BODYBUILDER DIED AFTER HE BECAME SO WEAK HE COULDN’T LIFT BIN BAG
MAN WITH ‘HEART OF GOLD’ BATTLED MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS
A DEDICATED bodybuilder became so weak in the days before his death that he was unable to lift a bin bag, his heartbroken mother has revealed.
The parents of Saman-jon Shamsaee, who was known to many as “Shammy”, believe their son was let down by mental health services.
His mother Debbie Heshmatpasand, who described her son as her “partner in crime”, said Saman became trapped in a “vicious circle of drinking, taking medication and feeling low” in the last few years of his life.
The 31-year-old was found dead on his mum’s sofa in Arram, near Beverley, on September 7, 2018, after overdosing on the lethal drug fentanyl.
An inquest into his death revealed he had overdosed on fentanyl before tragically suffocating due to a 3.5cm piece of plastic which became lodged in his throat.
Shammy was addicted to gym and fitness as a teenager before later taking steroids to enhance his physique as a bodybuilder.
He began studying sports and nutrition at the University of Hull before leaving and becoming a personal trainer at a Holderness Road gym. He went on to study accounts and business at the University of Huddersfield with aspirations to become a banking advisor.
However, in 2012, he suffered a serious breakdown which triggered a series of tragic events leading to his death six years later.
Ms Heshmatpasand said: “In the summer of 2012, Saman split up with his girlfriend. He suffered a breakdown and went off the rails.
“He broke his knees before returning to university and had a leg cast on. He had to use crutches and he really struggled with his injuries.
“He could no longer go to the gym and keep fit and that did not help his mental health. He was put on prescription drugs for the pain and returned to the university.
“But from then his mental health deteriorated. He attempted suicide and began heavily drinking. He became addicted to prescription painkillers and started using tramadol.
“He took drugs and drink as an escape from his life due to his injuries and the breakdown of his relationship with his ex-partner.”
Ms Heshmatpasand said Saman would start university anew in September every year before then later dropping out after a few months.
In 2013, he was diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and attended rehabilitation centres but, in 2016, was forced to quit university for good and return to his mum’s house in Beverley.
“I believed he needed a year out to look after himself and his mental health,” Ms Heshmatpasand said. “He lived with me and he became a recluse.
“He would spend a lot of time in his room and he didn’t have many friends at this point. He didn’t want to go out in public and he struggled to get out of bed because he had no energy.”
By this point, Saman was still addicted to prescription drugs and drinking heavily. His mum said she begged health professionals for help and she felt he was not being given the help and support he needed.
Ms Heshmatpasand said: “He tried to get help from mental health services, but he was labelled an addict and they seemed disinterested in him.
“By 2018 he was still suicidal and couldn’t go to the gym because he struggled to leave the house. We spent the majority of the year begging for help.
“In the lead-up to his death he was in a vicious circle of drinking, taking medication and feeling low. The last few days of his life he was constantly paralytic through drinking.
“He was seeing and hearing things and he felt so weak he could not even lift a bin bag and this left him deflated.”
Saman’s father, Mohsen Shamsaee, echoed the thoughts of his son’s mum. He said: “The mental health teams let him down badly a few times.
“He was mainly depressed and all the doctors let him down. We tried our best to help him.”
In the weeks before his death,
Saman was told by health professionals to carry on drinking alcohol, such was the severity of his addiction, which sometimes saw him drink three litres of vodka at once.
Ms Heshmatpasand felt aggrieved by this, but Saman was warned of the catastrophic consequences he would face if he suddenly ditched the booze.
Mental health teams in Beverley also said Saman could not be considered for treatment until he “stabilised” his drug and alcohol use and engaged regularly with the services on offer.
After Saman’s death, dozens of tributes poured in on Facebook for the ex-cage fighter who was said to have a “heart of gold”.
He worked with his father in his restaurant Upper Crust in Beverley, and after Tuesday’s inquest a tearful Mr Shamsaee broke down as he paid tribute to his son.
He said: “He was always carrying about other people. He always thought about others before himself. My life has completely changed since his death and not a day goes by that I don’t think about him. I dearly miss him.”
Assistant coroner Ian Sprakes concluded that Saman’s death was drug-related.