A Brief History of Big Ramy
A Brief History of Big Ramy
By Ron Harris
A New World Wonder Rises from Egypt
Mamdouh Mohammed Hassan Elssbiay was born on September 16, 1984 in the resort town of Baltim in the Kafr El Sheikh governate of Egypt, on the Nile River delta. His father was a fisherman, and this was the trade that “Ramy,” as he was nicknamed, and all six of his brothers took up as well. Seeking greater opportunities and better wages, they all left their native land for Kuwait, about the same distance as New York City to Orlando. Ramy had bigger dreams than his brothers. He had always been fascinated with bodybuilding and wanted to become a champion bodybuilder himself one day. The Oxygen Gym chain already had a reputation for being the place to train, as owner Bader Boodai had started bringing top pros like Dennis James, Dennis Wolf, and Melvin Anthony over to spend weeks lifting in his new Mecca of Muscle. After long days of fishing, Ramy would shower off the stink of salt water and fish, get a meal in, and head to Oxygen Gym to lift. Right away he knew this was the environment for him, and he asked the club manager for a job as a trainer. In Kuwait, all Oxygen Gyms have anywhere from 10-15 “trainers” who patrol the workout floor and offer a spot or any assistance the members might need. This was in 2010, and it was not the main Jabriya location, but one of the smaller gyms. Though Bader Boodai owns them all, he rarely visited this one. Ramy had been working there for six months when Bader finally got his first glimpse of the growing Egyptian immigrant. At this point, Ramy was only 200 pounds, but Bader has an eye for potential and saw what Ramy could become.
Bader gave him a new gig working the pro shop at the famous Jabriya location, as well as a room upstairs to sleep in every night. Near the end of 2011, Bader sent photos of the growing young man to Dennis James, who immediately took a special interest in him. With Bader acting as translator, James began coaching and mentoring Ramy. By now, he truly had become Big Ramy. After doing two local shows in 2012, he entered the Amateur Olympia being held that November in Kuwait. At 285 pounds, he easily swept the super heavyweight class and nabbed the Overall title, earning IFBB pro status. It would only be six months before his pro debut, where the bodybuilding fans and media would get their first look at him.
2013: Kuwait Invades New York
I had heard about Big Ramy leading up to the 2013 New York Pro, but I didn’t give him much consideration. I’d seen my share of giants hailed as the next big thing simply by virtue of their elephantine bodyweight, such as Canada’s Greg Kovacs and Italy’s Daniele Seccarecci, both deceased. Neither one had the shape and proportions to go along with the size, so I was reserving any excitement over the new mass monster from the Middle East. Besides which, this contest was supposed to be a battle between three native New Yorkers of Dominican descent: Victor Martinez, Juan Morel, and Jonathan De La Rosa. Suffice to say that when Big Ramy stomped out on stage at 285 pounds in shape and made them all look small in comparison, all of us in attendance instantly knew this new guy was the real deal. He wasn’t just enormous. Ramy also had pleasing shape and structure, with the shoulder width of two average bodybuilders standing side by side, along with a surprisingly small waist and tight midsection. Being in the press pit and looking up at the man who was easily dominating the contest, I was especially struck by the sheer circumference of his quads. 30-inch thighs have long been the benchmark measurement to define truly exceptional leg mass. Ramy’s were later measured on video to end the speculation as to just how large they were: a shocking 35.5 inches! Immediately following his pro debut and decisive win, hype began to surround Ramy as the heir apparent to Phil Heath, who would be attempting to win his third Mr. Olympia title. Ramy certainly blew The Gift away on width and mass, and anticipation at seeing them directly compared escalated as the season moved on toward Las Vegas. But that first Mr. Olympia was not meant for Mr. Elssbiay to make a real impact. This was right in the middle of the Phil/Kai battle years, and the lineup was stacked. A best-ever Dennis Wolf placed third. Shawn Rhoden was fourth, with Dexter in fifth. It would be the final contest ever for four-time Mr. Olympia champ Jay Cutler, and Roelly Winklaar placed seventh in his second Olympia appearance. Big Ramy had to settle for eighth place. Nothing to be ashamed of to be sure, but he was still far from making Phil Heath nervous.
Moving up the Ladder
The Olympia landscape changed over the next few years. Kai never returned after taking second for the third time in a row in 2014. Dennis Wolf suffered a traumatic neck injury after landing in the top five for the seventh time in his career in 2015. Shawn Rhoden and Dexter Jackson remained in the elite upper echelon, but two men steadily climbed their way up the rankings – William Bonac and Big Ramy. Ramy’s progression has been steady and consistent each year since his debut at the show: eighth, seventh, fifth, fourth, and second in 2017. Ramy hasn’t gotten much bigger since his pro debut in the spring of 2013, but that’s irrelevant. He’s already bigger than everyone else. If it’s possible he could even get any larger, it’s questionable whether he would still be able to maintain the relatively small midsection that sets him far apart from mass monsters of the past like Ronnie, Rühl and Nasser. Ramy has improved in areas like his upper chest and muscle separation in general, and theoretically he should be showing more detail as each contest season passes. Remember that he has only been training now for eight years, less than one-third the time someone like Dexter has been at it, and even half as long as Heath. Anyone with a true eye for physiques who has been around a while knows that while it’s not unheard of to accumulate shocking levels of sheer muscle size rapidly, muscle maturity, as the name implies, takes time and can’t be rushed. It’s the final piece of the puzzle that would unlock Ramy’s full potential and quite likely make him unbeatable by any other bodybuilder alive.
2018 – a Turning Point
After his near win in 2017, Ramy set his sights on one and only one contest for 2018, the Mr. Olympia. Unfortunately, he missed his peak for the Friday night judging and even his most loyal fans saw he would be fighting just to be in the top five this time. Though he did sharpen up for the finals 24 hours later, it was too little, too late, and Ramy’s upward climb took a stumble backward down to sixth place. He promptly issued an apology to his legions of fans on Instagram and promised to do better. Then, in a truly shocking turn of events, Ramy left Oxygen Gym in Kuwait, his home for nearly a decade. Since then he has been both in his native Egypt and Dubai. We did not see Big Ramy compete in 2019. The early part of the year saw him address a nagging shoulder injury with minor surgery. He was sorely missed at the Mr. Olympia, since the absence of the last two winners, Shawn Rhoden and Phil Heath, made it a wide-open show where any man at his absolute best stood a chance to win the title. Many felt Ramy missed a golden opportunity. By the fall, he was guest posing and looked as if he was prepping for one of the post-Olympia shows with the aim of securing his qualification for the 2020 Mr. Olympia. That did not come to pass.
2020 – “Winter is coming”
The contest season began with our first look at Big Ramy in a year and a half. He had won Arnold Classic events in Spain and Brazil, but this would be the first time he tried his luck at the most prestigious Arnold Classic, the Columbus, Ohio edition. Though he was looking enormous as ever, it turned out to be a two-man battle for the win between five-time Arnold Classic champ Dexter Jackson and 2018 winner William Bonac, with Bonac earning the win. Ramy and his new coach Chad Nicholls went to work, shifting their focus to the Mr. Olympia later in the season. It turned out to be much later than usual and far from its home for nearly 20 years in Las Vegas, being held in Orlando in late December. Weeks out from the big show, Ramy flew out to stay with former Olympian Dennis “The Menace” James in his Arizona home. With Chad overseeing every aspect of his diet, Dennis personally took Ramy through every workout as well as putting him through as many as five grueling posing sessions a day. Ramy was being pushed even harder than he ever had been back in Kuwait under the guidance of the Camel Crew, and it all paid off. He gave us a hint of what he had in store with a smile at the press conference as he borrowed the famous line from Game of Thrones, saying ‘Winter is Coming.” Ramy showed up in Orlando streamlined and ripped, with posing that seemed effortless as others shook, gasped, and faded. In the final tally, defending champion Brandon Curry had to concede his Mr. Olympia title to the gentle giant from Egypt. At long last, Ramy had made good on the many predictions and prognostications that he would indeed one day wear the crown of Mr. Olympia.
Contest History
2012 Kuwait Golden Cup - Winner
2012 Amateur Olympia - Super Heavyweight and Overall
2013 New York Pro - Winner
2013. Mr. Olympia - Eighth Place
2014 New York Pro - Winner
2014 Mr. Olympia - Seventh Place
2015 Arnold Classic Brasil - Winner
2015 Mr. Olympia - Fifth Place
2015 Arnold Classic Europe - Fourth Place
2015 Prague Pro - Second Place
2016 Mr. Olympia - Fourth Place
2016 Arnold Classic Europe - Second Place
2016 Kuwait Pro - Winner
2016 Prague Pro - Second Place
2017 Mr. Olympia - Second Place
2017 Arnold Classic Europe - Winner
2018 Mr. Olympia - Sixth Place
2020 Arnold Classic - Third Place
2020 Mr. Olympia - Winner
Training Split
Monday: Chest
Tuesday: Quads and hams
Wednesday: Shoulders
Thursday: Back
Friday: Arms
Saturday: OFF or hamstrings
Sunday: OFF or hamstrings
Ron Harris got his start in the bodybuilding industry during the eight years he worked in Los Angeles as Associate Producer for ESPN’s “American Muscle Magazine” show in the 1990s. Since 1992 he has published nearly 5,000 articles in bodybuilding and fitness magazines, making him the most prolific bodybuilding writer ever. Ron has been training since the age of 14 and competing as a bodybuilder since 1989. He lives with his wife and two children in the Boston area. Facebook Instagram
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