The man dubbed as Justin Bieber's lookalike following a series of surgeries to truly match the physical qualities of the pop star has been found dead in a motel room.
Toby Sheldon, 35, first took hold of the spotlight when his name surfaced as one of the people featured in reality shows "Botched" and "My Strange Addiction." In the TV series, Sheldon disclosed that he spent roughly $100,000 in plastic surgery and other procedures in an effort to emulate the image of Justin Bieber during his early teens. Sheldon's legal name was Tobias Strebel.
According to TMZ, the reality star was found lifeless in Motel 6 which is located in the San Fernando Valley. Police authorities disclosed that Sheldon's body was discovered on August 21, 2015.
Prior to the discovery of his body, Sheldon had been reported missing by friends and loved one since August 18. TMZ reports that the disappearance of the "Botched" Justin Bieber lookalike was reportedly prompted by a nasty split with his boyfriend. Initial reports from the investigating officers revealed that Sheldon had drugs inside his room. No clear motive as well as manner of death has been disclosed by the authorities at the moment.
Sheldon's fascination with the Canadian pop star had been a source of criticism among the viewers. In an interview for "Botched," he once shared that he saved up money to simply achieve his dream of looking like the "One Less Lonely Girl" singer during Selena Gomez's pre-bad boy days - that is, Sheldon wanted to look like Justin Bieber circa 2010.
"Some people buy fancy cars or fancy mansions," shared Sheldon in an interview with "Botched." The Justin Bieber wannabe further stated, "What I do with my money is I get surgery to look more like Justin Bieber."
Apart from "Botched" and "My Strange Addiction," Sheldon also took on guest roles in various talk shows such as "Bethenny" and "The Doctors" where he discussed the perils and rewards involved in his road to achieving the look he so badly wanted to have. His transformation brought about quite a number of debates, with some people cheering him on and admiring his dedication to achieve his dream while others taunted and mocked him for even conceiving what they deemed to be a ridiculous idea.
Presumably taking cue from the career of Justin Bieber as well, Sheldon was also a musician in his own right. He began recording his own songs in July 2014 and his musical side was featured in an episode of "Botched." He said, via Entertainment Weekly, "The gift of writing music is not something you can learn. You can have to have that inner creativity; you have to have something to say. You have to be lyrically gifted."
