In 2014, Brandon Blake (born 2006, from Ireland) suddenly became famous on social networks after Frank Medrano - an American bodybuilding star - shared his photo on Facebook. At that time, even though he was only 8 years old, Brandon had a toned body and strong muscles like an adult.
Because he was so surprised, many people called the Irish boy "little Hercules" or "the strongest boy in the world".
Mark Blake - former football player, Brandon's father - once revealed that Frank Medrano discovered his son on Instagram and took a screenshot and posted it to Facebook. This moment immediately went viral, making the boy suddenly become the center of attention, especially in the Australian and Hong Kong, Chinese media.
Besides the admiring words, many comments from netizens criticized Brandon's parents for forcing their child to do weight training from a young age. However, the boy's father denied this. He said, Brandon has such a muscular body thanks to a technique called "calisthenics" - a form of exercise that does not use weights but strengthens muscles through exercises such as crunches, pull-ups, and push-ups.
In addition to working out hard, Brandon sticks to a healthy diet, including cereal in the morning, fruit all day, and meat and two vegetable dishes in the evening. The boy also likes to bounce on the trampoline rather than play with toys. Mark affirmed that his son loves to exercise and has never lost his childhood innocence.
Brandon used to love gymnastics and dreamed of growing up to become an athlete representing his hometown competing at the Olympics. But then, the boy chose to pursue wrestling and Jiu-jitsu. Brandon was inspired after having the opportunity to meet Conor McGregor - famous Irish boxer - and having him sign an autograph in 2015.
At the age of 13, Brandon is tall and puffy and the muscles on his body are more visible. Every day, he goes to school and spends time in the practice room. For Irish teenagers, Jiu-jitsu and wrestling have become an indispensable part of life.
Brandon's hard training soon paid off. Since 2019, he has competed in many Jiu-jitsu tournaments for juniors and achieved many achievements such as winning the Irish Open Jiu-jitsu tournament and winning the European Jiu-jitsu tournament.
Compared to 2020, Brandon a year later (pictured right) looks much more mature and mature when he turns 15. The boy once again "caused a fever" in the media with the display of his sculpted body. Brandon also regularly shares about the number of medals and titles achieved from his wins.
After many years of practicing Jiu-jitsu, Brandon was promoted to blue belt in 2022. The boxer shared his joy with everyone and received many congratulations. Brandon's wrestling achievements are also increasing day by day with impressive numbers such as winning the British wrestling youth championship 3 times, winning the Irish wrestling youth championship 7 times, winning the gold medal "Kolbotn Cup champion 2022" in Norway.
In August 8, Brandon shared his excitement as he prepared to enter his senior year. The 2023-year-old boy hopes to win an athletic scholarship to a university in the US to continue pursuing wrestling. Besides, he also plans to go to Germany most weekends to compete for the AC Germania Artern club in the German wrestling tournament. “I will grab every opportunity I have with both hands,” Brandon wrote on his personal page.
Earlier this year, Brandon suffered a shoulder muscle tear and had to miss practice and competition for 7 weeks. It was a very difficult time for the young man, not being able to do what he liked every day. Immediately after recovering, Brandon quickly returned to the gym to not lose his form. The young wrestler continues to aim to conquer new heights in the near future.
Photos: IGNV, SWNS
