A Colorado man is making it a mission to spread awareness about heart health and the importance of learning cardiopulmonary resuscitation after a video featuring him having a health episode went viral.
Mark Reynolds, a fitness enthusiast and UFC gym owner in Lone Tree, has been lifting weights for years.
“I found bodybuilding because it is independent and nobody else can help you,” said Reynolds.
The feeling of being invincible and independent is common amongst bodybuilders, but last November during a workout session he became helpless.
“I couldn’t help myself I was pretty much done,” said Reynolds.
Reynolds was working out, lifting weights, when all of a sudden, he collapsed to the floor under full cardiac arrest.
“At the time I didn’t really know what was going on, I got tunnel vision and essentially I was out,” said Reynolds.
He was working out at a VASA gym a day after Thanksgiving and says he took a little too much pre-workout combined with prescription medication, which resulted in him going under cardiac arrest. The security video from the gym went viral on TikTok with over 4 million views. In the video it shows a crowd and one man in particular rushing to Reynolds’ rescue.