Romario Dos Santos Alves is a Brazilian bodybuilder who became obsessed with the idea of looking like the Incredible Hulk. It went so far that he almost needed to have both arms amputated after his muscles turned into rocks.
The 25-year-old from Brazil, says: ‘I remember the doctor told me that they would need to amputate both arms - they said everything in there, all my muscles, were rock.'
Alves' affliction came from an addiction to shots of synthol, an enhancement oil used by some bodybuilders to artificially produce the appearance of muscle mass. This caused oil-filled pockets, which resulted in the rocks inside his muscles. Grossed out? It gets worse from here.
He didn't stop even when his muscles began to solidify. He admits: ‘I couldn't even inject my arms - they were full of rocks.'
The man then switched to a higher-gauge needle, because normal-sized ones would hit the rocks in his arms. He started using one intended for use on bulls during veterinary exams. Thankfully Alves has stopped using synthol now, and still dreams of becoming a bodybuilder, but he's no longer the Incredible Hulk.
