Contents
Hadi Choopan is an Iranian bodybuilder who has won several bodybuilding competitions. He competed in different weight classes as his body size grew and became the first Iranian bodybuilder to win Mr Olympia in 2022.
Wiki/Biography
Hadi Choopan was born on Saturday, 26 September 1987 (age 35 years; as of 2022) in Sepidan County, Fars Province, Iran. His zodiac sign is Libra. He was skinny in childhood and started working out at the age of 13 to gain some weight. After completing his high school education, he worked in the construction industry until the age of 24.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 7″
Weight (approx.): 100 kg
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Body Measurements (approx.): Chest 56″, Waist 34″, Biceps 22″
Family
Parents & Siblings
Not much is known about his parents; however, he mentioned in an interview that he has 6 brothers and 1 sister. One of his brothers’ names is Hassan.
Wife & Children
He is married, and the couple has 2 sons and 1 daughter.
Hadi Choopan’s wife with their children
Religion
He follows Zoroastrianism.
Career
At the age of 13, Hadi started working out at a local gym and competed in the first tournament at the age of 17 years. In 2002, he started training under Jamshid Owji and won many local bodybuilding competitions. In 2005, he won his first national bodybuilding championship. In 2008, he stopped training under the coach Jamshid Owji and trained without any trainer until 2013, when he started training under Ali Ne’mati. He won many international competitions under the guidance of Ali Ne’mati including a hattrick of gold medals from 2013 to 2015 in the WBPF World Bodybuilding Championships and a gold medal in the WBPF Asia Championships. In 2016, he won his Pro Card in a bodybuilding championship held in Russia. In 2017, he stopped training under Ali Ne’mati and started training under renowned coach Hany Rambod. Under Hany’s tutelage, he won the gold medal in the 2017 Mr Olympia Amateur and a silver medal in the 2017 Asia Grand Prix. In 2019, he participated in Mr Olympia for the first time and secured 3rd position. He won the gold medal in Mr Olympia 2022.
Hadi Choopan (right) with Hany Rambod
Controversy
Visa Issue in the USA
In 2018, then-American President Donald Trump banned all Iranian nationals from entering the USA, and Hadi was not granted a visa to participate in the 2018 Arnold Classic and Mr Olympia. He released a statement expressing his frustration and termed this incident discriminatory. In 2019, the same situation again took place, and after the intervention by American Media Inc, the presenter of the Mr Olympia competition, and with public support in his favour, Hadi received his visa just in time for the 2019 Mr Olympia.
Medals
Gold
- 2003 – 2012: 105 provincial gold medals (Fars and Tehran provinces) and 30 gold medals in National competitions
- 2013: WBPF Asia Championships
- 2013 to 2015: WBPF World Championships
- 2017: Mr. Olympia Amateur
- 2022: Mr. Olympia
Hadi Choopan after winning Mr Olympia 2022
Silver
- 2012: WBPF World Championships
Bronze
Facts/Trivia
- He is known as The Persian Wolf among bodybuilding fans across the world.
- He claimed in an interview that the hearing problem he suffers from, since his childhood, is genetic.
- His first coach Jamshid Owji allowed him to use only 5 kg weights due to his small size at that time.
- In one of his Instagram posts, he wrote the name Ahura Mazda, the supreme god of Zoroastrianism, the religious system of the Iranian prophet Zarathustra, which is considered apostasy in Islam.
Hadi Choopan dressed in traditional Parsi attire
- He appeared in the bodybuilding documentaries ‘Generation Iron 3’ (2018) and ‘Generation Iron Persia’ (2022).
- He dedicated his 2022 Mr Olympia win to the struggle of Iranian women for equality.
- He weighed 90 pounds when he first joined the gym.
- He is a big fan of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Baitollah Abbaspour.
- During his HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) workouts, he would take 30 seconds rest between the sets, and during his normal workouts, he takes 2-3 minutes of rest between the sets.
- His diet mainly consists of brown rice, skinless chicken breast, and avocados, and he eats 6-7 meals every day.