World's strongest boy 'Little Hercules' lives a very different lifestyle 25 years on
The boy who was once known as 'Little Hercules' is now a grown adult and leads a very different life.
Real name Richard Sandrak, he made headlines for the first time in 2000 when his mum, aerobics star Lena Sandrak, and dad, martial arts world champion Pavel Sandrak, revealed his impressive physique.
The Ukrainian-American's parents said that he wanted to follow in his dad's footsteps, but a quarter of a century on, he has gone a different way.
His lifestyle is completely different, having turned his back on the sport of weightlifting and surprising all of those who caught wind of his story all those years ago.
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Richard followed a strict exercise regimen as a child, involving 600 push-ups and sit-ups, along with 300 squats, to be done every day.
His tank-like build makes a lot of sense now.
He quickly became known as 'Little Hercules', being able to bench press 95kg at the age of eight, before being crowned as the 'World's Strongest Boy' three years later, becoming more muscular as he went deeper into his teens, even taking up karate while sporting his eight-pack abs.
Richard even had one percent of body fat, which is considered to be dangerously low by health experts.
The former child superstar even opened up about abuse he endured from his father, with it reaching a boiling point when he hit his mum, prompting Richard to call authorities, who deported him back to Ukraine.
'Little Hercules' also opened up in the years since, saying that weightlifting was 'almost like PTSD in a sense', saying that it was connected to his past.
He would venture into gymnastics, swimming and basketball as a teenager, revealing that he would also struggle with alcoholism as he 'would party a lot and anything I did, I made sure I always had alcohol around'.
Though at the time of his interview with Metro earlier this year, he was sober for a year.
Back in 2015, Richard sat down for an interview with Inside Edition to give fans an update on his life, revealing at the time: "I don't lift weights anymore. People tried to make seem to be some of freak of nature - there are many kids that have a similar physique."
He spoke about being 'proud' of his past, though he doesn't want to be 'stuck living in it'.
While he was believed to be working as a stuntman at Universal Studios Hollywood Waterworld show, it turned out that his life took a more 'normal' turn.
Richard said he wanted to become an engineer for NASA 10 years ago, but instead lives in Los Angeles with his lawyer girlfriend and two cats, working as a retail manager.
Joshua Nair