by Christian Duque
There seems to be a tremendous amount of talk about the who’s who of the sport of bodybuilding at the present time. With the Arnold Classic now somewhat of a distant afterthought, people are looking to Pittsburgh, they’re looking to New York, they’re looking towards the Olympia, but what they’re forgetting is who placed second at last year’s Mr Olympia. And that would be Hadi Choopan. Hadi is a past Olympia champion and somebody that has also won the Arnold Classic but because of the competitiveness of the sport and the fact that fans constantly want instantaneous gratification, very few people are talking about this legendary champion.
In fact, he’s not even really being talked about in virtual comparisons because of the fact that so many people have written him off to a certain extent. For one he is from Iran, which is not a country that has the best relations with the United States or the West at-large. That being said, as of the last few years he has never had an issue getting a visa and getting himself over to Las Vegas, Nevada. That right there is noteworthy at the very least. But what is also noteworthy is the fact that he has progressed over the last few years even since he won and lost the Sandow. And that I think is what you can take all the way to the bank.
The bottom line is that when the 2025 Olympia rolls around, The Persian Wolf will definitely be in the mix at the very top. He is a competitor that inspires great fear in the competition because of the fact that he cannot pack on any more muscle onto his already stacked frame – yet it seems like he always does so! Unlike other competitors, Choopan is a king of condition and a king of posing. So why isn’t he being talked about more? Well that is because we are not seeing him at all the shows. And that is raising doubts – not only from his fellow competitors – but also from the media and the fans. The question is, are the concerns justified?
That’s the scope of this article. That’s what we’re here to talk about. Because while everyone salivates at the idea of Andrew Jacked throwing his hat into the FIBO ring as the proverbial spoiler and after Good Vito’s recent big win, hardly anyone is talking about Hadi. And when people don’t talk about him, that’s when you have to worry.
I think Hadi is a throwback to the ’90s back when bodybuilding wasn’t necessarily all over social media. He’s not a complete hermit like Dorian was then by today’s standards or like Big Ramy was during his reign. I think that Hadi learned the lessons that Ramy had to learn the hard way. He didn’t make the mistake of being a reigning Mr. O that was largely off the grid. When Choopan held the title, I think he made a concerted effort to be more active. Even still, living in Iran severely undercut the amount of exposure he was able to gain. Neither Ramy nor Choopan could compare travel itineraries with either Lunsford or Dauda.
After losing the title, Choopan took a lower profile again. That wasn’t totally unexpected. It’s also not wholly unreasonable. He did win the Arnold Classic after losing the O, but winning the ASC doesn’t include the same ambassadorial expectations as being Mr Olympia. That said, Hadi does maintain a somewhat-active social media presence on his own Instagram. If you log on to it you will notice that Hadi is not posting daily updates. In fact, the last post from him is a pinned one from January 4th, 2023 when he had won the Olympia. Beyond that, you will see some training footage, but nothing super-recent.
Interestingly, the last training footage that you can see from The Persian Wolf is back from March 26th. Before that, it was from March 18th; before that March 8th, but nothing for the month April and we’re 12 days in. That is something that is very interesting because of the fact that he is the #2 bodybuilder in the world. He shows the world what he wants it to see. He’s not concerned with posting every 5 minutes or even everyday. And while it’s great to march to the beat of your own drum, that’s not always the best course of action in a sport that desperately wants to ditch the niche culture and embrace the mainstream. In order to do that, the bodybuilding media requires constant content. When athletes, like Hadi, just fail to meet that standard, then media outlets stop visiting their pages and may even stop following them actively. And let me qualify that statement. I don’t they’ll literally unfollow them, they just won’t think about them until the show they’re known to be doing approaches. In Hadi’s case, that would be the Olympia. So imagine Hadi not being thought about for the next six months. That’s exactly what’s happening.
Not only that but Hadi is not someone that likes to mix it up with charged rhetoric or tearing down other competitors. If there’s no constant updates, no meal prep, no drama, what exactly is there for a media outlet to cover? I’m writing this article from the perspective that no one is talking about Choopan, but that’s because no one is. Look at what Derek is doing. Look how active Samson is with his an itinerary packed full of appearances. And not only that, but Samson made the gutsy move of competing after winning the O. He didn’t win and I think it was a mistake, but I commend him for not doing like the Romans. He broke with tradition and took a gamble. It may not have worked out as he had hoped, but he gets credit for being a badass just the same. And who knows, maybe taking second to Derek in Columbus will light a fire under him. Maybe instead of going in cocky for his first Olympia defense, he remembers that sting from placing 2nd in Columbus. Maybe he goes into the 2025 Olympia even hungrier than he was for the 2024. Now that would be something, wouldn’t it?
Meanwhile, no one is talking about The Persian Wolf. And what’s crazy is that I don’t agree with the 2023 or 2024 Olympia decisions with regards to his placings.
I think that Hadi could have won the Olympia last year. I don’t think Samson really beat him, but it was close enough that no one really cried politics. Then again, I don’t think Derek beat Hadi either. But now if you say Choopan is going to fly under the radar and be able to do the business of bodybuilding without prying eyes, then I say this could be his year. What say you? Does Hadi need to step it up in terms of social media or should he just keep doing what he knows? As always, I hope you enjoyed reading my article, here, at Iron Magazine. I look forward to reading your feedback in the comments. Also be sure to copy and paste a link to this article on all your social media feeds, it is definitely going to generate some lively conversation.
