Bodybuilder Fouad Abiad has a new lease on life after a motorcycle accident nearly left him dead. In the latest Bro Chat Podcast aired on July 1, 2025, he detailed how the accident happened and the numerous injuries he suffered as a result of the ordeal.
“I remember going over the bars. I remember hitting the ground. I remember my helmet saving my life.”
In mid-June, Abiad was involved in a motorcycle accident while driving along the side of a mountain in California. A pothole caused him to lose control of the bike and he flew over the handlebars into a ditch. Shortly after the accident, details were limited, with his wife, Sommer, indicating that he was receiving the best care possible.
As a household name in bodybuilding media, athletes and fans have waited anxiously for an update on his health. Abiad appeared lucid and was able to recollect not only the moments leading up to the accident, but also what transpired after the impact.
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Fouad Abiad Details Injuries From Horrific Motorcycle Accident
During the podcast, Abiad mentioned that he made an error while leaning into a corner, hit a pothole, and went flying over the handlebars.
“I kind of made an error. I was leaning into a corner, hit a pothole, while I was leaning into that corner, the back end of the bike popped out on me. I tried to correct to hop back. Next thing I knew I was over the handlebars and in a ditch.”
After the accident, he was moved into a pickup truck and driven down the mountain. From there, they transferred him into an emergency helicopter.
“I remember screaming to get my helmet off my head. I felt like I was claustrophobic. Then, I remember telling them to get me up, just stand me up. And they were like no, no, don’t move, don’t move. Next thing I remember is being lifted off the ground on a stretcher into the back of a pickup truck.
The pickup truck went down the mountain. We were going down the side of a mountain. The pickup truck goes down the side of the mountain, at the bottom, I remember being lifted from the pickup truck and being put into a helicopter,” said Abiad.
He was told he’d die if medical personnel didn’t puncture his lung.
“One of the things that was pretty fucking crazy. She looks at me and she’s like I’m going to have to puncture your lung because you’re going to die if I don’t. All I see is her take this fucking needle and jab it into my fuckin chest. I think that was the last thing I remember.”
The extent of his injuries was significant, with Abiad first sharing that he broke five ribs.
“For those who want to know the extent of it, I’ll share some of the stuff, I don’t remember all of it. I broke all these ribs from the probably the nipple down, like four or five ribs are all broken. The bottom two are actually broken in two places so they’re just floating. They are like don’t worry, your body knows how to get them all back together.”
In addition to his ribs, Abiad avulsed his brachial plexus, the C5, C6, C7, C8 spinal nerves in his back, and broke his clavicle and scapula.
“All those ribs are broken. Then, I broke C5, C6, C7, C8 vertebrae in my back,” he shared. “That affects your nerves and how things operate. Then, my brachial plexus, which is a bundle of nerves and all those nerves are avulsed, I have to wait and see with more imaging. I broke my clavicle and scapula.”
He’s optimistic he’ll recover in time, but said he still can’t move his left arm yet.
“The bottom line is my ribs are going to heal, my neck is fused, that’s going to be okay once this shit comes off that’ll be fine. The only thing left is I can’t feel my left arm at all.”
Between Abiad’s harrowing near-death experience to eight-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman contracting a bloodstream infection, it’s been a challenging few weeks for the bodybuilding community, though both men appear to be making progress.
Fouad Abiad will face a long road to recovery, but he is fortunate to be alive. He’s adamant that wearing a helmet saved his life and plans to quit smoking after sustaining damage to his lungs.
RELATED: Graphic: Bodybuilder Tonio Burton Involved in Motorcycle Crash, Shows Off Gruesome Injuries
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