George Gregory Plitt, Jr. (November 3, 1977 January 17, 2015) was an American
fitness model and actor. He starred in the
Bravo
Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels
*Bravo (band), a Russian rock band
* Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984
*Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing company ...
television series ''
Work Out
''Work Out in the Zone'' (previously known as ''Work Out'') is an American reality television series on Bravo (US TV network), Bravo, which premiered on July 19, 2006. The show is centered on fitness trainers and models located in the many citie ...
.''
He died at age 37 when he was struck by a train
locomotive
A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...
while filming a video.
Early life, family and education
Greg Plitt was originally from
Lutherville
Lutherville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 6,504. Prior to 2010 the area was part of the Lutherville-Timonium CDP. Within its borders lies the Luther ...
,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
. His mother was an interior designer, and his father was a real estate agent.
Plitt had an older sister who attended the
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...
.
Plitt said that he had been a fitness buff since his father bought a home gym when Plitt was in sixth grade; he was further inspired after seeing how his older sister changed after her first year in the Naval Academy.
Plitt was a graduate of
Gilman School
Gilman School is an all-boys independent school located in the Roland Park neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. There are three school divisions: Lower School, grades pre-kindergarten through five; Middle School, grades six through eight; and Upp ...
, Class of 1996, in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, Maryland, where he was on the football, wrestling, and golf teams. He was also a graduate of the
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...
, Class of 2000,
and was both Airborne and Ranger qualified.
Career
Plitt served in the US Army as a
Ranger for five years.
He was a certified personal trainer in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. He was a member of the official
MET-Rx
MET-Rx is an American brand of nutritional supplements originally produced by Met-Rx, Inc., a California company started by Scott Connelly, and sold several times since.
The brand is best known for pioneering a new category of bodybuilding supple ...
athlete and was awarded the MET-Rx Athlete of the Year award for 2012.
He was the author of the workout program MFT28 as featured by Bodybuilding.com and appeared on covers and/or in editorials for ''Maxim'', ''AXL'', ''American Health & Fitness'', ''Flaunt'', ''Men's Fitness'', ''Muscle & Fitness'', ''Men's Health'', ''FitnessRx for Men'', ''Instinct Magazine'', and ''Men's Exercise'', among others.
Plitt compared his work as a physical trainer to his work training military recruits:
That transformation that you see when someone becomes a soldier; many of them come in with real bad attitudes.... they start changing their ways and they become the men they always wanted to be. Then other soldiers start looking up to them as role models. Then they're proud and they hold their heads high. That's more gratifying than anything I've done. That's what's so cool about it — to be able to train somebody and transform them and bring out all of the great qualities that everyone possesses.
Plitt was a global
spokesperson/model for
Thierry Mugler
Manfred Thierry Mugler (; 21 December 1948 – 23 January 2022) was a French fashion designer, creative director and creative adviser of Mugler. In the 1970s, Mugler launched his eponymous fashion house; and quickly rose to prominence in the fo ...
's Angel Men and ICE*Men men's fragrances. He did TV commercials for Old Spice Body Wash, ESPN's Great Outdoor Games, Under Armour, MTV, Zoli Sinks, Gold's Gym Power Flex, Bowflex, and modeled for
Under Armour
Under Armour, Inc. is an American sports equipment company that manufactures footwear, sports and casual apparel. Under Armour's global headquarters are located in Baltimore, Maryland, with additional offices located in Amsterdam (European hea ...
,
Old Navy
Old Navy is an American clothing and accessories retailing company owned by multinational corporation Gap Inc. It has corporate operations in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The largest of the Old Navy stores are its ...
Jeans,
Calvin Klein
Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc., in 1968. In addition to clothing, he also has given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and ...
, Modell's, and Skimpies, among others.
In his later career, he had several acting roles. Images of his body were used to create
Dr. Manhattan's muscular physique in the 2009 film ''
Watchmen'', as well as the corpse of
General Zod
General Zod is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly known as an List of Superman enemies, adversary of the superhero Superman. The character, who first appeared in ''Adventure Comics'' #283 (April 1961 ...
in ''
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice''.
Death
Plitt was struck and killed by a southbound
Metrolink Antelope Valley Line train 268, led by Metrolink
MP36PH-3C locomotive no. 888 in
Burbank
Burbank may refer to:
Places Australia
* Burbank, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane
United States
* Burbank, California, a city in Los Angeles County
* Burbank, Santa Clara County, California, a census-designated place
* Burbank, Illinois, ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, on January 17, 2015, while running between the rails. The entire incident resulting in his death was recorded by an onboard event recorder camera mounted in the cab of the lead locomotive. After examining the video, police reportedly told
TMZ
TMZ is a tabloid news website owned by Fox Corporation. It made its debut on November 8, 2005, originally as a collaboration between AOL and Telepictures, a division of Warner Bros., until Time Warner divested AOL in 2009. On September 13, 202 ...
Plitt may have been trying to outrace the train when it approached for a video he was shooting. He was shortly after knocked off the tracks and out of frame. He may have believed the train was coming up behind him on a parallel track, not the one he was on. The video was for a self-produced energy drink commercial.
Filmography
References
External links
*
*
Interviewwith Matt Weik for ''BodyBuilding.com'', June 4, 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plitt, Greg
1977 births
2015 deaths
21st-century American male actors
Accidental deaths in California
American male film actors
Male models from Maryland
American male soap opera actors
Male actors from Baltimore
Participants in American reality television series
People from Lutherville, Maryland
Railway accident deaths in the United States
United States Army officers
United States Army Rangers
United States Military Academy alumni
Gilman School alumni