Revealed: What happened to the ‘world’s strongest boy’ 25 years after going viral – and his surprising new career
Born to a martial arts world champion father and an aerobics star mother, Ukrainian-born Richard Sandrak was always destined to become a successful bodybuilder.
Boasting eight-pack abs and a chiselled physique at the age of six, Richard could bench press 210 pounds before he hit adolescence and was dubbed ‘Little Hercules’.
After his family migrated to the US, he became a global phenomenon – competing in bodybuilding contests all over the world and earning the title of ‘The Strongest Boy In The World’ aged just eight.
He also landed a role in the film Tiny Tarzan after his fitness schedule gained media attention.
By the time he was a teenager, Richard could lift almost three times his body weight and had a dangerously low body fat percentage of just one per cent.
When a documentary was released about Richard in 2005, many concerned viewers were disturbed by the brutal training regime the child was exposed to – which included a strict ‘athlete’s diet’ which deprived him from many of the normal treats and experiences little boys enjoy.
Some medical professionals also accused Richard’s parents of giving him steroids as a child – though his mother Lena Sandrak has denied those claims.
But in a 2007 interview with The Guardian, the then-15-year-old insisted he had ‘never been forced to do anything against my will’.
Richard Sandrak was declared ‘The Strongest Boy In The World’ at the age of eight
The Ukrainian-born bodybuilder began his career at a young age and was trained by his father
Richard has now opened up about the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father Pavel
Now aged 32, however, the former child star has opened up about his troubled childhood, revealing how he was coerced into a bodybuilding career and pushed to unhealthy extremes.
Speaking to Metro, Richard told how he was ‘physically and emotionally abused’ by his father Pavel Sandrak, who also trained him.
‘My father would often go into rage fits and what would start as a normal workout ended up with me doing a triple split kick for 12 hours’, he said.
‘There were more times than I can count where a simple training session turned into what felt like a really intense hostage situation.’
He also recalled how his daily routine consisted of training in martial arts and weightlifting later in the day. But even when Richard was watching TV, he would be forced to do non-stop squats – something he admitted he considered to be normal as he had ‘nothing to compare it to’.
Richard also told how his childhood was ‘very confusing’ as a result of his father’s vicious abuse.
In 2003, a particularly violent assault on his mother Lena put Richard’s father behind bars and later deported to Ukraine.
‘It’s been a breath of fresh air ever since’, he confessed, speaking about how his father’s absence opened a whole new world of possibilities and experiences for him.
Despite making friends and trying fast food for the first time, Richard described himself in his adolescence as socially inept’ – a quality he blames on the militant environment he was raised in.
Richard says he was forced to train for several hours a day and had to follow a strict diet
Richard Sandrak (L) and Marc John Jeffries arrive at the Premiere Of “Get Rich Or Die Trying” at Grauman’s Chinese Theater on November 2, 2005 in Hollywood, California
Richard, aged 9, pictured with his parents Pavel and Lena Sandrak and his sister Anastasia
Hulk Hogan and Richard Sandrak pictured together in Los Angeles in 2005
Richard also came to the realisation that bodybuilding had never been his passion, giving up the sport aged 16.
‘Weightlifting was almost like PTSD in a sense. It was connected to my past,’ he said.
He ultimately turned away from the limelight and has lived a quiet existence ever since.
But despite being freed from his father’s abuse, Richard has still had to battle several demons.
Having tasted his first sip of alcohol at the age of nine and surrounded by a drug and drink-fuelled party lifestyle that comes with being a child star, Richard found himself fighting alcoholism.
At his lowest point, he would drink a whole bottle of tequila a day, which he said distracted him from his sadness.
But after hitting ‘rock bottom’, Richard decided to quit drinking, and has been sober for over a year.
Despite having turned his back on bodybuilding, Richard is now considering a career as a personal trainer or a nutritionist.
He lives with his girlfriend and their two cats in Los Angeles and is currently working as a retail manager.
‘When I look back at all I have been through, it feels like I’m looking back at a different person’s life. And I’d say I’m mostly happy with the person I am today.’
