Kirill Tereshin, the Russian social media personality known online as “Bazooka Arms,” is opening up about the toll his petroleum jelly oil injections have taken on his body, nine years after he first began modifying his arms.
Tereshin, now 30, started working out in 2015 at a weight of 132 lbs (60 kg). Over two and a half years of consistent training and six meals a day, he built himself up to 181 lbs (82 kg).
Progress felt slow and expensive, and with an army draft notice looming and little money at home, he started looking for a faster route.
“My mother earned 300 bucks a month, and that money was enough for the two of us,” he said.
After coming across Brazilian bodybuilders online who had used synthol, Tereshin became fixated on achieving that look. He experimented with sunflower oil first, which absorbed within two weeks, then settled on petroleum jelly oil injected directly into his arms.
Before enlisting, his arms grew from 37 cm to 42 cm. After returning from service, he pushed harder and faster than before, which he now identifies as his critical error.
Nine years on, his arms remain dramatically uneven. One measures 42 cm while the other sits at 53 cm. Doctors have removed roughly 50% of the petroleum jelly, but the process is ongoing with no clear end in sight.
The health consequences are a constant presence in his life. About once a month, his arms swell, his temperature climbs to 37.5°C, and a full-body weakness confines him to bed. He manages the episodes with 400 mg of ibuprofen three times a day for about a week, but the cycle repeats itself within three weeks.
“I’m just tired of living with this condition,” he said.
Tereshin acknowledges he did not research thoroughly before starting. He had seen Brazilian men living with their modified physiques for ten to fifteen years and assumed it was safe. What he did not know was that those men had problems too. They simply did not discuss them publicly.
Despite the ongoing health issues, Tereshin credits the notoriety from his arms with lifting him out of a life of financial survival. Without it, he says he would still be working twelve-hour days for a wage that barely covered food.
Even so, the financial upside has not made the trade-off worthwhile in his view.
“I apologized to God and said, ‘I won’t mess with your creation anymore,'” he said. “God created man and I have no right to interfere with his creation.”
He described himself as a cautionary example and said plainly he would not recommend this path to anyone.
