This Brazilian bodybuilder wanted to be real
life version of Superhero, Incredible Hulk, that
he risked his life by injecting oil and alcohol
into his arms – and almost had both
amputated.
Father-of-one Romario Dos Santos Alves, 25,
used the potentially lethal cocktail to pump up
his biceps to 25in and he now faces a
catalogue of serious health issues. The former
bodyguard said using the synthetic filler
synthol cost him his sanity and nearly his life
as he tried to kill himself when his wife was six
months pregnant.
He said his swollen muscles terrify children in
his hometown of Caldas Novas in Brazil and
they call him a 'beast' and a 'monster'.
'If you take it once there will definitely
be a second time - it's addictive. I
remember the doctor told me that they
would need to amputate both arms -
they said everything in there, all my
muscles, were rock. I want other people
to see the dangers, I could have died all
because I wanted bigger muscles. It's
just not worth it.' He said
Mr Alves became obsessed with the drug after
moving from his hometown to Goiania in Brazil
three years ago.
He said: 'I saw some really big guys in the gym
with huge arms and I started to make friends
with them. They introduced me to synthol and
I got excited about the results - I lost control'
He began to find ever more dangerous ways of
injecting himself with the oil.
'My muscles started to solidify and I
couldn't even inject my arms - they
were full of rocks,' he added. 'I decided
the only thing I could do was buy
specialist needles to inject. The kind of
needles used on bulls - there are no
stronger needles around - I know it
seems stupid but I had to get my
synthol fix.'
He even tricked his wife Marisangela Marinho,
22, into injecting him with the oil in places that
he could not reach. 'I told her there was no
problem with it - that it left the body after a
short time.'
But after she learned the truth she made it
clear that he had to choose between their
relationship and the synthol.
'She told me that if I start using synthol again
or anything like it she will leave me because of
what she went through,' he said. 'That was the
hardest part of our life because I had
depression and I was removed from my job
because I tried to kill myself.'
His biceps had swollen to an incredible 25
inches but reactions from members of the
public meant that his mental health
deteriorated.
He said: 'I was hospitalised in a clinic and my
wife was six months pregnant - it was just me
and her, no friends or family. I decided to fix
my ways and I never again wanted to take
any drugs, we went through a really hard time
and almost starved.'
Soon the filler began causing him constant
pain and he almost suffered kidney failure due
to the toxins in the oil.
And he was told by a doctor that his only
course of action would be to have one of his
arms amputated.
'My wife was crying when I left at 5am to go
to the hospital for the procedure,' he added. I
remember the doctor told me that they would
need to amputate both arms. They said
everything in there, all my muscles, were rock.
It was either that or cut all of my muscles out.
And then thank God the doctor told me that
they did not have to amputate - they could
instead remove the synthol rocks which had
formed in my arms.'
Now Romario's bizarre appearance generates
mixed reactions from people in his hometown.
He said: 'One time I was working in a catholic
church and a woman came up to me and said
that her 12-year-old daughter wouldn't come
in because she was afraid of me. She said that
she thought I was a beast, a monster - I just
put my head down and didn't say anything.
But he also receives praise and adulation for
his incredible physique - which made it even
harder for him to kick the addiction.
'One time when I was working as a bodyguard
in a party the girls started to get wasted and
were trying to take my shirt off to see my
body,' he said.
'Sometimes kids will come up to me and say
that I look like the Incredible Hulk and hug me
and have their photo taken with me. I really
like that as I modelled my body on the
Incredible Hulk.'
He has not used the substance for two years
but other muscle enhancing drugs still tempt
him from time to time.
'Two weeks ago I bought a substance called
estigor - a horse hormone,' he said.
'I put the needle in my chest and sucked in the
air to see if I got a vein but nothing came out.
I froze and started to sweat. My mind started
remembering things that I've gone through and
I thought that I couldn't do it - I couldn't give
in to temptation again.'
He still has ambitions to become a
professional bodybuilder but is committed to
staying clean.
'I still feel like taking synthol but I won't take it
again. If you take it once there will definitely
be a second time - it's addictive. I regret it a
lot - my ambition is still to become a
bodybuilder but I've got a long way to go. I
know I will achieve it though.' he said
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