Kid Bodybuilder 'Little Hercules' is All Grown Up and Chasing a New Dream

He was known as “Little Hercules” -- the strongest boy in the world.

By the time he was eight, he had massive muscles, perfect six-pack abs, and moved like a contortionist. 

Richard Sandrak is now 23 years old with a beard and ponytail and his muscles are gone.

Read: Elderly Weightlifters Impress with Strength and Spirit

INSIDE EDIITON’s Jim Moret asked him, “You don’t lift weights anymore?”

“No, I don't lift weights. If anything it just got boring,” he admitted.

So what's he doing now?

“I set myself on fire,” he said.

Richard is now a stuntman at the Universal Studios Hollywood ‘Waterworld’ show. He sets himself on fire, gets shot at and plunges off a platform 50 feet to the ground!

As a stuntman, he is set on fire up to five times a day.

As a child, Richard’s father, Pavel, was in charge of his strict weight lifting routine. He was widely criticized for pushing his young son too hard.

Richard said, “People seemed to try to make me out to be a freak of nature but there were many kids who had similar physiques.”

When Richard turned 11, his father went to prison for domestic violence for beating Richard’s mother. That's when Richard cut all ties with his dad and stopped bodybuilding.

Moret asked, “When you meet people today, do you hope they don't bring up ‘Little Hercules?’”

Read: Female One-Armed Weightlifter Deadlifts Over 200 Pounds

“I'm very proud of my past. 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,” he explained.

Richard now stands six feet tall, gone are the washboard abs but he's still in great shape.

For cardio, he skateboards. To keep up his strength training, Richard does chin ups.

Moret asked him, “If you could have any job today, what would it be?”

He replied, “Quantum scientist. More specifically maybe even an engineer for NASA.”

Well, we didn't see that coming.

Moret asked, “Do you really see that becoming a reality?”

“Absolutely, I see no reason why I can't,” he replied.

Still to the world, he will always be “Little Hercules.”

Watch Below: 95-Year-Old Breaks World Running Record