At just 11 years old, Richard Sandrak held the title of world's strongest boy. Even as early as 6 years old, Little Hercules boasted the kind of physique that would put many grown men to shame. Not just a bodybuilder, the young boy became an international phenomenon due to his martial arts skills and his appearances on television and in films. A post shared by Ricah Sandrak richardsandrak. But the young boy paid a price for the impressive physique he built.
Richard says that he spent all of his days training and that he wasn't allowed the time to go out and play with his friends. As a child, he was never allowed to eat sweets or any unhealthy foods, even claiming that his father ate pizza in front of him while he was obligated to eat just lettuce. It wasn't long before the pint-sized bodybuilder was a hit. Sandrak landed endorsements — to the tune of thousands of dollars each month — and became an internet sensation. Fans turned out in droves to see Sandark at bodybuilding events.
I mean hundreds of people like they were going to meet Elvis Presley," said Frank Giardina of the impressive turnout. But Sandrak's life wasn't as charmed as it seemed. His father, Pavel, was sent to prison for beating up his wife, Lena, when Sandrak was 11 per The Sun. Some suspected that Sandrak himself was also abused by his father. While Lena told The Guardian in that she was "concerned" about how Pavel treated Sandrak, she denied that he was pressured to become a bodybuilder or that he was abused.
The outlet noted that some of the things he endured at the hands of his father were horrific, though, such as being made to sleep on the ground to help with his posture and not being allowed to play with other kids until he was Giardina was also concerned for his young client, In a interview via Your Daily Dish he said that Sandrak "had no toys at home.
He had no skateboard. His father made him sleep on the floor to maintain a perfect posture. This, too, Sandrak dismisses as 'no big deal'. He says the media hyped it all up as if he had been tortured.
Nothing important. The fact is, though, Sandrak was not allowed to mix with other children till he was According to Giardina, he was forced to repeat intense exercises as punishment if he got something wrong.
With Giardina's help, he was also turned into a bizarre spectacle for public consumption. Yet when I ask him who his heroes are, he says: 'I have to say my parents are my heroes because they've helped me develop throughout my life.
It seems Sandrak was referring to Garcia as one of his 'parents', but I am informed that Lena and Garcia are not a couple, even though they may live in the same house. Lena herself is extremely guarded about her life, refusing to tell me what business she worked in. No doubt some of her caution is attributable to a fear of ever being 'found' by her former husband.
Still, there is a strong sense of evasion and denial from Garcia, Giardina and especially Lena. Garcia himself appears to have been influential in normalising Sandrak's life, or at least bringing it back within Californian standards of normalcy. Sandrak now knows what a pizza tastes like, and is also familiar with that defining teenage experience of doing absolutely nothing all day.
Neither of which he could have dreamt of when his biological father controlled his life. Though his background is in real estate, Garcia, like many other inhabitants of LA, is also something of a film producer.
It's for his part in this film that Sandrak has returned to training. Giardina tells me that within four weeks he will have his young charge looking ripped and in action-hero condition. This, it seems, is to be Sandrak's rather more tolerable future: periods of inactivity followed by intense spurts of getting fit for the screen.
Then, switching to beauty-queen mode, he embarks on an unprompted speech about how he wants to help the world. It's become such a big problem, especially here in America, that I feel I have to do something. Kids are going to be adults. They're going to be our future.
Bodybuilding is definitely no longer part of Richard's life. He keeps fit by doing cardio exercises, chin-ups, stair climbing, and riding on his skateboard.
As for his past as a child celebrity, Richard commented :. 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. But somewhere in the year-old man is the little boy who was forced to train 7 hours a day, had no friends, and was forbidden fast food.
When asked about his future plans, Richard replied that he wanted to be an engineer at NASA, with the same touching sincerity his 8-year-old self would have announced he wanted to be an astronaut. That would indeed be a Herculean feat for a man whose childhood was stolen -- and perhaps even his future.
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