Little Hercules Is All Grown Up- And You Won’t Believe What He Looks Like Now

Richard Sandrak, better known as Little Hercules, surprised the world with his unbelievable strength at age 8. The kid had an insane body builders physique and became known as the world’s strongest boy.

Building a physique takes the time, effort, strength, and discipline that most adults lack. Most of us have skipped the gym to eat good food and watch a movie. So, we can appreciate that it’s unbelievably impressive that an 8-year-old boy could build such an unbelievable physique.

The young bodybuilder was born in 1992 to parents Lena and Pavel. They named him Richard Sandrak and while they did prioritize an active lifestyle, the parents had no clue that their son would become known as Little Hercules.

Young Richard started working out with his parents when he was very young, but after a few years, he had reached a new level. He was becoming so built that his parents decided they should move the family from Ukraine to the U.S. to continue his success.

It was in Pennsylvania that Pavel decided it was time to start teaching his son Taekwondo. He noticed very early on that his son was something special. He could learn and perfect the moves more quickly than other students he had taught.

Pavel started teaching his son about weight gaining, stretching, and simple moves to get him started on the journey. Richard picked everything up with a natural ease and improved with each lesson he had with his father.

Frank Giardina owned his own gym franchise and had personal experience in bodybuilding so he was the ideal trainer for the young Hercules. With his tools and experience, Little Hercules was sure to become the next best bodybuilder.

Now that the team was assembled, they were ready to begin the work. Pavel and Frank would both work with Richard to build him into the strongest and youngest bodybuilder in the world. His early promise made this seem like a completely achievable goal.

At the ripe age of 6 years old, Richard already looked different from every other 6-year-old on the planet. He started to gain a lot of attention for his unique look and quickly gained the name that we all know him as today: Little Hercules.

As he aged, his ability to lift heavy weights only increased. Richard was becoming more and more invested in breaking world records. By age 8, he could lift 210 pounds with hardly any struggle.

While he had the determination and work ethic of an adult, Richard was still a child at the end of the day. He was at the gym every day with Frank at his side, pushing him to be the best. When he went home he was pushed further by his father.

The workout regimen was becoming increasingly unbalanced and unhealthy for a young kid. It was a gruesome routine for anyone, let alone an 8-year-old child. The public began asking questions.

Every aspect of Richard’s life was dedicated to his workout and “health” regimen, including his diet. While other kids were eating junk food and candy, he was eating broccoli and chicken. He didn’t have time outside of working out to make friends.

His meals were mainly made of lean meats, fruits, and vegetables. There was no room for sweets or carbs if he was going to continue to build his unbelievable physique. No straying from the plan was permitted.

While people were undeniably impressed with the state of Richard’s body, they began to ask questions about the health of the poor boy. The routine required to maintain this physique couldn’t be healthy.

Richard maintained that his father had not forced him into anything. Rather, it was his choice to stick to the lifestyle and excel. He saw himself as no different from any other athlete who wanted to be the best.

After years of training and gaining some level of fame, Little Hercules continued to insist that he was in full control of his choices regarding his health and lifestyle. With more fame came more scrutiny for him and his parents.

The world of fame brought some amazing opportunities to Richard and his family. They were able to travel the world, they met Hulk Hogan and other bodybuilders, and they started to receive brand deals.

Richard decided to return to the world of martial arts in addition to his bodybuilding regimen. This was the sport that had started his entire journey so he and his father integrated this training back into his weight lifting workouts. 

People on the internet always like to give their own opinions, but even professionals began to share their thoughts on the young boy’s lifestyle. Some professional bodybuilders came forward and expressed their concerns by explaining the long-term consequences of such extreme weightlifting at such a young age.

While a lot of the feedback from the public was negative, there were some positive repercussions that came from Richard’s training. His physician journey being shared online inspired other kids.

Some people were of the opinion that the parents were taking advantage of young Hercules for the money and fame that came their way. But others actually felt it was a good thing that Richard started his training so young because he was saving money for the future.

It was exciting to be invited on so many talk shows, but fame was starting to interfere with Richard’s workout regimen. It’s difficult to fly all over the world for television appearances when you have workout and diet restrictions.

Things took a turn for the worst when Richard began losing interest in the gym. His trainer, Frank, apparently became more uncomfortable around Richards’s father and people online were losing interest in the story of Little Hercules.

With Pavel away, Lena did try to encourage her son to continue his bodybuilding endeavors, but she was not as strict as her husband had been with the workouts and dietary restrictions. Health experts started to reach out with more concerns for Richard’s health.

Since he had begun bodybuilding, Richard hadn’t gotten the opportunity to live a normal life. Now a teenager, he would get to actually spend some time relaxing, being with friends, and doing all the normal things that he should have been able to do all along.

Adjusting to a “normal” lifestyle took some time. It was understandably odd for the boy to spend more time at home or with his friends than in the gym. He could enjoy the fruits of his efforts still because he had made himself a good nest egg through all his hard work. 

Richard knew that his passion was fitness so he wanted to pursue a career in this even if it meant he wasn’t bodybuilding in the extreme way he had been as a child. He was offered a position at Universal Studios as a stuntman in Waterworld: A Live Sea Spectacular. 

Little Hercules is not so little anymore and he still remains proud of his accomplishments and dedication to an active lifestyle. Now, he just has more balance in his life and knows the value of hard work. 

Richard has already proved to the world that he can accomplish the seemingly impossible if he puts his mind to it. Little Hercules now sets his sights on space. He hopes to work for NASA one day.