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Elssbiay made history in 2020 by becoming the first Arab-African to win the Mr. Olympia title. He is known around the world for his massive build, emphasizing the sheer size of his biceps and his sculpted back. He is currently on top of the bodybuilding world as the reigning Mr. Olympia.
Although the Egyptian bodybuilder's official name is Mamdouh Mohammed Hassan Elssbiay, he is better known by his nickname that has rapidly gained popularity: Big Ramy.
Like his nickname, there are two parts to the story of how he came to be known as Big Ramy. The Egyptian was known by the name of 'Ramy' long before he began his bodybuilding journey. The word 'Ramy' in Arabic means 'loving'. It also translates to 'archer' in the same language. Apparently, he got this name because of his very friendly and loving personality. 'Big' was added to his name later on by the people around him because of his massive stature that just kept getting bigger and bigger.
In 2014, Elssbiay's coach Dennis James made a Facebook post addressing the 'Big'.
"Why do we call him Big Ramy? Because he is bigger than big."
Elssbiay's early life
Big Ramy was born to a family of fishermen in the small town of Al-Sebea in Egypt. Early on, he continued the family's work as a fisherman along with his six brothers. The family, in search of better wages, moved to Kuwait, where Ramy found work as a trainer at a local gym called Oxygen Gym.
Impressed by his potential, his friends convinced Big Ramy to pursue bodybuilding more seriously around 2009. In his first year of competition, Ramy surprised everyone by winning his first three attempts in the middle-east.
Elssbiay's professional career
Big Ramy competed at the New York Pro in 2013, marking his IFBB Professional-debut. He won the competition convincingly and left people talking about his admirable overall build. The same year, he made his Mr. Olympia debut and finished in eighth position. In 2014, Ramy won the New York Pro again and was quickly becoming a staple on the global scene.
His Arnold Classic debut came in 2015, where he won the South American version of the competition in Brazil. Since making his Mr. Olympia debut in 2013, he had a tough run at the most prestigious stage. He gradually improved his rank through the years: 2013- 8th, 2014- 7th, 2015- 5th, 2016- 4th. He improved massively the following year (2017) and walked onto the stage built like a Greek god and finished second. He fell off in 2018 and finished sixth.
Despite his previous fall-off, in 2020, Ramy made his Mr. Olympia breakthrough and won the competition convincingly. Big Ramy lived up to his name by beating American bodybuilders Brandon Curry and Phil Heath. In 2021, he bested Brandon Curry once again and is now the reigning Mr. Olympia.
Going into the 2022 version of the competition, he remains the favorite to win. Can he hold on? Only time will tell.
