A former bank robber and career criminal who turned his life around and became a TikTok star in the process has died suddenly.
Russell Manser, who spent 23 years behind bars in prisons across before becoming a reformed character, died on Saturday night, sources close to the former maximum security inmate told The Daily Telegraph.
No cause of death has yet been released.
The former hardened criminal, believed to be in his mid-50s, transformed his life and founded The Voice of A Survivor charity to help victims of physical, emotional and sexual abuse.
Russell Manser (pictured), who spent 23 years behind bars in prisons across before turning his life around, reportedly died on Saturday night
The former hardened criminal, believed to be in his mid-50s, transformed his life and founded The Voice of A Survivor charity to help victims of physical, emotional and sexual abuse
Manser was himself the victim of sexual abuse, which led to a vicious cycle of drug abuse and crime for almost half of his life.
His death has come as a shock to many of his 134,000 TikTok followers, especially given he shared a video discussing Asian gangs in prisons on the platform just a day ago.
His charity folded last July after victims were hesitant to come forward because of the NSW Supreme Court’s decision not to pursue cases where the alleged perpetrator had died.
‘It’s been really tough going of late,’ Manser told Daily Mail at the time.
Manser had a podcast called The Stick Up, which featured guests including businessman Mark Bouris, n rapper Ay Huncho, NRL star Liam Knight and ex-criminal-turned-porn-star Dale Egan.
He also became something of a prisons’ spokesperson, spilling the beans on what life was like inside some of ‘s toughest jails – and what their most infamous inhabitants were really like.
Manser met notorious Backpacker Murderer Ivan Milat, who murdered seven people in the 1990s, when they were both in the now-closed Maitland Gaol.
Manser’s death has come as a shock to many of his 134,000 TikTok followers, especially given he shared a video discussing Asian gangs in prisons on the platform on Saturday. No cause of death has yet been revealed
Manser (pictured right) was sexually abused at the notorious juvenile school Daruk Boys Home at Windsor, in Sydney’s far northwest and later at Long Bay Correctional Centre while still a teenager
The abuse triggered a vicious cycle of drug abuse and crime, which saw him serve time in some of ‘s toughest prisons until he was able to turn his life around (Pictured: Manser in recent years)
READ MORE: Notorious bank robber turned influencer opens up about his charity suddenly collapsing: ‘It’s been tough going’
Manser, who has turned his life around after decades behind bars, took aim at the government’s National Redress Scheme, which he says doesn’t do enough to support victims of institutional abuse
‘Ivan Milat wasn’t a big bloke,’ Manser said in 2022.
‘He would have been about five foot, nine inches, maybe 70kg. That’s not a real big bloke in jails, blokes are normally pretty big and fit.
‘He obviously posed no real threat to anyone.’
More recently Manser has revealed the prison conditions faced by high-profile alleged criminals.
For example, he said alleged murderer Beau Lamarre-Condon will have faced ‘putrid’ conditions at the Silverwater Correctional Complex while he awaits trial over the deaths of Luke Davies and Jesse Baird.
‘That joint is something beyond Mad Max, beyond Thunder Dome. Talk to any crim, they will say it is the lowest of the low,’ Manser recently told Daily Mail .
He also said Sam Murphy’s alleged murderer, baby-faced tradie Patrick Stephenson, will be a ‘protected species’ while he is on remand ahead of trial.
‘He will be out of sight and out of range for anyone to bash him or do anything bad to him,’ Manser said two weeks ago.
On Saturday – the day he reportedly died – Manser posted a video on his Instagram and TikTok accounts where he discussed ‘Asian gangs’, which he said mainly consisted of the Vietnamese and the Chinese.
Sitting on the bonnet of a black Mercedes and wearing a cap, dark sunglasses and tight-fitting gym gear, Manser told his 140,000 Instagram followers it ‘takes a long time to earn their respect’.
‘But when you do, you’ve got a friend for life. I love the Asians,. The Vietnamese have got the most wicked sense of humour,’ Manser said.
‘They’re so n when it comes to their sense of humour.’
Manser said he had served six years with ‘two Chinese triads’ who became good friends over time.
‘it’s a privilege to be called over when they are cooking a meal and to be the only Aussie sitting amongst them,’ he said.
He added: ‘I learned some real good analogies for business from them about how you treat people. The leaders treat their men like family.’
‘they always say that if you keep your soldiers’ stomach full, they’ll always be loyal to you. It’s when you start treating them mean, they’ll be loyal to someone else.
‘That was one of the biggest lessons I learned in business from particularly the Chinese triads.’