Over the years, we’ve seen kid prodigies from all walks of life completely blow our minds. From Daliyah Marie Arana who had already read over 1,000 books by the age of five to Addisyn Goss, who was on her way to change the world by the age of ten, we’ve seen it all. But some fifteen years ago, the world was completely captivated by an 8-year-old bodybuilder called Richard Sandrak, famously known as “Little Hercules”.
The kid was known for his extreme physique, which resulted in him being named the world’s strongest boy. Today the once young bodybuilder is all grown up, after following a surprising path. Find out whatever happened to “Little Hercules,” and make sure you read to the end to see what he looks like today!
1. A Kid Who Defied All Expectations
It’s no news to us that achieving a body like this takes quite a bit of work. A lot of commitment, dedicated hours, and dietary choices may have to change in order to build an impressive physique. This is especially true if our aim is to reach “god-like” physiques, like famous bodybuilders Arnold Swarzenegger, Dwayne Johnson, or Lou Ferrigno.
Yet, one specific kid managed to start working on his physique goals at a pretty young age. At the age of eight, Little Hercules took over the world, but soon disappeared leaving all of us wondering what happened to him.
2. It Was In His Genes
But let’s start from the beginning. Little Hercules was born in 1992. His parents, Lena and Pavel, named him Richard Sandrak and found it really important to keep their kid active from a young age. He was born and raised in Ukraine where he began his bodybuilding journey, but most of his life would be spent in the United States.
His parents were always pretty active, as his mom, Lena, was an aerobics teacher while his dad, Pavel, was a martial arts trainer and enthusiast. So it’s not surprising that Richard started his bodybuilding journey early on, as he would often join his parents in their busy physical routines.
3. Learning Each Move
After just a couple of years working out with his parents, Richard reached an entirely different level. Several parents worldwide have incredibly high expectations for their children, and Richard’s parents were no exception. Though they were based in Ukraine, the family decided that it was time to move across the pond and start a new life.
Lena and Pavel agreed that the best place to raise their son would be Pennsylvania, so they packed their bags, and off they went. Once they were settled in, it didn’t take too long until they were back in business. They quickly found a gym nearby, as staying too long without working out was never an option.
4. Being Trained By His Father
That was when Richard’s father decided it was time to begin teaching his son some Taekwondo moves. Though it caught Pavel by surprise, the pair had just started the lessons when he noticed that his son was really special. The way he learned the moves distinguished himself from any other student he had ever had.
Richard was completely in control of his moves and had a perfect combination of the balance and mental strength that is needed for mastering martial arts. He also picked up things quickly, which was something that Pavel had not anticipated, but was happy to learn about. At some point, he thought that it was time to introduce weight gaining to his son. This was the beginning of a long journey that would end with suspicious, terrible rumors, and, eventually, the police.
5. He Became The Best
He started slowly, both by teaching Richard about weight gaining, and going through some technical stretches and moves that would be important for his routine. Yet, Richard continued to do and learn everything effortlessly, like he had been made for it. He kept getting better with each lesson, and that was when the family once again decided to relocate.
This time, they were moving to California. Pavel had a vision for his son, so they needed to be in the right place. Though Pavel had amazing martial art skills, he knew that if he wanted to take his son’s skillfulness to a different level he needed professional training. So he searched everywhere for a trainer who would be the best fit, finally finding the one and only Frank Giardina.
