A BRAZILIAN bodybuilder who modeled himself on the Incredible Hulk risked his life by injecting oil and alcohol into his arms — and almost had both amputated.

    Father-of-one Romario Dos Santos Alves, 25, used the potentially lethal cocktail to pump up his biceps to 25 inches (63.5 cm) and he now faces a catalogue of serious health issues.

    The former bodyguard said using the synthetic filler synthol cost him his sanity and nearly his life as he tried to kill himself when his wife was six months pregnant.

    He said his swollen muscles terrify children in his hometown of Caldas Novas in Brazil and they call him a “beast” and a “monster.”

    “I want other people to see the dangers, I could have died all because I wanted bigger muscles. It’s just not worth it.”

    Alves became obsessed with the drug after moving from his hometown to Goiania in Brazil three years ago.

    He said: “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 began to find ever more dangerous ways of injecting himself with the oil.

    He even tricked his wife Marisangela Marinho, 22, into injecting him with the oil in places that he could not reach.

    But after she learned the truth she made it clear that he had to choose between their relationship and the synthol.

    “She told me that if I start using synthol again or anything like it she will leave me because of what she went through,” he said. “That was the hardest part of our life because I had depression and I was removed from my job because I tried to kill myself.”

    He has not used the substance for two years but other muscle enhancing drugs still tempt him from time to time.

    He still has ambitions to become a professional bodybuilder but is committed to staying clean.(SD-Agencies)