picture of a chain Tippet had bought for his son and said he would keep it for life.

The influencer had almost a quarter of a million Instagram followers. Picture: Instagram

Olympic boxer Danny Green, influencer Jordan Simi and Byron Baes reality TV star Jade Kevin Foster were also among those who gave their condolences in a post on Tippet’s Instagram page after his family used it to announce his death.

Fitness influencer Said Sergeyvich Shavershian – whose comedic alter ego is Chestbrah – said he would miss Tippet.

Mr Shavershian’s brother Aziz – who was better known as Zyzz – was also a bodybuilder and prolific influencer, who died of a heart attack in Bangkok in 2011.

“RIP my brother, you were such a gentle soul and kind person, always optimistic and always smiling,” Mr Shavershian said.

“I bet you and Az are lifting up there now … I’ll join yas when I get there.”

On social media, the reformed addict often reflected on fulfilment and the purpose of life.

“The problem is, you think you have time,” Tippet wrote in October.

“On average, we get 80 summers — if you’re lucky.”

The news left the single dad’s followers in shock, with fans writing they were devastated and he was “gone too soon”.

A “shocked and sad” Trent Theodore wrote: “He was larger than life and a beautiful soul xx sending love to his family and close friends.’’

Many were in disbelief about the death, saying “this can’t be true”.

He spoke openly about his steroid addiction in 2022 and how it derailed his life after he was busted with more than 250 steroid tablets and vials of testosterone on the Gold Coast in 2017.

Police also found him hiding a syringe and needle in his underwear.

He was fined $4000 in Southport Magistrates Court, the third time he had fronted the courts in three years.

Tippet was very open about his past. Picture: Instagram

After almost going to jail, he used the incident as a chance to turn his life around and share his experiences with others.

He said despite not feeling the side effects of steroids for the first two years, he started noticing concerning changes to his body.

“I slowly could feel my health deteriorating in terms of my liver and kidneys,” he told the Good Humans Podcast in 2022.

“I was very tired.

“I was yellow in the face. My urine was very dark, it was almost orange.’’

On the podcast, he explained how he knew he had to transform his life.

“I dive heavily into my past drug use, how I overcame it and offer some mental and mindset tips along the way,” he said.

“I hope this episode helps someone listening.”

Tippet revealed more of his story in an Instagram post in December 2023, writing that he had been “in the worst state of my life” six years earlier.

“I had no job, no vision or purpose in life,” he wrote.

“I was homeless at one stage, my health was on the edge of ending due to health reasons from drug addiction, I was facing jail time, and was heavily suffering suicidal thoughts daily while trying to attempt suicide 3 times.

“What saved me (was) Jesus (and) I prayed with my family on the exact day I walked into my last court case and walked out a free man.

“Since then I have never looked back. It’s been one hell of a journey but I wouldn’t change it for anything.”

A fundraiser has been organised to bring Jaxon Tippet’s body home. Picture: Instagram

In an eerie post on his birthday, days before his death, Tippet said: “Growing old is better than the alternative: dying young.”

“All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.”

A GoFundMe campaign has been organised to bring his body home.

Demi Tippet wrote on the fundraiser: “It comes with such heartbreak and heavy hearts that our beloved Jaxon has tragically passed away while on a holiday to Turkey.”

“There really are no words to describe this sort of pain, and we know a lot of people will be feeling this heartbreak with us as he was loved by so many,” she wrote.

“Jaxon would help anybody and everybody around him and now I hope we can get around Sharee and Mark to help assist in any way we can, starting with raising the funds to bring our son, brother, uncle and friend home and assist with funeral expenses.”

A DFAT spokesperson told this publication: “The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to the family of an Australian who died in Türkiye.

“We send our deepest condolences to the family at this difficult time. Owing to our privacy obligations we are unable to provide further comment.”

The GoFundMe has raised more than $54,000 towards its $60,000 target.

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Originally published as Tributes for Gold Coast fitness influencer, bodybuilder Jaxon Tippet dies in Turkey aged 30