Real-life Hulk nearly forced to have arms amputated

 By 
Max Knoblauch
 on 
Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

This, folks, is why you should only model yourself after a moderately muscular Avenger. Like Hawkeye or Iron Man.

Romario Dos Santos Alves, a 25-year-old amateur body builder from Brazil, is facing a string of health problems after becoming "addicted" to a muscle enhancement injection known as synthol -- a mixture of oil, alcohol and lidocaine -- in an attempt to get enormous, Hulk-like biceps.

"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 modeled my body on the Incredible Hulk," Alves told Barcroft TV.

Alves began to notice that the needles he used for the injections were no longer penetrating his skin, due to the hardness of his muscles. So he purchased needles created specifically for bulls.

Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

As it turns out, the muscle hardness was due to oil solidifying in his biceps. Doctors said Alves would need to have both arms amputated in order to live.

"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," Alves told Barcroft TV.

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