'Little Hercules' reveals a man stunned by his bulging muscles tried ripping them off.
Pint-sized bodybuilder Richard Sandrak was crowned the World's Strongest Boy at the turn of the century but he still faced adults doubting his physique.
Baffling people with his ripped torso and defined abs became part of the norm for young Richard but some people refused to believe he wasn't wearing a bodysuit.
READ MORE: World's strongest boy 'Little Hercules' living very different life 22 years after fame
Speaking in a documentary on his rise from the gym to a movie set, Richard recalls the moment one person manhandled him to verify his muscles.
Richard who is now 30-years-old, said: "Lot's 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."
Real life reactions to the little lad strolling through Muscle Beach in Los Angeles, California, US, were caught on camera in the same documentary.
When they asked if he was 'Little Hercules', he replied: "I'd rather be called Richard."
A group of men were blown away when Richard raised his T-shirt to reveal his six pack. They couldn't help but quiz the boy on his diet.
He told them: "30% protein 40% carbs and 30% carbs."
In the show uploaded to YouTube 13 years ago, Richard is seen training for a role as Tiny Tarzan in which behind the scenes footage shows the moment he meets a chimpanzee film star.
Unfortunately for the budding actor, nothing came of the pilot trailer.
Since shooting to international fame for his strength and ridiculous muscles, Richard's devotion to the gym has dramatically eased off.
The former World's Strongest Boy was already carving himself an athlete's body by the age of eight, at which point he was well on the road to lifting three times his body weight while becoming a master of karate.
Born in Ukraine but grew up in Pennsylvania, US, Richard's extreme childhood led to his parents coming under fire amid cruelty claims after reports said he had just 1% body fat, which could be fatally low.
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Richard was pulling in thousands of pounds a month, but he later confessed to having an isolated childhood in which he was controlled by his abusive father Pavel, ABC reported.
In a 2015 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.
"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."
The former bodybuilder was working as a stuntman at Universal Studios Hollywood Waterworld show as of 2015.
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