"I think I did well" - Big Ramy responds to critics and fans urging him to retire

Mamdouh ‘Big Ramy’ Elssbiay is a two-time Mr. Olympia who changed the sport of bodybuilding by introducing a combination of montrous physique and great conditioning.

Ramy entered the 2022 Olympia as the defending champion, but things have gone terribly wrong for the Egyptian since then. First, he came into the Olympia looking significantly different from the monster who won the competition the year before. He lost his title and finished in fifth place. The bodybuilder then made the decision to compete in the 2023 Arnold Classic. Despite drastic improvements, he failed to finish in the top three. Since the Classic, many fans and critics have asked Ramy to consider retirement. Responding to this through a video on Instagram, Ramy fired back at the critics:

"Hey guys, I need to talk about something today, I heard somebody, he – he needs me to be retired from the bodybuilding world – need me to stop doing any shows anymore. I don’t know this advice for what, I think I did well with shows this year."

The Egyptian bodybuilder came into the Classic significantly improved. Four-time Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler recently echoed this sentiment on his podcast, calling the top four 'too close to call'.

He continued:

"I think I respected everyone the last 10 years when doing this game, and in the end, I don’t hear about this advice to come to any bodybuilder before. I don’t know why. I don’t know for any reasons. But I think I did well all my life. I think the last show, I did my best and I come in the best version for me."

Ramy continued to ask people criticizing him why they never made videos asking other bodybuilders in a rut to retire while making a strong statement of love for the sport he has taken up.

"Just need to say that because already I believe in myself and I think that I did well. In the end, I don’t know why this advice comes just – in the end, I respect everyone, but I need to say something: I did this sport because I love it. If someone don’t like me to compete, why didn’t you give this advice for some people before? I don’t know why."

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Big Ramy made it extensively clear that he "will stay" despite the calls to retire

Calls to retire have come from a variety of sources, including fans on social media platforms and significant critics such as Bob Cicherillo. The Egyptian made one thing very clear to his critics - he is staying in the game.

"But anyways, I will stay – love everyone because it’s my personality like this. I never change it to nobody else because I’ve always said in that way, that is the only way to have a nice life and love the people and respect everyone, thank you."

The very reason why the Egyptian bodybuilder is called 'Big Ramy' is because of his friendly and loving personality. The word 'Ramy' in Arabic translates to 'loving'.

Now, the Egyptian has to decide whether he wants to continue staying active this year, or take a break and come back looking like the version of himself who won the Olympia.