Patrik Baboumian
Tuesday, November 8, 2022Patrik Baboumian (born 1 July 1979) is an Iranian-born German-Armenian retired strongman and former bodybuilder. He promotes veganism.
Baboumian was born on 1 July 1979 in Abadan, the son of Armenian parents. He emigrated to Germany with his mother and grandmother at the age of seven. By the age of nine, he had developed an interest in weight training, which led him to pursue bodybuilding.
In 1999, Baboumian won the IFBB German Junior Bodybuilding Championship, and in 2002 he became the Overall Junior Champion at the Gießen Campions-Cup. Baboumian held the world log lift record in the 105 kg category 165 kg (364 pounds), as well as the German heavyweight log lift record 180 kg (396 pounds), and the title of "Strongest Man of Germany" (105 kg division). Since 2006, he has been competing at IFSA Strongman events. In 2007, Baboumian competed at the FSA −105 kg World Championships and ended up in 14th place.
Baboumian lifted 162.5 kg (358 pounds) in his second attempt in the 2009 German log lift nationals. The next year, he set a new German heavyweight log lifting record with 180 kg (396 pounds). In 2011, Baboumian competed at the log lifting world championship and placed 4th with a new German overall record of 185 kg (408 pounds). On 21 May 2011, he lifted 190 kg (420 pounds) in Finland, winning the local competition. He also won "Germany's Strongest Man" in 2011 by winning the open division at the German strongman nationals. On September 20, 2015, Baboumian beat his own record by completing the yoke walk with 560 kg (1,230 pounds) in Germany.
In 2017, Baboumian was featured in the documentary "Empathy" directed by Ed Antoja and which aims to promote a more respectful way of life towards all animals.
In 2018, Baboumian was featured in the Netflix documentary "The Game Changers" directed by Louie Psihoyos, a film that explores nutritional science and showcases elite athletes who only consume plant-based diets.
In 2022, Baboumian featured in a song and music video called "Strongest Of The Strong" by Kreator, who added thundering backing vocals to the song and appeared in the music video for the song as the comic book character Earthraiser who's fighting for animals and nature.
Baboumian has been a vegetarian since 2005 and became a vegan in 2011. In November 2011, he became the new face of a campaign by the animal rights organization PETA, advocating a vegan diet.