Hsieh, however, went into a dramatic downward spiral in the final six months of his life. On the day before the fire, he was making plans to check into a rehabilitation clinic in Hawaii, the
Journal quoted friends as saying.
He apparently became obsessed with candles; Paul Benson, a real-estate agent said he discovered 1,000 candles burning inside the Crescent Ranch mansion when he stopped by. Hsieh was apparently interested in the effects of oxygen deprivation. He died from smoke inhalation after locking himself into a wooden shed at his girlfriend’s house in Connecticut where he was reportedly using a heater to lower the oxygen level. His death has been ruled an accident.
The
Journal said Hsieh starved himself of food. His bizarre challenges included trying not to urinate and going on a 26-day alphabetized diet, only eating food beginning with the letter A on the first day, B on the second, and so on.
“The final Z day amounted nearly to fasting,” one friend said. His weight dropped to under 100 pounds.
Hsieh was said to be experimenting with extreme behavior, including sleeping as little as four hours a night. He also attempted daunting physical challenges; he once climbed the three highest peaks in Southern California in a single day.
Friend Scott Roeben told DailyMail.com, “He went down the same rabbit hole as Howard Hughes and truly lost his way.
“His life changed over the years. When he started, his drinking and drug use were perceived as fun and upbeat, but that all changed when he moved to Utah where it got much darker.
“But he had built a cult around him—he paid people to be around him and there was no incentive to tell him to stop because he would put people on time-out and ice them out of his life. So the gravy train would come to an end for anyone who tried to stop him.”
