Arlindo de Souza lost his life at the age of just 55 and the real-life Popeye was known for once injecting his muscles with synthol which has led to brutal consequences for other bodybuilders
Arlindo de Souza lost his life this week (Image: Facebook)
A Brazilian bodybuilder dubbed the real-life Popeye tragically died this week, despite only being 55.
The family of Arlindo de Souza believe he died from multiple organ failure and the social media personality was well known for his 29-inch biceps.
However, it was widely reported that he got his monster muscles by injecting synthol, a dangerous cocktail of mineral oil and alcohol. It doesn’t actually make your muscles strong, despite them increasing significantly in size, and the consequences can be particularly grim.
Arlindo discovered this personally when his pal, Pulinho, died after injecting himself with the mix. And speaking about his friend’s passing, he once said: “[Paulinho] took it, I took it, but he went beyond the limit. I advise everyone to never take this oil. I felt his death a lot.
“I’ve stopped taking it, and other things as well. There is always a desire to start again, but I’m managing to control myself.”
Below, we hear from other bodybuilders who are also believed to have injected themselves with synthol, before facing grim consequences.
Kirill Tereshin
Kirill Tereshin is known as the Russian Popeye but he also likes to call himself ‘Bazooka Arms’.
However, in November, it was reported that he could need a double amputation after spending years putting synthol into both of his arms.
He has 262,000 followers on Instagram and in recent months he has had one arm wrapped in a bandage.
According to reports, the influencer, bodybuilder and MMA fighter was told he needed skin grafts to save the arm, but the operations were not possible because of his “extremely poor test results”.
The Russian was reportedly told his arm will need to stabilise before he undergoes multiple surgeries to save it because of the self-inflicted damage.
His mother, Irina, once spoke out against her son’s transformation and called him an “online guinea pig”.
But it is not the first time Kirill has been warned about amputation and in 2018, doctor Evgeny Lilin said: “Not immediately, but he very likely faces amputation in the future. One day, abscesses will develop, then inflammation, and he (will be at risk of) a stroke.”
Gregg Valentino
Gregg Valentino started lifting weights at the age of just 13 but his bicep later famously exploded while taking steroids.
He used synthol to push his muscles upwards and to make them look gigantic and he reportedly injected 3000mg of it a week.
This helped him go from having 21 inch biceps to 28 inch biceps but disaster struck when he reused a needle and punctured an abscess by accident.
His arm exploded with pus after an infection was caused and blood flowed from his arm as he was taken to hospital. There, the bicep was cut open so the synthol could be drained.
Gregg now has a much more natural look and the author, who starred in a documentary called The Man Whose Arms Exploded, describes himself as a “bodybuilding icon” on Instagram.
He also once told ESPN people were “hypocrites” in relation to their view of performance-enhancers. He said: “The world would shut down tomorrow if we took away the ultimate performance enhancer: caffeine. If you stopped everybody from drinking their coffee, taking caffeine, I bet you tomorrow half the people wouldn’t be able to function.”
Valdir Segato
Like Arlindo de Souza, fellow Brazilian bodybuilder Valdir Segato also died at the age of 55, with his passing coming in 2022.
It was reported that he died of a heart attack and he previously admitted to using synthol injections for his extreme aesthetic.
His neighbour in Sao Paolo, Jadson, said after his death: “You can’t help but be shaken. He was a very isolated person, more in his own way, a super good person, he didn’t hurt anyone.
“The only harm he did was to himself, using those things on his body, applying that oil, synthol, in the body, which ended up harming.”
Before his tragic death, Valdir built up a huge social media following and had 1.7m followers on TikTok.
And speaking in 2016 about his synthol use, he said: “They call me Hulk, Schwarzenegger and He-Man all the time and I like that. I’ve doubled my biceps but I still want to be bigger.”
He added: “The doctors tell me to stop it, the advice they give me is to stop using. But it’s my decision to use it because I want to, because I like to.”
