Toby Sheldon, the boy who wanted to be Justin Bieber, has been found dead.
Sheldon, whose real name was Tobias Strebel, famously spent over $100 000 (over R1.3 million) on plastic surgery in a desperate attempt to look like the pop star.
According to TMZ, Sheldon had been reported missing since August 18.
Police found drugs in the motel room where he died, but the cause of death remains unclear. According to the LAPD, Sheldon’s vanishing act might be related to his break-up with his boyfriend.
Sheldon had flirted with reality TV stardom by appearing on the shows Botched! and My Strange Addiction. He spoke in detail about the many procedures he had undergone – hair transplants, lip surgery and a chin reduction – in order to look more like Bieber, as well as his ambitions as a song-writer.
“The gift of writing music is not something you can learn. You have to have that inner creativity; you have to have something to say. You have to be lyrically gifted,” the 35-year-old said in a 2014 episode of Botched!. “You have to know what’s catchy. It’s just something I’ve come to master.”
He also appeared on talk shows like Bethanny, where he spoke about his transformation.
Entertainment Reporter