From Internet Fame to Medical Emergency: The Tragic Story of Russian Popeye
Kirill Tereshin, the Russian man who gained worldwide notoriety as "Russian Popeye" for his cartoonishly large biceps, now faces the terrifying possibility of losing both arms. Medical reports indicate that severe complications from years of injecting oil and petroleum jelly into his arms have brought him to the brink of double amputation.
The Dangerous Quest for Oversized Arms
Tereshin first captured global attention in 2017 when images of his unusually swollen arms went viral across social media platforms. The young man in his early twenties quickly earned nicknames like "Bazooka Hands" and "Russian Popeye" due to his biceps resembling inflated balloons rather than natural muscle.
In multiple interviews, Tereshin openly admitted that his extreme transformation stemmed from deep-seated insecurity. He believed that enormous arms would help him attract women he considered "out of his league." "I want to get rid of these arms, but unfortunately, there's no fixing it anymore," he later expressed with evident regret.
His dangerous journey began with household vegetable oil. In a 2018 interview with Stavropol Komsomolskaya Pravda, he described boiling vegetable oil and injecting five millilitres daily. When this proved ineffective, he switched to Vaseline oil, which delivered the dramatic size increase he desired but at a devastating cost to his health.
Medical Consequences and Multiple Surgeries
The petroleum jelly and oil mixtures—totaling approximately three litres pumped into his arms—were never meant for human tissue. These substances blocked blood circulation, damaged muscles, and formed dense, immovable masses that began destroying his arms from within.
Doctors repeatedly warned that the injections were depriving his arms of oxygen and could lead to infections, kidney damage, sepsis, and ultimately limb loss if not removed immediately. Over recent years, Tereshin has undergone multiple surgeries where surgeons removed hardened jelly and dead tissue in attempts to save what remained of his arms.
His social media accounts have documented this painful medical journey. In June, he shared photos with his 200,000 Instagram followers showing heavily bandaged arms with blood seeping through dressings, captioned simply: "Surgery to remove the biceps."
The Current Critical Situation
Recent reports from Russian media reveal that Tereshin's condition has deteriorated critically. Medical specialists have warned that he now faces serious risk of double arm amputation due to severe infection and tissue damage following years of injections and partial removal surgeries.
Doctors have outlined a complex treatment plan requiring multiple skin grafts and reconstructive surgery involving vascular and plastic surgeons. However, they currently consider him too medically unstable to safely undergo such extensive procedures. If his condition doesn't improve sufficiently for surgery, amputation remains the only option to save his life.
In a significant turnaround, Tereshin has recently begun removing facial fillers he had invested approximately $15,000 in, expressing his desire to "be all natural, a 29-year-old again." The man who once sought extreme body modification to stand out online now confronts the heartbreaking possibility of living without the limbs he worked so hard to enlarge.
His case serves as a stark warning about the dangers of unregulated DIY body modification, demonstrating how viral internet fame can lead to irreversible physical damage and lifelong consequences.
