Who could ever forget Little Hercules? In the early 2000s, this pint-sized bodybuilder probably made you feel awfully inadequate. And these days, we imagine you're wondering: Did The Strongest Boy In The World grow up to be The Strongest Man In The World? What does this short stack of shredded muscle look like now that he's in his twenties?
For the uninitiated, here's a little bit of background: In 1994, when Richard Sandrak was only two-years old, his parents moved from Ukraine to Pennsylvania...and reportedly, they were already drilling him on his strength and flexibility at that extremely tender age. Infact, they may have started even earlier than that. In 2004, Sandrak told the Sunday Mirror:
"[I] was six months old when I started working out."
As the Guardian reports, the Sandrak family eventually moved to California in the hopes of getting their son some publicity. Makes sense: He must have made quite a splash on Muscle Beach.
But as Richard's muscles and fame grew, so did concern from his doctors. Many professionals suspected Richard's muscles were the result of steady steroid abuse, definitely not the kind of juice a growing boy needs.
Of course, his parents denied any drugs were involved. They said it was all about the workouts. According to the Guardian,
"[Richard endured] six- or seven-hour training regimes."
Tensions rose in the Sandrak household as Richard got a little older. Richard's father Pavel tried breaking into the fitness supplement market, which probably made those skeptical doctors even more skeptical, and even more concerned. Meanwhile, Richard's trainer, a man by the name of Frank Giardin, also became worried about the parental choices being made. So he quit training Richard.
Pavel was eventually sent to jail for assaulting his wife, he allegedly broke her wrist and nose. As The Guardian reports,
"It was Richard who called the police, asking them not to use sirens, for fear of how his father would respond."
Richard then took a break from training, which proved to be a rude awakening.
Despite the problems at home, Little Hercules had plenty of good times, too. Here he is at the premiere of 2005's Get Rich or Die Tryin', posing with none other than professional wrestler Hulk Hogan. In 2009, Sandrak made his first feature film, Little Hercules in 3-D, which co-starred Hogan and Elliott Gould.
The film wasn't particularly well-reviewed, nor did it make a whole lot of money. But the filmmakers seemed to know exactly what kind of movie they were making.
In 2007, the Guardian dutifully reported that Little Hercules had lost much of his signature build, writing that
"[Richard looks] almost disappointingly normal. [He's] short with a puppyish face."
The article also revealed that:
"He trains five times a week, 90 minutes a session, but only when he has to get in shape for a part."
Meanwhile, his old trainer, Frank Giardin, was back in the fold, and Richard was once again enduring an intense gym regimen.
In 2009, Richard had a rather robust YouTube presence.
Coincidentally, that was the same year he endured what might be the world's most uncomfortable interview.
Meanwhile, it sounds like Richard is totally at peace with his peculiar childhood. As he told Inside Edition in 2015:
"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."
In that same Inside Edition story, we learn that Richard worked as a stuntman at Universal Studios Hollywood's "WaterWorld" show, routinely being set on fire and diving into water from a 50-foot drop. And you gotta admit: He's looking great these days.
Watch the video to see how The Little Hercules Boy Doesn't Look Like This Anymore.
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