Off The Record

Following The Unexpected Death Of A 21-Year-Old Athlete, Family Members Issue An Urgent Warning

Published on March 21, 2025

Following the unexpected death of their young and healthy 21-year-old son, the family has issued an urgent warning.

Jake Sendler, a 21-year-old personal trainer and MMA fighter, passed away two weeks after being sent to the hospital due to a serious muscular ailment brought on by intense activity.

At first, Sendler, a Melbourne resident pursuing a career as a physical education teacher, was unaware that he was exhibiting signs of rhabdomyolysis after a strenuous workout.

A disorder called rhabdomyolysis, or “rhabdo,” causes the muscles to degrade and dissolve, ultimately resulting in muscle death.

When this occurs, muscle fibers enter the kidneys and circulatory system, resulting in potentially deadly injury, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

It may result from trauma, drugs, overexertion, or an underlying medical problem.

Since he was quite busy and preparing hard for an amateur MMA fight, Sendler was not worried about muscle stiffness, according to news.com.au. He had been drinking more water after thinking he was dehydrated after observing his pee was tea-colored.

He claimed to be feeling “amazing” in a video posted the day before his battle on March 2. He was well-known for leading an incredibly healthy lifestyle and only consuming organic foods.

Unaware that his organs had already begun to fail when he entered the ring, he received the go-ahead to fight and persevered through the entire three rounds in front of sixty of his loved ones.

His mother informed the source that Sendler was in excruciating pain and having trouble breathing as he was assisted out of the ring.

According to his mother, an ambulance was called to transport him to the hospital after coaches and physicians first thought he had a concussion and was dehydrated after the altercation.

He was put into an induced coma in intensive care there, and because the doctors weren’t confident they could save him, they advised his family to say goodbye.

Sadly, Sendler passed away on March 13 following many surgeries and days in an induced coma.

His mother, Sharone Sendler told the outlet: “When we got into the ICU, the doctor said when they opened him up again (in another emergency surgery) there was just too much tissue that had died and there was so much damage, there was nothing more they could do.”

“I said to him, ‘it’s OK baby, you can rest now, you fought so hard’ and I kissed him on the forehead and he passed away. It was the worst moment of my life.”

She is now working to raise awareness about the “silent killer” so that other families “never ever go through pain we felt”.

Sharone added: “It can happen to anyone … had we known about the early signs, Jake could potentially still be here.”

The family has created a GoFundMe page to support their efforts in spreading the word about the risks of rhabdo and to cover unforeseen expenses related to Sender’s passing.

His mother added, “We’re going to as a family make sure his legacy lives on. We’re going to keep going with his dreams of helping athletes and inspiring youths to be great but also look after themselves because you can’t be great if you’re not here.”

“If he could be here I know he’d be changing lives so we’re going to continue that for him.”