Fitness influencer, 23, slips into ravine and dies while filming abandoned village
Fitness influencer Giorgi “Tzane” Janelidze tragically died Wednesday after falling into a ravine while exploring an Italian ghost town with his pals. He was 23 years old.
His death was confirmed by the content creator’s friend and fellow influencer Chris Kogias, who had accompanied him on the ill-fated trip.
“Tzane is no longer with us,” the bereaved internet personality said, according to Greek media. “He left us yesterday afternoon during the trip we made to Italy. Please pray with us for his soul to rest in peace.”
The tragedy occurred while Janelidze and his friends were shooting content in Roghudi Vecchio, Calabria, an ancient mountain village abandoned in the 1970s following a severe flood.
While standing on a balcony with no railing, the heavily-tatted bodybuilder reportedly slipped and plummeted into a deep ravine, Jam Press reported.
Firemen were subsequently called to the scene, but it was too late.
Unfortunately, the gorge was too steep to retrieve Tzane’s body on foot, so they had to enlist a helicopter, which was able to winch him up on a stretcher.
His body was subsequently transported to the coastal town of Saline Joniche and handed over to the authorities.
Janelidze, who was born in Georgia but lived in Greece, was a fixture in fitness circles on Instagram, where he would frequently post workout and travel snaps to his over 100,000 followers.
He also had a business selling T-shirts and protein powder online, which he co-founded with fellow fit-fluencer “Dream Greek.”
Tzane’s friends and family were devastated by his loss.
“The most beautiful person inside and out, the biggest adventure I’ve ever had with someone,” Janelidze’s girlfriend Elena Margariti wrote in an Instagram story. “With my man, my whole life.”
She continued, “Many dreams, a home together, through our difficulties, through our joys, and we made it, us against all odds. So unfairly, so early. I love you so much. We will meet again. My Tzitsi.”
