28 March 2023 , 18:49
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A former bodybuilder who became known as the 'world's strongest boy' is now living a vastly different life after turning his back on the gym.
Now 30, Richard Sandrak earned international fame in 2005 for his crazy strength and tough build when he was only a boy. Since, he has avoided the media and is attempting to live life away from the spotlight.
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Richard's mum, Lena Sandrak, once said: "As Richard has a lot of fans we have to upload [to] his website, do more pictures, new videos and news whenever he appears or about his new movie, to make his fans excited.
Richard has now ditched the weights (Inside Edition/Youtube)"I've got a lot of them, I've got so many emails where they ask: 'Where are new pictures?"
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His regular time in the gym pumping iron and building muscle has now fallen away and Richard's mad childhood is now very much behind him. As of 2015, he was working as a stuntman at Universal Studios Hollywood Waterworld, the Daily Star reported.
Richard, who was born in Ukraine, grew up in Pennsylvania in the US, but his extreme childhood led to criticism falling the way of his parents.
Accusations of cruelty were levelled at Richard's parents (Getty Images)
Some accused Richard of taking steroids (Stewart Cook/REX/Shutterstock)Some accused Richard's parents of cruelty after reports claimed he was just one per cent body fat, which could be fatally low.
Some even suggested he was taking performance-enhancing drugs like steroids.
A previous report by LadBible spoke to medical professionals who said a child his age would not be able to produce the level of testosterone needed to build the muscles in the way Richard was managing to at the time.
Richard, aged nine, with his family (Stewart Cook/REX/Shutterstock)Richard said at the time: "Lots of people will come over to try touch my abs and my muscles check if it's fake or not."
"I remember one time a guy tried to pull it off and check if it was real."
His new-found fame meant young Richard was raking in several thousand a month, but he later said he was controlled by his abusive dad Pavel.
Richard was raking in several thousand a month (Stewart Cook/REX/Shutterstock)Richard had to eat heaps of lettuce while dad Pavel enjoyed Pizza in front of him.
Pavel was sent or prison when for domestically abusing Richard’s mum when he was just 11. This brought Richard's bodybuilding to an end as he cut ties with his dad.
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Richard said he was never "forced to train or do anything against my will," and just wanted to join in with his mum and dad working out when he was young.
He last spoke to the media in 2015 and, though he has shunned the gym wights, he is still very much in shape.
In an interview with Inside Edition, he said: "No, I don't lift weights. If anything it just got boring. I’m very proud of my past.
'I’m not going to be stuck living in it,' Richard has said (Inside Edition/Youtube)"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."
Richard's gm workout routine is now very different and it now consists of cardio exercises as well as chin-ups, stair climbing and skateboarding but not to the same extent as he did previously.
Eight years ago, it was reported Richard wanted to become a quantum scientist for NASA , but it is not clear what he has been doing since.