575 Pound 'Heart Attack Grill' Spokesman, Blair River, Dies At 29

PHOENIX — A 575-pound man who gained a measure of fame as spokesman for the Heart Attack Grill – a Phoenix-area restaurant that unabashedly touts its unhealthy, high-calorie menu – has died.

Friends of 29-year-old Blair River say he died Tuesday, possibly from contracting pneumonia after a bout with the flu.

Restaurant founder Jon Basso tells The Arizona Republic that River was more than the larger-than-life caricature he portrayed in promoting the restaurant in Chandler, which includes huge hamburgers, milkshakes and fries cooked in lard on its menu.

Basso says River was a creative genius who had been planning to take part in the shooting of a promotional spot called, "Heart Attack Grill: The Musical."

The 6-foot-8 River was an Arizona state heavyweight wrestling champion in 1999.

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Information from: The Arizona Republic, http://www.azcentral.com

Comments

[freddypudwacker]

12:22 PM on 04/02/2011

All of their servers are slender. Where are they eating?

[mossfitness]

05:41 AM on 03/12/2011

While the marketing ploy may be honest and somewhat humorous, there is nothing funny about a man in his 20s eating himself to death. It's actually very sad and should serve as a wake up call to our increasingly obese society.

Obesity kills. There is no denying it.

[dsw70]

02:21 AM on 03/12/2011

For those who cared about him, they have loss someone. But the restaurant did not give him his appetite. He chose to eat. He chose to accept being a spokesperson. I do not know why people always want to blame everything and everyone else when people choose to do harm to themselves. If he wasn't the spokesperson, he may have eaten quadruple sized portions someplace else. Someplace else that attempts to hide their non-nutritional values. No one chained him to the restaurant. He was a grown (very grown) ass man.
May the nannies mind their own business and stop regulating freedom.

[ShanaSmiles]

11:31 PM on 03/11/2011

Most people know when they are eating junk. This guy was fat and it had very little to do with that restaurant. He gained a lot of that weight elsewhere. It is tragic that he succumbed to a food addiction or eating compulsion at such a young age. Cmon folks we have to be responsible to ourselves and our family. If you know someone who is getting dangerously obese, say something. They need intervention not enabling.

[KarasudaJay]

04:09 PM on 03/11/2011

I saw something about this place on TV, I would probably go there one time just to check it out and try it. Not a daily thing, that's for damned sure.

[Maxwell Purrington]

07:22 AM on 03/11/2011

Prosecutors need to consider filing charges of "depraved indifference" against the owners of Heart Attack Grill.

[O K Ali]

10:29 PM on 03/10/2011

There is a giant sign on the door that warns anyone that comes in, that the food is extremely dangerous to your health. Just like cigarettes, you know the risk, it's completely on your shoulders. Personal responsibility, people.

[HerrMonk]

12:23 PM on 03/08/2011

I will eat at his restaurant if I ever find myself in the area.

[DrMandible]

10:50 AM on 03/08/2011

Like Achilles, he chose to seek glory instead of long life. Can't fault him for that, I suppose.

[MyResponsibility]

04:27 PM on 03/07/2011

Rest in Peace, Blair.  This restaurant is now on my bucket list.  What the nanny-staters want is for dangerous goods (cigs, alcohol, food, etc) to provide full disclosure on the dangers of their product.  This restaurant does provide graphic, no-holds-barred truth in the ridiculousness of nutrition (or lack thereof) of their product.  You need a laugh, watch their web ad.  

I'm up another few inches. Who needs these old pants? I can eat for free [350+ lbs eat free]. And thanks to our new healthcare law, I don't have to pay for my own medical bills, either!

Close medical supervision, no contracts, and results that I personally guarantee, what more could you ask for from a diet program? 

The Heart Attack Grill diet program is not for everyone. Side effects may include sudden weight gain, repeated increase in wardrobe size, back pain, male breast growth, loss of sexual partners, lung cancer, tooth decay, liver sclerosis, stroke, and an inability to see your penis.  In some cases, mild death may occur. Ask your doctor if the Heart Attack Grill diet is right for you.

Now that's honesty. What they sell to their customers is no different than what Chili's, Applebee's, McD's, BK, Sonic, etc sells everyday without disclosure.

[bibimimi]

03:17 PM on 03/07/2011

Claim Jumper still offers their 'Widowmaker' burger. Neither appetizing nor funny, a man eating himself to death is also still a Deadly Sin.

[Dakotadude]

10:20 AM on 03/07/2011

He died the way he lived, large. Too bad he had to pass but it obviously had to be very hard to move all that man. It should be looked at as a warning, at least his passing can have meaning. wow 29yo

[Richard Pearce]

10:17 AM on 03/07/2011

If only every restaurant (and restaurant chain) were so honestly named.
 
Think 'Sugar, Salt, and Starch Shacks' would have signs boasting of the billions served?

[jujubees]

09:44 AM on 03/07/2011

http://www.oversizecasket.com/

Enough said...

[Kimberley Travis]

09:41 AM on 03/07/2011

OK, sorry, but this is ridiculous! 575 pounds!!! Of course his weight "contributed" to his early death. Please, humans are not meant to be that large, it puts too much strain on every organ, every joint, every system in the body (not to mention every chair used by someone this large). I'm sure he was a very nice man, but my question to those that cared about him, why didn't you step in and do an intervention? It takes a lot of work to get and stay that big, clearly he had a food addiction. And The Heart Attack Grill should be ashamed of themselves, because, let's face it, they contributed to his early demise by celebrating the serving of foods that destructive.