Making martyrs for the cause

Bodybuilder Jo 'Joesthetics" Lindler's recent death should remind us of the complexities in finding the truth that can't be explained with just "died suddenly" narratives.

A few days ago bodybuilder and social media influencer Jo 'Joesthetics" Lindler died of a supposed aneurysm.

This death was met with immediate sadness for those in the fitness industry, and immediate speculation as to what may have caused his death. In this neck of the woods, that includes suggesting that Joesthetics death was a possible case of died suddenly related to the vaccine.

As news began to spread of his death, so too did information that Joesthetics was coerced into receiving the vaccine (he supposedly received 4 doses, although the information on which vaccines in particular are not available), along with information about strange bloodwork that some have speculated to be the white material made famous by way of the documentary Died Suddenly.

But one look at Joesthetics should highlight that there’s far more going on to this story than just a case of vaccine-related sudden death.

Image from The Sun, originally derived from Joesthetics social media accounts.

It’s been the norm among vaccine skeptics to look at cases of sudden deaths and question whether such deaths may be attributed to the COVID vaccines, and in many cases athletes and other individuals who serve as paradigms for the upper echelons of humanity’s capabilities serve as cautionary tales for these vaccines.

I personally have always had issue when it came to this narrative of “Died Suddenly”, especially when it came to athletes because of how simplistic of a model it served. It’s easy to look at any death and quickly contribute it to the vaccine, but in doing so we omit any key information that may contextualize each individual’s death, and whether this person may have had other circumstances that may have contributed to the sudden passing.

And yet, this hasn’t stopped vaccine skeptics from speculating and propping up these individuals as case examples for attacks on the COVID vaccines, leading mainstream press to attempt to debunk such claims in a vitriolic, “fact-checking” mudslinging battle.

As someone who has been very critical of the vaccines, I find it concerning that we can easily relegate our thinking to the most simplest of explanations, rather than take the time and consider the multitude of contributory factors.

For instance, how many of the people who have reported on Joesthetics’ death knew anything of him prior to the reports?

I personally didn’t know too much about him, but became aware of him through fitness avenues including the Derek from the YouTube channel More Plates More Dates¹ where he even interviewed Joesthetics a year prior and also released a recent video in regards to Joesthetics’ death.

In any given case, Joesthetics history is an extremely complex one. As a bodybuilder, the immediate thought may be that Joesthetics was on anabolic steroids, which is something the bodybuilder himself has openly admitted to.

I think the use of anabolic steroids is a rather fascinating topic, especially considering it’s an illegal substance known to be readily used by the top athletes in the world (especially bodybuilders). It’s also a substance that tends to be funneled through the mainstream press channels which shapes a narrative that appears quite tangential to what anabolic steroids actually do (how many people think “roid rage” is a common side effect?).

Regardless, the use of anabolic steroids can come with some considerable side effects, including increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

I highlighted some of these issues in a prior post:

And as I highlighted in this post, we should do well to not inflate healthiness with fitness. Many athletes are deemed fit by way of their achievements and aesthetics, but may be considered unhealthy due to poor eating, excessive training, and alterations to the heart to compensate for the additional work leading to the phenomenon of athlete’s heart.

But how many people who highlight the sudden death of athletes make note of athlete’s heart, or any other complications that come with being the best in a sport?

Again, the issue here is not to argue that anabolic steroids are the clear explanation for Joesthetics’ death, but to emphasize the point that it cannot be ruled out as a contributory factor in the same ways that the vaccines cannot.

Joesthetics also appeared to have a disease know as rippling muscle disease. As aesthetic as such a disease may sound, the name comes from the fact that the body’s muscles become extremely sensitive to movements and touch, which cause the muscles to ripple or rapidly contract.

As Derek points out, rippling muscle disease may be related to electrolyte imbalances, and evidence in the literature may suggest a relationship between this disease and cardiomyopathy, which may suggest another underlying condition worth considering.

Derek also goes on to highlight some other factors that are worth considering, including the fact that Joesthetics was on a 20-24 hour flight from the US to Dubai prior to his death. Long fights have been associated with increased risk of blood clots, and so this is also something that can’t be discounted.

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The point in mentioning all of this is to, again, emphasize the point that Joesthetics’ death is a rather complex scenario, compounded by underlying health conditions, use of steroids, COVID vaccination history, and lifestyle choices that all factor into his untimely death.

And yet all of this tends to get overlooked in an attempt to provide examples of vaccine-related harms.

I will be honest and say that I find it rather distasteful to see how readily people will jump onto a person’s death and prop it up as a case of “died suddenly”.

Regardless of the circumstances, when we highlight these deaths it’s important to take into account the empathy for these families. I certainly wouldn’t want people probing into my family’s life and speculating on any death or use them as an example for whatever cause, and I think many people may feel the same.

As more information comes out including a possible autopsy we may gain better details on Joesthetics’ death. In the meantime, we must take care to not make definitive statements without providing the necessary context and reservations needed when examining this death.

Note that Derek makes mention of the vaccines being a contributory factor along with all of the other factors he outlines in his video, including the fact that Joesthetics had an aunt who died of a similar aneurysm 4 years prior, so there’s plenty of room for us to have a more nuanced discussion on such matters.

But before anyone makes any criticisms over my comments on martyrdom, note that I have made these same remarks when it came to vaccine zealots.

In December 2021 I released a post for paid members² highlighting the death of a bodybuilder named John Eyers. Unlike Joesthetics, Eyers did not take any of the COVID vaccines and was an ardent opponent of them, much to the dismay of his family including his sister in particular.

Bodybuilder John Eyers. Image from Mirror, with the image originally derived from Eyers’ social media accounts.

John Eyers later got infected and eventually succumbed to COVID, barring any circumstances regarding the course of events in the hospital.

In contrast to vaccine skeptics jumping onto sudden deaths, the mainstream press took to jumping onto Eyers story to immediately use it as an example of why everyone should get vaccinated.

Because if someone like John Eyers could die from COVID, then we all could!

But mainstream outlets failed to even contextualize any prior medical history, including his possible steroid use due to him being a bodybuilder. In this case, outlets immediately clamored to prop up Eyers as a martyr for the vaccine cause. Several outlets even include comments that one of Eyers’ last remarks was that he wished he had gotten vaccinated- again, very distasteful in my opinion!

In both of these individuals, the paradigm of health vs fit cannot be overlooked. Are both Eyers and Joesthetics fit? Absolutely!

But are they healthy? Well, that question requires nuance to examine- something that can falter on both sides of the vaccine debate.

In any case, my point in all of this is to remind us that we should take care not to jump to immediate conclusions when presented with information. In the search for answers as to why people are succumbing to the vaccines, we should take care to consider why some people are worse off while others seem to fare well. Understanding the role that an individual’s history plays in outcomes is critical to figuring out which groups are likely to be seeing more harms, and figuring out why that is the case.

We shouldn’t have to make martyrs of individuals to make the case that the vaccines are harmful, especially if it causes us to overlook critical details. We should seek out more complexity and nuance in our thinking, rather than emotional pleas that may leave us wanting of knowledge.

And above all, it’s important to remember that we are talking about people, irrespective of how they passed, who have passed on nonetheless. We should remember to try and be both respectful and empathetic- which we tend to be lacking in this current cultural climate.

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1. Derek, unfortunately, appeared to have been in the pick-up artist scene early on in his YouTube career, so apologies for the cringe in the channel name.

2. Information regarding that post can also be found in a public article from September 2022 for those who are not paid members:

Don't bury the lede!