Romario Dos Santos Alves risked his life injecting, synthol, a cocktail of oil, painkillers and alcohol into his biceps. His dangerous obsession started 3 years ago in Brazil. He recalls: “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 didn’t stop even when his muscles began to solidify into rocks. He started using the kind of needles used on bulls to continue taking the dangerous cocktail. But soon he was in constant pain and negative reactions from members of the public, who called him ‘a beast, and a monster’ left him depressed.
After trying to kill himself and losing his job, he decided the only course of action would be to have the limbs amputated. But luckily, the doctors told him that they did not have to amputate, they could instead remove the synthol rocks which had formed in his arms. He has now not used the substance for 2 years and says he wants to achieve his ambitions of being a professional bodybuilder through exercise and diet alone….. he actually looked miserable without d muscle……
