Australian Skincare Business Tycoon Dies In Bali Aged 32

Share The Article

Ryan Channing, Australian skincare entrepreneur and ex-fiance to retired Olympic gold medalist Ian Thorpe, has died suddenly at the age of 32. 

Channing, who tested positive for Covid-19 eight weeks ago, died after being rushed to the hospital on Sunday 8th May. News of his passing was announced by the media before his family had a chance to release a statement. 

In an Instagram post his brother, Jake Channing, shared that he and his family have vowed to ‘seek answers’ as to why Channing died so suddenly. Though his family has shared a limited amount of information surrounding his death, they have confirmed that it is not related to his bout of Covid-19. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by THE SKINTREPRENEUR ® (@ryanchanning)

On behalf of the Channing family, Jake Channing posted a photo of himself and his brother on a beach wearing sunglasses. The caption reads: To family and friends, Seeings as the news headlines beat my whole family to posting about this unfortunate time in our lives, it’s With a heavy heart I announce that my brother Ryan has recently passed away on Sunday the 8th of May at 32 years of age. As we seek answers and try to come to terms with the heartbreaking loss of my beautiful big brother, we ask for your prayers, support and privacy, he will be forever loved, never forgotten and forever young. To my big brother, I love you, I’ll see you one day soon you’ll be missed more than you know ( no this wasn’t covid related).’’

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by JakeChanning (@jakechanning)

In a post shared by his sister, Charis Channing posted a series of family photos of her brother and wrote: ‘Ryan, my big brother, saying goodbye to you on Sunday was the hardest thing my family and I have ever had to do. 32 years young your gone too soon. As we seek answers and try come to terms with the heartbreaking loss of my brother, we ask for your prayers, support and privacy. I know you will be looking down on us and we love you lots’’.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Charis Channing (@charisscha)

Ryan Channing was the founder of luxury skincare brand BLAQ. The company specializes in ‘providing detoxifying beauty solutions’ with ‘planet conscious ingredients’. The company has also released a statement on its Instagram page. They shared how Channing’s ‘fun and loving spirit will be missed by all’. The BLAQ.co website currently opens to a banner reading Rest In Peace Ryan Channing with a black and white business portrait of Channing smiling. 

He was best known as the founder of BLAQ, Flight Mode, and Generation Skin, although he was not a businessman alone. He was a passionate advocate for equal rights and marriage equality. His work with ex-fiance, Olympian winner Ian Thorpe focused on campaigning for marriage equality in Australia. During the 2017 Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey both Channing and Thorpe we vocal in their support for the equal rights of the LGBTQIA+ community to marry in Australia.

Authorities in Bali have not yet announced the passing of Ryan Channing. This can be taken to mean that no formal cause of death has been established. The Indonesian authorities, the Australian embassy in Bali, Indonesian coroners, and the Channing family will be working together closely to establish a cause of death and to repatriate his body to his home in Australia. 

This news comes just weeks after fellow Australian Peta Richards was medi-vacced to Melbourne following a hit-and-run incident in Bali that has left her with brain injuries. She was placed in an induced coma to aid her to recover and was woken on the 2nd May 2022.