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[Definitie:] "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance."
(Wilmore and Costill) 
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A plague on all their houses
ROBERT MCNEIL
In the 21st century, a ghastly new epidemic is sweeping the western world: fitness. In America, one poor blokelet was dragooned into this nonsense from the age of three. Three months.
In The World’s Strongest Boy, we saw Richard Sandrak as a honed and oiled infant, proud bearer of a six-pack years before he was old enough to drink one.
It was obscene. His parents are Ukrainian, but that doesn’t fully excuse it. They’d come to the land of plenty and, with extraordinary cruelty, had forbidden their son hamburgers. Instead, he was fed a diet of raw juices, supplements and - look away if you’ve no head for sadism - broccoli.
At eight, he was bench-pressing three times his own weight. A woman with a mad name, Sherry Goggin-Giardina, coached him in stage-routines where he was billed "Little Hercules".
He’s made dozens of TV appearances and has a website which, his mother complained, occasionally attracts "sick people". A fortysomething couple camped out on the lawn. They regularly drive 2,000 miles to see Richard, because the man claims to lose his shyness around him: "Since I found out about Richard, it brought me out of my shell, and I lost about 25lbs." Heavy shell, eh?
Inevitably, rumour spread about steroid abuse. You need testosterone to build muscle, and you don’t have testosterone at six years of age. Even Shetland women don’t produce it till they’re eight.
Pavel Sandrak, the father, threatened anyone who got too nosy and, eventually, started banjaxing his family too. Richard called the cops, and the schmuck’s now doing three years.
Mrs Sandrak still denies the steroid accusation but, with pappy behind bars, the boy has started looking much more normal, exercise or no exercise. Now aged 12, his abs looked less fab as he acted in a putative movie called *Tiny Tarzan.
This programme asked pertinent questions subtly. It didn’t lay too much pressure on, but let people condemn themselves from their own gobs. Strangely, one of the most likeable participants was Richard. Nice kid. Of his earlier childhood, he mused: "I think one of the things I missed out on was having friends." Piece of advice, young folks: pals are more important than pecs. THE WORLD’S STRONGEST BOY
September 25, 2004
Twelve-year-old Richard Sandrak, the son of Ukrainian parents, is a pint-sized, muscle-bound version of Arnold Schwarzenegger who has worked out since the age of three. His father made him train for seven hours at a stretch, feeding him on “powdered supplement”, until Dad was sent to prison for three years for breaking his wife’s wrist and nose.
Richard grew up with no toys or friends, but hey — no pain, no gain. Now Richard’s minders are hoping that “Little Hercules” will make it big in the movies so everyone can get filthy rich. BEST DOCUMENTARY: The World’s Strongest Boy (Five, 9pm)
The Sun / What to watch tonight
There’s something quite disturbing about 11-year-old Richard Sandrak.
He has been a professional body- builder since the age of six and is the family breadwinner after being touted as “pound-for-pound the strongest human in the world”.
But we also discover his family life is more than a bit murky ... The World's Strongest Boy
http://www.scenta.co.uk
The story of 11-year-old bodybuilder Richard Sandrak, who has been described as, pound for pound, the strongest human being in the world.
However, medical tests revealed dangerously low body fat levels and suspicions have been raised in the medical community that Richard's physique could only be the product of steroid abuse. Controversy has also surrounded his day-to-day life, with accusations that Richard's parents and management team have sacrificed his chance of a normal childhood. |
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