The bodybuilding world was thrilled when Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay became the 16th man in history to win the sport’s ultimate title, Mr. Olympia. Everyone knew that if Ramy nailed his condition, with his huge structure of wide shoulders, narrow waist and massive, sweeping quads, he would win the Mr. Olympia title.In this month’s MD, Ron Harris details the journey of Ramy from being “discovered” by Oxygen Gym owner Bader Boodai, to his dominant professional debut at the 2013 New York Pro, all the way to more recent struggles with injury and even being forced to withdraw from a contest due to a positive COVID-19 test. In fact, he only made it to the 2020 Mr. Olympia thanks to a special invitation, which has never resulted in a win for anyone since the event’s inception in 1965.

On the cover is Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay