I was barely a one year old when Zach Strenkert appeared on The Jerry Springer Show, and I bet some of you weren’t even born.
Back in 1996, the ‘70 pound’ baby was apparently the talk of the town when his parents put him on the famous chat show.
And even though the programme aired way before social media became a thing, the clip has gone pretty viral in recent years.
But little do today’s viewers know that Zach, now 29, suffers from a rare genetic condition called Simpson-Golabi-Behmel Syndrome (SGBS).
The condition made him grow an inch and gain 2.5lb every couple of weeks, and at just 17 months old, he weighed a reported 70lbs.
With the recent release of Netflix documentary Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera Action, people are getting an insight into just how crazy the TV show was.
Growing up in Port Jervis, New York, Zach said he ‘felt like a circus act’ after appearing on other shows like Oprah and Inside Edition.
“They presented me as different, which only separated me further from everyone else,” he told The Mirror. “I was known as the kid that was on TV.
“Nowadays, people ask me what it was like. They assume my mom was chasing fame or money, but that wasn’t the case.” he continued to say. “We just wanted help with geneticists, which wasn’t easy to come by with our insurance.”
Zach said his family wanted to raise awareness on what it was like to live with SGBS, adding: “We didn’t really get a lot of take-home pay after all the affairs were done. It was strictly to make sure that her kid was okay.”
Speaking about the documentary, Zach admitted: “It’s just a spin on what’s already out there. It didn’t reveal anything new. It’s the same content, just packaged with bells and whistles.”
Zach, who previously weighed 485lbs, is now focusing on his physical health and fitness.
“He’s irreplaceable and his loss hurts immensely, but memories of his intellect, heart and humour will live on.”
