Seen as though he was awarded the nickname ‘Little Hercules’ when he was just eight years old, a lot of people expected Richard Sandrak to become the next big name in bodybuilding.
But the Ukrainian–American didn’t end up following the path he was seemingly destined for in life and eventually turned his back on weightlifting altogether, much to the surprise of those who have followed his story.
The child of martial arts world champ Pavel Sandrak and aerobics star Lena Sandrak first made shockwaves back in 2000 when his parents revealed that he had quite the unique physique.
Throughout his childhood, Richard followed a strict exercise regime as he ‘wanted to join in’ with his father’s workouts, which involved doing up to 600 push-ups and sit-ups a day, as well as 300 squats.
So to be honest, it’s no wonder the kid was an absolute tank by the time he turned eight years old.
The world was left blown away after being introduced to the brawny young boy who boasted eight-pack abs as well as impressive definition to his arms and legs.
He earned the nickname ‘Little Hercules’ as he was able to bench-press a whopping 95kg at this point in his life.
Three years later, Richard was crowned the ‘World‘s Strongest Boy’ and he went on to get even more muscular as he entered his youth.
By the time he was a teenager, he was able to lift up to three times his own body weight, while using his flexibility to become a master of karate.
As a result of his intense training, it was reported that the young weightlifter possessed just one percent of body fat – which is dangerously low.
Richard Sandrak pictured as a 12-year-old in 2004 (Photo Paul Harris/Getty Images)
According to Men’s Journal, having such low body fat can result in serious health issues, such as being prone to becoming unwell a lot and ending up with serious heart problems.
As well as this, your muscles can become drastically weaker – so much so, that it could reach the point where you struggle to operate.
Austrian bodybuilder Andreas Munzer, who died over 25 years ago, remains the cautionary tale for any bodybuilders losing body fat after his shock death at age 31.
An autopsy later revealed he had zero percent body fat when he passed away.
After a documentary about young Richard was released, his parents received a lot of criticism, with many saying it was cruel and unethical to put him through his paces with a gruelling training regime.
At the time, some medical professionals said that a child of Richard’s age wouldn’t be capable of producing enough testosterone to get that size.
They suggested he might have been using steroids – something which is obviously highly advised against for children – though Richard’s mother continuously denied those claims.
People would have put good money down to bet on the fact that Richard would still be built like a brick sh*thouse these days too, however, he surprised us all by taking an alternate route in life.
‘Little Hercules’ looked a lot different in 2015 (YouTube/Inside Edition)
Back in 2015, he sat down for an interview with Inside Edition to give his supporters an update on how ‘Little Hercules’ had turned out all those years later.
“I don’t lift weights anymore,” Richard said.
“People tried to make seem to be some of freak of nature – there are many kids that have a similar physique.”
But despite feeling like a pariah among his peers due to his Herculean physique, Richard has no regrets about his childhood stardom.
He added: “I’m very proud of my past. It’s not something I don’t want people to know, it’s just that I’m not going to be stuck living in it.”
Now 32, Richard is believed to still be working as a stuntman at Universal Studios Hollywood Waterworld show.
The former fitness buff still stays in good shape, but prefers cardio and skateboarding rather than bodybuilding these days.
In his 2015 interview, he revealed his dream job would be to become an engineer for NASA, saying ‘there’s no reason’ his dream couldn’t come true.
Now that’s some real Hercules energy.
