Calum von Moger, 31, reportedly jumped out of a second storey window and injured his spine this week
Australian bodybuilder and ‘Mr Universe’ Calum von Moger was beset by a series of unfortunate events before he jumped through a second-storey window.
Prior to the incident, the 31-year-old was an international celebrity and three-time Mr Universe winner who inspired thousands of people to get fit and lead healthier lives.
Moger, who has been living between California and his family home near Melbourne, is in a stable condition in hospital with severe spinal injures after the fall in California on May 6.
The reason for the incident has not been released. However, it was just the latest in a string of misfortunes to arise in Moger’s life.
Over the past five years, the gym junkie – once dubbed Arnold Schwarzenegger 2.0 – suffered a knee and bicep injury that left him incapacitated for a year, found out he was the father of a little boy named Kairos, and his house in California burnt down.
Earlier this year, he appeared in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court after he allegedly rammed another car and chased the driver with a machete, before police allegedly found cannabis, ice and testosterone in his possession.
He was charged with criminal affray and drug possession, was on bail and reportedly living with his brother in Melbourne while awaiting his next court mention on May 26.
Moger was reportedly kicked of his family’s home before he jumped out the window. But those who follow him closely online say he hasn’t been the same since his bull terrier, Rex, choked to death on a chip last year.
Calum von Moger’s beloved bull terrier Rex (pictured together) choked to death on a chip last year
Calum was shattered when Rex (pictured together) died. His lizard Baz also passed away at around the same time
The strongman explained in a YouTube video that tragedy struck when he briefly left the house after moving to Texas in early 2021.
‘I left the house for 20 minutes to go to the store and I guess he got into one of the rooms and there was a bag of chips and he choked on a chip,’ Moger said.
‘I came back, looked for him and found him on the floor with his head in the chip bag – I thought it was a bad joke, and then I went down and I couldn’t do anything.’
Moger tried giving Rex CPR, doing compressions, and raced him to the vet – but there was nothing anyone could do.
He described the situation as the worst thing that has ever happened to him – including the moment he was involved in an abseiling incident and spent a year trying to recover in 2019.
Just weeks earlier, his rescue dragon lizard, Baz, tragically died during a three-day power outage following heavy snowfall.
People who follow Moger closely on social media say he wasn’t the same after his dog, Rex, died
Moger played a young Arnold Schwarzenegger (pictured together) in the 2018 film Bigger and was dubbed ‘Arnold 2.0’ in the bodybuilding world
Moger had an abseiling accident and severely injured his knee and bicep. Pictured: Just after the injury, and after rehabilitation
Moger doesn’t know why the lizard passed away because they’re supposed to live for at least a decade, but he only had Baz for four years.
A year prior, the gym junkie announced that he had learned he was the father of a little boy, Kairos, following a paternity test.
Moger said he was excited to be part of Kairos’ life, but wanted nothing to do with the boy’s mother. He frequently posts pictures of the toddler on Instagram.
The bodybuilder grew up in a large family with his parents and five siblings near Geelong in regional Victoria.
In the documentary Calum von Moger: Unbroken, he described himself as a daredevil who was always trying to keep up with his brothers.
Moger (pictured with a friend) released his own documentary titled Calum von Moger: Unbroken on Netflix in 2019
Moger discovered he was a father and pledged to look after his young son, Kairos (pictured together)
The film detailed Moger’s rise through the bodybuilding ranks to a point where he was dubbed ‘Arnold 2.0’ and how that came crashing down following a significant knee and bicep injury while abseiling.
‘I was pretty broken – pretty heartbroken,’ he recalled.
In the same year he nearly lost his home due to devastating fires in California.
‘This year was the most challenging, I had these terrible injuries, the house, the fires, so many things that are trying to knock me off my feet – it’s either going to make ya or break ya,’ he said.
He started lifting weights at 14 and began entering competitions, but his big break came in 2017 when he was cast as young Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 2018 movie Bigger.
Moger (pictured second left) started bodybuilding at 14. He has five siblings (pictured together with their father)
Moger (far right, in red) and his family grew up on a property in regional Victoria
Moger quickly rose to fame after uploading videos of his physique and training online, amassing a following of more than 3 million on Instagram.
He tried a range of professions before pursuing bodybuilding full time, such as lifesaving, landscaping, touring adventure groups, skippering yachts and the army.
When Australia was devastated by bushfires in 2019/2020, Moger launched a GoFundMe and raised more than $40,000 for the Wildlife Conservancy Fund.
‘Even if you don’t live in Australia, your contribution to this cause will mean so much to me, my friends and family,’ he wrote.
‘This is the sad reality of Australia in 2020. Any help is appreciated and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.’
Just days before he jumped out the window, Moger posted a bizarre social media post saying he ‘messed up bad many times’.
Calum von Moger, 31, shared bizarre social media posts in the days before the incident (pictured)
Moger was seen puffing on a vape in one video shared to Instagram last week
‘But I don’t care about dwelling on negative thoughts of the past. All I care about is that I learn from my mistakes and become a better person.
‘I’m trying my hardest to stay strong but I have my days too.’
Another Instagram post featured a bizarre clip of him behind the wheel of his car with a parrot Ronnie on his shoulder, saying ‘catch ya later… alligator’ – in a hi-vis singlet.
Fellow bodybuilder and Youtuber Nick Trigilli said Moger was in a ‘rough spot’ at the time of the incident.
Moger had reportedly been kicked out of his family’s home in Australia in recent times.
‘I hope this is rock bottom for him and he can get his life back,’ Trigilli said.
Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Moger’s family for comment.
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