- Jeff Nippard required a CT scan after the incident, which cleared up
Fans have mobilized to defend Jeff Nippard after viral footage emerged of a seemingly unexpected attack from fellow bodybuilder Mike Van Wyck.
The shocking clip shows Van Wyck approaching Nippard and grabbing him by the throat before violently throwing him to the floor of a gym.
Nippard then took to social media to reveal that he had had a CT scan, which came back completely clear, adding that he had no idea why he was targeted.
“I don’t know why he attacked me other than he really, really hates my training style,” he wrote. ‘I certainly didn’t give him any reason to hate me. And even if I did, there is no excuse for physically attacking someone over a disagreement.”
And many fans and followers of the fitness industry promptly came forward to support Nippard.
Mike Van Wyck grabbed Jeff Nippard by the throat in a shocking gym attack
Nippard required a CT scan but told his social media followers that the results were all clear
“Jeff Nippard is one of the friendliest, if not THE friendliest guys in the bodybuilding world,” said one fan. ‘He is incredibly talented, SMART and NOT ego driven.
He offers great online services to remind and educate people about THEIR superpowers. What Mike Van Wyck did was cowardly’
Another view stated: ‘There are almost no internet influencers that I go out on but Jeff Nippard is an absolute gem of the fitness community and I have learned so much from the resources he makes available and by all accounts he is a great guy. so no, we’re driving here.’
Another fan posted: ‘What could Jeff Nippard possibly have done to get attacked… (Van Wyck) clearly disagreed with his training.’
One fan said Van Wyck has lost him as a supporter in light of the video that emerged, saying: ‘Damn, big Jeff Nippard fan. Videos/disagreements on training style everywhere.
“Big fan of a podcast Mike is on, but this grosses me out. It’s hard to listen to him now.’
Nippard did suggest that Van Wyck may have had a problem with his science-based training methods.
Van Wyck had recently posted his own video questioning bodybuilders who follow methods like Nippard’s – to which he responded and underlined why he follows those methods.
So far, Van Wyck has not spoken out about the incident that went viral on social media
But following the shocking scenes, fans have come out in droves to support Nippard
Nippard said: ‘My opinion is that this was a result of the anger caused by the clip I posted yesterday in response to his question about science-based training. Pretty wild stuff.”
Nippard also claimed that Van Wyck also threatened his cameraman.
“In case you haven’t seen it, this is exactly what happened and there were many witnesses.
‘Mike Van Wyck stabbed me twice in the throat in the middle of the gym and then shoved my cameraman.
“There’s already a lie going around that Mike asked me to stay away from him, and that I didn’t listen and approached him first. This is FALSE and @puremuscleandfitness has security footage to prove it. I think they should release it.”
So far, Van Wyck has not spoken out about the incident.