As much as it is unfortunate and nobody likes it, sweating is a regular part of exercising and working out. Wellness bodybuilder and social media fitness start Odalis Santos Mena trying to get a procedure done to stop herself from sweating, and it ultimately cost the 23-year-old her life.
Known as the ‘Mexican Kim Kardashian‘, Odalis had a very large fan base, especially in Mexico. Fitness enthusiasts followed her popular Instagram page to get insights into health, diets, and toning physique.
Odalis was reportedly studying a nutrition course and was the winner of multiple bodybuilding titles, including Miss Hercules in 2019.
Odalis received a controversial medical procedure at an allegedly unlicensed medical practice before she died on Wednesday, July 7.
The fitness influencer, who often posted online, reportedly attended the SkinPiel clinic in the Mexican city of Guadalajara, where she had agreed to promote a treatment to reduce underarm sweating named MiraDry as part of a paid partnership.
According to multiple reports, the treatment uses heat energy to remove sweat glands as well as body odor and underarm hair. Mena promoted the treatment online to her 146K followers on Instagram, with reassurances that the treatment was simple and safe.
Reports allege that the young Instagram star’s death was due to negligence after it was carried out by ‘non-professionals’.
Local authorities attributed Odalis’s death to negligence stemming from the anesthesia reportedly being administered by someone who wasn’t a trained anesthesiologist.
Coroners attributed the bodybuilder’s death to a combination of the anesthesia and a steroid Odalis was taking, something the SkinPiel clinic claimed it was unaware of at the time. How or why the clinic was unaware of what Odalis was using leading up to the risque operation remained unclear.
Odalis s death led to commentators on social media lamenting, with the Instagram star’s personal trainer and boyfriend, Victor Gomez Carreno, posting on his private Instagram account:
‘Your actions in life, echo in eternity,’ he wrote. ‘I will take you with me forever short, it makes no sense to write here what I feel in my heart @odalis_sm, I love you.’
