A fit and healthy student died suddenly after collapsing in the gym due to a blood clot on his lung.
Ethan James Williams, 22, collapsed suddenly after using a punch bag at a branch of JD Gyms with his friends. Gym staff and others in the gym tried helping and performed CPR but he was pronounced dead at hospital a short time later.
A post-mortem examination later confirmed he died from a blood clot on his lung.
His family have finally spoken out six months after his death on December 7 last year, sharing a touching tribute to him. Ethan's sister, Sarah Williams, launched a GoFundMe page to raise funds for a memorial bench and a tree in his memory.
The remainder of the funds will be donated to the mental health charity YoungMinds, Wales Online reported.
Sarah described her brother as being an "incredible person" who could fill any room he walked into "with love and laughter."
Sarah told the Echo : "He was just somebody that could make anybody feel better. He was so full of life and so energetic and fun. He was the biggest character out of our family, he really was. There wasn't a bad bone in his body, he was just incredible.
"I'm not just saying that because he's passed away he really was the most amazing person. He could walk into any room and fill the room straight away with love and laughter."
The 22-year-old was in his second year studying sociology at the University of Liverpool and "absolutely loved" life as a student in the city.
He died on Monday, December 7, just four days before he was due to go home to spend Christmas with his family.
Ethan leaves behind his parents Miriam and David Williams, aged 58 and 63, his three siblings Sarah, 42, Sian, 30, and David, 43, and his niece and nephew Heidi, 10, and Ethan, 18.
He also leaves behind his heartbroken extended family, including aunt Miranda, uncle Nige and cousins Maddie and Imogen Miller.
Sarah said: "It's one of those things you think happens to other families but you don't think will happen to you. That's the hard bit to accept, that in reality it can happen to anyone at any time. I don't think we will ever be able to come to terms with it.
"It was in the last five years really that I got to be his friend rather than his big sister and know him as an adult and go out drinking with him. I feel robbed of that really. We all feel robbed of a life that brought so much happiness."
Due to coronavirus restrictions, Sarah said Ethan didn't get "the funeral he deserved" but a group of friends and family came together to celebrate his 23rd birthday in April by hiking up Pen y Fan. The group then headed down to Llandaff Fields in Cardiff where Ethan used to hang out with his friends to let off lanterns in his memory.
The family are now hoping to raise enough money for a memorial bench in Llandaff Fields where his loved ones can go and sit and remember him. Ethan's mum Miriam would also like a tree to be planted in his memory in Victoria Park near his home in Cardiff.
Sarah said Ethan "always took everyone under his wing" and helped them when they were struggling with their mental health. He suffered from anxiety himself and had lost several friends to suicide in the last few years of his life. With this in mind, the family would also like to donate to the mental health charity YoungMinds.
Sarah said: "That's what we want - for his memory to live on and for him to live on as a person as much as he can be."
The family would like to thank everyone who has donated so far and are overwhelmed by the support they have received.
You can find and donate to their GoFundMe page by clicking here.
