Zach Strenkert first appeared on The Jerry Springer Show when I was barely a year old—and chances are, some of you reading this weren’t even born yet. Back in 1996, when his parents introduced their 70-pound infant on the iconic talk show, he quickly became the subject of national conversation. Even though the episode aired long before the rise of social media, the footage has resurfaced and gone viral in recent years, reigniting public fascination with his story.
What most people don’t realize, however, is that Zach—now 29 years old—was born with Simpson-Golabi-Behmel Syndrome (SGBS), a rare genetic disorder. Because of the condition, his growth was dramatically accelerated; he gained about 2.5 pounds every two weeks and grew an inch at a time, reaching a remarkable 70 pounds by the time he was just 17 months old.
The recent release of the Netflix documentary Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action has shed new light on the strange and often sensational world of daytime television. Reflecting on his own experiences, Zach admitted that growing up in Port Jervis, New York, while appearing on programs such as Oprah and Inside Edition, often left him feeling exploited.“They portrayed me as different, which only pushed me further away from everyone else,” he told The Mirror. “I was labeled as the TV kid—and that stuck with me.”
“People often ask me what it was like,” Zach explained. “A lot of them assume my mom was chasing fame or trying to make money, but that just wasn’t the case. We were trying to get help from geneticists, which wasn’t easy to do with the kind of insurance we had.” He emphasized that his family’s main goal was to raise awareness about living with SGBS. “We really didn’t see much of a paycheck from those appearances,” he added. “It was never about profit—it was about making sure her kid was okay.”
Reflecting on the recently released Netflix documentary, Zach admitted he wasn’t particularly impressed. “It’s just a spin on what’s already out there,” he said. “There wasn’t anything new revealed. It’s the same story, just dressed up with bells and whistles.”
Now 29, Zach is focused on his health after once weighing 485 pounds. Meanwhile, The Jerry Springer Show—the platform that first thrust him into the spotlight—ran from 1991 until 2018, with Jerry Springer himself hosting for 27 years.
In 2023, Jerry Springer passed away at his home in Chicago. “Jerry’s talent for connecting with people was at the core of his success in everything he did—whether in politics, broadcasting, or simply joking with someone on the street who wanted a photo or a word,” said family spokesperson Jene Galvin, who also confirmed that he had died from pancreatic cancer. “He’s truly irreplaceable, and his loss is deeply felt, but the memories of his intelligence, warmth, and humor will endure.”
