A TEEN bodybuilder who went viral after crushing weights in the gym is now unrecognisable in Instagram pictures five years on.
Tristyn Lee became famous when followers began noticing his gladiator-like physique in videos he uploaded online.
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The youngster had hoped the clips of him showing off his impressive football skills at 15 would get the attention of scouters.
Instead, he was flooded with comments about becoming a professional bodybuilder and has since built quite a presence on Instagram where he’s amassed some 2 million followers.
The American teen has even posted workouts with some big names in the bodybuilding industry such as Bradley Martyn, Simeon Panda and Larry Wheels.
Five years on and Lee looks almost unrecognisable.
In a post captioned “Working out saved my life,” Lee shares a short clip comparing his 15-year-old self to the bodybuilding machine he is today.
In one still, a younger yet slimmer Lee can be seen posing in a locker-room.
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Lee goes on to explain he was teased for being short, which he said gave him “no confidence” and made him feel anxious and depressed.
“I had no escape and then I found bodybuilding”.
Fast forward five years and Lee looks more ripped than ever and credits bodybuilding for “saving him”.
“It’s not about the shirtless mirror selfies. It’s about the times that the dumbbells have your back when literally no one else does,” he said.
“No matter if you’re getting bullied or beaten up at school, the gym is always there and that’s what kept me alive, one rep at a time.”
Lee follows a strict dieting routine and says he goes to the gym at least twice a day.
He claims his shredding physique comes from not eating sugar for three years and following a high-protein keto diet without any cheat meals.
“This is a message to someone contemplating starting their fitness journey. Be willing to take the hits, take the criticism, and fall down many many times.”
Lee isn’t the only bodybuilding youngster to look unrecognisable years after becoming well known.
Giuliano Stroe, from Romania, became a global sensation after he was entered into the Guinness World Records at the age of five.
In the picture shared to Facebook, Giuliano, now 17, is all grown up holding a picture of himself when he set his first record in 2009 when he was just five years old.
Wearing a weighted ball on his legs, the youngster set a new record for the fastest 33-foot hand-walk.
The little bodybuilder performed the stunt in front of a live audience on Italian television.
Astonishingly a year later, he set the world record for the most 90-degree push-ups.
Now Giuliano looks slimmer and appears to have lost a lot of his muscle mass.
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