One of Jerry Springer’s most famous guests — the 70lb baby — said it made him feel like a “circus act”.
Zach Strenkert, now 29, appeared on the show for the first time in 1996, and is speaking out after the release of Netflix documentary Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera Action.
He has Simpson-Golabi-Behmel syndrome (SGBS) — a rare genetic condition which causes rapid and excessive growth.
His early life was marked by numerous appearances on shows like Oprah, Maury, and Inside Edition, which chronicled the then-17-month old’s extraordinary condition which made him grow an inch, and gain 2.5lb, every two weeks.
Zach, from Port Jervis, New York, said his mom was simply searching for help, when she agreed to take him on TV.
But instead it left Zach feeling ostracized.
“I was known as the kid that was on TV,” said Zach, who has transformed his body due to huge weight loss.
“And that wasn’t what my mom was looking for. We weren’t especially well off.
“We just wanted help with geneticists, which wasn’t easy to come by with our insurance.
“In hindsight, it felt like a circus act. They presented me as different, which only separated me further from everyone else.
“I really wish I had the capacity to articulate that to my teachers, but people are starstruck.”
Speaking of the show which aired this month, he added: “I think 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.”
During Zach’s first appearance in 1996, he came on stage with his mother, Laurie Strenkert, 57, who is disabled and currently lives in Port Jervis, New York with him.
“I don’t remember anything about that,” Zach said. “I do recall coming and going out of limos and things like that. I didn’t understand the context of what I was going through.”
After the infamous talk show host introduced the Strenkerts to a geneticist, producers of The Jerry Springer Show sent the mom and son duo to Jamaica for getaway before doing a follow-up segment on their trip.
Growing up with SGBS presented constant physical challenges for Zach. His body grew uncontrollably, which led to severe discomfort and struggles with movement.
“I had growth spurts that were just insane,” Zach recalled. “My body could not support the mess at the speed it was accumulating.
“I had to go in and out of wheelchairs because my body was growing so rapidly in height and weight.
“The muscles weren’t used properly, so it was difficult to get a proper sense of balance or engage in fitness.”
The physical toll of his condition was accompanied by emotional hardships as well.
“It was an interesting sort of wild experience to grow up so different from everybody else,” he said. “But the mental anguish was also there. It was difficult to find a sense of belonging.”
Despite the challenges, Zach’s determination never wavered.
“I had nonstop severe pain, 24/7, absolutely severe,” he explained. “The burning alone from all the neuropathy covers me head to toe.
“There were moments where I just wanted to give up, but you develop a sort of challenger’s mindset. You need to be strong to overcome.
“I pushed myself so hard exercising that I broke my back, and then I kept going. It was stupid, really. But I had so much pain from everything else, I learned to push myself.
“I need to push myself to survive,” he said. “That’s kind of how I learned to live.”
As an adult, Zach still experiences the effects of his early fame.
“Nowadays, people ask me what it was like. They assume my mom was chasing fame or money, but that wasn’t the case,” he said.
“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.”
He adds that people still approach him for pictures, with varying opinions about his past.
“Some people look at you differently,” Zach explained. “For better or for worse.
“They see you as someone who rubbed shoulders with these famous people, and I just try to treat it like something normal.”
Zach, who now works in environmental services said, again met Springer in 2017 after going through a phenomenal weight loss transformation.
“I met Jerry Springer in the modern day, and I was so grateful to have that opportunity,” he shared.
“He gave us a lot of things that really helped, like a carriage that would support my weight, which is very expensive and hard to come by.
“He was so happy to see my mom’s successes, to see her persevering, and to have made it this far, even in spite of what happened to my father, who passed away at 39.”
Though cameras were rolling, Zach feels the most important moments from his reunion with Jerry didn’t make it to air.
“They didn’t show the entire moment,” he said.
“They showed my mom emotional, yes, but the reason why is because she finally got to reconnect with him.
“He was so proud of us and how far we had come. Jerry was there, and he had a lot of high praise for my mom. He knows how much she fought for me to get help.”
Zach’s journey to reclaim his sense of self led him to extreme measures, particularly with weight loss.
“At my heaviest that I know of, I was 485 pounds,” he said. “I lost over 250 pounds in a year and a half. I kept going, but I really looked sickly.
“I was going to die if I didn’t stop, so I chose to believe in something. And then I became too extreme.”
Eventually, Zach found a healthier road. “I’m trying to focus more on balance. I’ve been so unbalanced for so long that it’s been hard.
“Fitness has become an outlet for my need to push myself, but I’ve learned to let go a little bit.”
Today, Zach’s journey continues with a focus on health, stability, and self-acceptance.
“It’s about learning to push through, no matter what the pain is,” he said. “I’ve learned that I’m capable of so much more than I ever thought.”
