Almost everyone is very well familiar with the popular cartoon character ‘Popeye’. A pipe-smoking sailor-man who would consume spinach to get extra-human strength on top of his round and bulging biceps.
In a rare case of life imitating art, a Russian bodybuilder, who has been branded as the ‘Russian Popeye’, has formed such bulging biceps by injecting oil directly into them. His motivation behind doing so was his belief that it would make him the most popular person in the world.
Kirill Tereshin thought injecting his upper body with petroleum jelly might give him an edge. Instead, it destroyed his muscle tissue and caused serious health problems.
Tereshin began injecting himself with petroleum jelly five years ago when he was 20 years old. With a fledgling career as an MMA fighter and hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram, where he goes by “Bazooka Hands,” the former soldier became a worldwide curiosity.
Two years ago, however, he received dire warnings to remove the substance. According to doctors, he had injected each arm with three liters of Synthol oil, which then solidified and was actively cutting off blood supply to his muscles, parts of which were already rotting under his skin.
Doctors advised Tereshin to undergo at least three surgeries to remove it or face amputation and possible death. The first two surgeries went well and removed about 25 percent of the scar tissue and dead muscle and jelly, but the COVID-19 pandemic is dangerously delaying more.
Surgeon Dmitry Melnikov warned Tereshin as directly as possible:
“The risk of complications, in this case, is very high. But inaction will not help the patient. A toxic substance in the body long term can complicate the kidneys and lead to death.”
Fortunately, Tereshin underwent surgery with Dr. Melnikov had had the hardened lumps removed. He will still be able to move his arms after the life-saving surgery but has lost the sizeable muscles forever.
This isn’t the first time he attempted to get his fake Superman muscles. Tereshin had his fake triceps removed earlier after facing complications and medics had requested him to do the same for his biceps. Tereshin ignored them then and is facing problems in his head now, which could affect him in unknown ways.
Whether Tereshin is actually suffering from some mental illness or is this all just an obsession that got out of hand, is yet to be diagnosed. But what is imminent is his potential fatality, since his health has steadily deteriorated ever since he started it.
Watch the video below for more details: