Leo Rex, a self-described “masculinity biohacker” famous for once declaring himself the “foremost expert in penis enlargement” on his popular YouTube channel, died mysteriously Monday inside an apartment in the coastal Thai city Pattaya.
While local cops haven’t declared Rex’s cause of death, details they released paints a grisly scene that suggests the American influencer may have been brutally killed following a struggle.
Police say Rex, who’s legal name is Laith Abdallah Algaz, was found face down in a bathroom, surrounded by cannabis, antidepressants, bipolar disorder medication, sleeping pills, and “muscle-boosting antibiotics.” He was naked besides a black shirt, had a black eye and still had blood “flowing from his mouth and nose” when cops arrived, reported Bangkok Business News.
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Pattaya’s police chief, Kunlachart Kunlachai, said Rex’s apartment appeared to have been ransacked, with items scattered across the bedroom and bathroom, according to local outlet ASEAN NOW.
Rex’s body was reportedly found by a friend who entered the locked apartment with a spare key after he hadn’t heard from the influencer. Cops estimated he’d been dead for about five hours by the time they arrived.
Sombat Kaewmulsuk, a captain for Pattaya police, said officers were checking security footage and conducting interviews, the Daily Mail reported.
“We will be interrogating the victim's friends, and a woman who had stayed with him before he died,” Kaewmulsuk said. “We urge the public not to jump to any conclusions until a complete examination has been done.”
Media outlets have reported Rex was either 34 or 35. He was a Colorado native who reportedly moved to Thailand after his ex-wife, Lucie Colomb, divorced him last year.
In a request to have a domestic violence restraining order against her former husband last March, Colomb said Rex abused alcohol, drugs and was “extremely verbally and emotionally abusive” to her and their 1-year-old daughter.
Colomb said Rex’s “abusive behavior” escalated when she became pregnant in Nov. 2021, especially once they learned the baby would be a girl instead of a boy. From then on, he allegedly “alienated” Colomb from her friends and refused to let her leave their apartment unless she asked permission, court docs say.
In a portion of deranged texts submitted with Colomb’s court filing, Rex allegedly messaged her: “You should have lived to serve me instead of feeling sorry for yourself 24/7,” and, “I am happy with the way I treated you and believe you deserve much worse treatment...You deserve much worse. MUCH.”
Rex, who ran the YouTube channel Leo and Longevity, had amassed 123,000 subscribers at the time of his death. Most of his videos highlighted bogus science that required disclaimers in each video before he dished out quacky advice.
While the channel discussed topics like bodybuilding, experimental health supplements, steroids, and his experience taking different drugs, like psychedelics, Rex’s most popular videos were about his journey to growing a “supraphysiological” penis.
As bizarre as it sounds, the channel’s most-viewed video was titled “How to Build a Better Penis” and had nearly a half-million views. In it, Rex told his followers he’d successfully grown his manhood two inches through a system of pumping and weights.
Many of Rex’s videos were rife with misogyny, seemingly preying on sexually insecure men.
YouTuber Jon Bravo, who just four months ago posted a video titled “EXPOSING Leo & Longevity” where he grilled Rex and called him a “con man,” reacted to the news of his old friend’s death.
“He was my friend. We had a falling out, but even when I have a falling out with someone they're still my friend,” Bravo said. “I’m just really shocked so I don’t know how to portray how I feel right now…You don’t wish this on your deepest enemy.”
Bravo said he’d asked a mutual friend to check on Rex just hours before he received word that Rex was dead. The YouTuber said he doesn’t “know what he was into over there” in Thailand or “what he was doing,” but he was “so shocked.”
Rex’s family members and Colomb did not respond to calls from The Daily Beast on Tuesday.
Pattaya police said they’re not listing a cause of death until an autopsy is complete. The U.S. embassy and Algaz’s family members have been notified, the Daily Mail reported.
