Mamdouh Mohammed Hassan Elssbiay aka Big Ramy is a subject of the thesis for many young bodybuilders due to his exceptional success. He has achieved so much in a very short span of time and those who follow pro-bodybuilding would be aware of it. But not many are aware of his life story. So today, we’ll be talking about his journey in short.
Started earning his bread & butter as a fisherman
Ramy was born in Baltim in Kafr El Sheikh city in Egypt. After completing his education and he shifted to Kuwait and started doing the job of fisherman. His entire family had been engaged in a fishing profession. He did the job for several years before entering the world of bodybuilding.
Big Ramy started bodybuilding in 2013
Big Ramy entered the world of bodybuilding in 2003 by idolizing Dorian Yates. However, due to a major accident, he left his muscle training. After a gap of 7 years, in 2010, Ramy resumed his workout and preparation for bodybuilding. He started training in the highly popular Oxygen gym in Kuwait, under the guidance of the owner Badr El Bodaie.
In just a year i.e. 2011, Ramy jumped from a weight of 180 pounds to 200 pounds (90.71 Kgs). He saw a jaw-dropping growth in weight the next year as he jumped to 286 pounds (126.72 kgs). Obviously, Badr El Bodaie was keeping a close eye on Ramy’s improvement and he provided him financial support.
First competition & pro card
With such a heavyweight, Ramy played his first competition in 2012 with Kuwait Golden Cup and started his bodybuilding by grabbing the trophy. His next competition, Amateur Olympia Kuwait 2012, came as a shocker as he earned a pro card by bagging 1st spot. Could you believe it? He won the pro card in the same year he made his debut.
Qualification to Mr Olympia
The start was good, however, as per the rules, one can’t qualify to Mr Olympia without competing in the United States. So in order to qualify for Mr Olympia, Badr El Bodaie and Dennis James (Badr’s close friend and pro-bodybuilder) decided to take Ramy for New York Pro. He scored a dominating victory on VÃctor MartÃnez. Here, he earned fame among the United States’ audience and people witnessed a new mass monster. With the victory, Ramy qualified for Mr Olympia.
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First Olympia & controversial placing
Under the guidance of Dennis James, Big Ramy participated in 2013’s Olympia. He came 8th, but many believed that he was way better in the overall package than legendary Jay Cutler. Cutler was placed at 6th that year.
After 2013’s Olympia, Ramy managed to win his next New York Pro (2014). In the next Olympia (2014), he showed big improvements and was placed one position higher at 7th. In Arnold Classic (2015) held in Brazil, Ramy was announced the winner. From this victory onwards, he earned global popularity and experts predicted him to be a big thing in the pro-bodybuilding world.
Big Ramy created a record in 2015!
Ramy participated in Mr Olympia 2015 with a monstrous weight of 316 pounds and it’s the heaviest on-stage weight ever.
Olympia 2017 & one more controversial placing
Big Ramy continued his momentum and shocked the world by getting placed at 2nd in 2017’s Olympia. While bagging 2nd position in itself was a huge achievement, the majority of pro-bodybuilding fans believed that Ramy deserved to be a winner as Phil Heath looked very weak in front of him.
Conquering Mr Olympia 2020
Fans and experts always complained about one thing about Ramy and it’s his conditioning. Despite his size and proportions, Ramy didn’t manage the top position due to his failure in bringing good conditioning on stage. Thankfully, he brought a complete package in 2020 and smashed everyone to become Mr Olympia. This year too, he’s predicted to retain the title.
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Stay tuned for more life stories of pro-bodybuilders.
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