Kid Bodybuilder ‘Little Hercules’ Was Forced to Perform ‘Abusive’ Training Exercise

A child bodybuilder crowned the 'World's Strongest Boy' was forced to participate in an "abusive" training exercise as a youngster.

With abs, pectorals and biceps when he was just eight, Richard Sandrak was given the nickname 'Little Hercules' and rubbed shoulders with mega stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger, as well as speaking to American TV legends like Jimmy Kimmel and Howard Stern.

Given he was the son of former martial artist and Pavel Sandrak and aerobics star Lena Sandra, the prodigy was almost destined to do something athletically.

He rose to the fame in the year 2000 and got to a strength level where he could lift nearly three times his body weight and bench press 95kg.

Reports claimed that he would work out for seven or eight hours a day - performing 600 push-ups and sit-ups and 300 squats - following his father's workout routine.

Ridiculous, he had a dangerously low body fat percentage of just one per cent, having been prohibited from eating sweets and having a diet that was mainly vegetables and protein shakes.

He was also homeschooled by his parents and did not socialise with other kids.

Sandrak was a child star who suffered immensely. Image: Getty

After previously claiming he was never "forced" into to doing anything, an adult Richard set the record straight in a sit-down interview with Metro and revealed the punishing non-stop squat training regime he was made to do by his father while watching a movie.

"That was something I got used to because that was my entire childhood," he told the outlet.

"I had nothing to compare it to. I didn’t have a friend to tell me, that’s not what we do,’ he says. ‘I got physically beaten into it. My dad was very abusive. I learned early on not to ask to stop."

He explained that it "was a daily occurrence to where I was physically and emotionally abused by my dad" and that training sessions turned into "what felt like a really intense hostage situation".

After an unusual childhood that was confusing and traumatic, Richard's life changed in 2003 when he dialled 911 after his father violently assaulted his mother.

Pavel was subsequently arrested and deported to Ukraine, with Richard calling his life a "breath of fresh air ever since" and having no interest of any contact.

Sandrak called 911 on his father after a violent assault on his mother. Image: Getty

What happened to 'Little Hercules'?

He was able to learn about different foods and soon took up different sports such as gymnastics, swimming, diving, basketball and skateboarding - though his previous training caused long-term pain to his knees and ankles.

Richard went on to work as a stuntman, chef and retail manager but suffered enormously with alcoholism and was drinking a minimum of one bottle of tequila a day at one stage.

Using alcohol as an escape, he began to enter "heavy depressive modes" and also had anxiety attacks from the weed he was smoking.

31 October 2023 was the day he decided to give it up and he now lives a happy, quiet life with his attorney girlfriend and two cats in Los Angeles.

He is looking at being a personal trainer and nutritionist or even an actor - though he does not recommend being famous and dealing with all that comes with it.

Now in his 30s, Sandrak is happy with where he is at in life. Image: Richard Sandrak

Richard explained: "I’m in an interesting transition in my life right now. I got to be viral before the viral age.

"When you force somebody to be something that they’re not, that takes a big emotional toll on them, and that’s why a lot of famous kids go through addiction. It is a sense of escaping who they’ve become, which is not who they’ve wanted to be, and the pressures of people constantly trying to take advantage of you.

"You’re not so much of a person as you are a monetary object. I don’t recommend being famous to anybody. It’s overrated."