Who is Russel Orhii?
Russel Orhii, also known as Russwole, is an American powerlifter and bodybuilder who is known for his glorious career and achievements while representing America in several powerlifting tournaments. He has also managed to set some of the world records in squat, deadlifting, as well as total weight while having an almost spotless career with the most wins.
Quick Biography
Real Name: Russel Orhii
Alias: RusSwole
Date of Birth: 9th December, 1994
Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Houston, Texas, United States
Profession: Powerlifter
Nationality: American
Ethnicity: Black
Parents: Dr. Paul Orhii (Father), Unknown (Mother)
Marital Status: Unmarried
Girlfriend: Martha Salaya
Children: None
Place of Residence: Houston, Texas, United States
Early Life
Russel Orhii was born on 9th December 1994 in Houston, Texas to parents of Nigerian origin. He was born and brought up in the United States. Not many details are available about his education. However, he was an anime fan during his early years and that is what seems to have kickstarted his love for sports. He started doing pushups while watching Dragon Ball Z to supposedly get a body like his favorite anime characters.
But his real love for sports and fitness began when he joined his school football team and for his love of American Football, he even started weight training. He did his schooling at George Ranch High School where he was also the runner-back of the school football team. He carried this passion along with him to college and also managed to get into the college football team where he played during Spring and even was going to play during the fall season. However, he then decided that American football wasn’t for him and left playing. Then he got more inclined towards lifting weights as it gave him a higher satisfaction.
Career
Orhii entered the world of powerlifting with whatever knowledge he had about exercise all thanks to his football career. However, initially, he struggled with the three mains of powerlifting: bench, squat, and deadlifting. He was mainly focused on bodybuilding and he eventually shifted his focus towards powerlifting. His powerlifting career began in 2015 and it has only been going higher and higher ever since.
His first appearance was representing the University of Houston during the USAPL Raw Collegiate in 2015. To his surprise, he won in the 83 k weight class where he squatted 245 kg (540.1 lb), benched 165 kg (363.8 lb), and deadlifted 275 kg (606.3 lb) despite not having the correct approach towards powerlifting.
After that he started focusing more and more on the sport and went on to win nine competitions within a span of three years and the major breakthrough in his career came when he won the USAPL Raw National championship in 2017. Winning such a major event just at the age of 2022, he became a national champion and got the opportunity to participate and represent the United States in IPF World Classic Powerlifting Championship in 2018. However, he faced his first loss here as he landed up the silver medal followed by Brett Gibbs who secured the first position.
After this loss, he worked harder and made an appearance in the 2019 IPF World Classic Powerlifting Championship where he once again competed against Gibbs only to reverse the outcome as he ended up securing the first position while also setting a new IPF World Record for the total weight of 833 kg (1836.5 lb). He also set a world record for the squats with a 313 kg squat.
He went on to win other titles like the Raw Nationals. However, he had a year-long break as he couldn’t perform throughout 2020 due to the pandemic. In the 2021 IPF World Classic Powerlifting Championship, he stunned everyone with an even better shape when he managed to secure the first position and also set new records, including a deadlifting record. He made the record for squatting with 320.5 kg and that of deadlifting with 333 kg.
Following the split of USAPL and IPF in 2021, Orhii was at a crossroads and he didn’t participate in the IPF for various reasons. However, he made his comeback in 2024 and competed in the Zoo Culture Qualifier and Classic Raw Open Nationals. As of April 2024, he is all set to participate and leave his mark at the IPF World Classic Powerlifting Championship 2024 which is going to take place in Lithuania.
Throughout his glorious career, he has won almost every tournament that he has been a part of which has earned him a near-perfect winning streak and he is also recognized as one of the best powerlifters in the industry. You can find the statistics of Russel Orhii’s entire career here!
Besides powerlifting, he has also been involved in other certain things which has added to his net worth. One such thing is his clothing brand ‘The Better Brand’ which makes clothing items especially suitable for sportspersons and for those who are into fitness. He also hosts a podcast called ‘The Better Take Podcast’ where he discusses on several topics with a wide range of guests. You can find the Instagram handle for his podcast at @thebettertake and they are also available on Spotify and Apple Podcast if you want to listen.
Personal Information
Russel Orhii, also known as RusSwole, was born on 9th December 1994 in Houston, Texas. He was born to parents of Nigerian origin and his father Dr. Paul Orhii has a big name in political aspects. Born and raised in America, he is an American citizen and has represented the United States in several tournaments. He belongs to Nigerian origin and black ethnicity.
As of 2024, Russel Orhii is 29 years old. He stands at a height of 5 feet 6 inches (168 cm) and his weight is 83 kg (approx.. 183 lbs). He has black eyes and black hair too, with an extremely well-built physique. The same physique of his has earned him the title of a Power Builder.
He is very active on social media and keeps motivating his fans to stay active while also sharing his progress. You can find his Instagram handle at @russwole where he has 517 K followers. His threads account @russwole has 65.8 K followers. You can find him on X (previously Twitter) @RusSwole where he has around 76.2 K followers as of now. His TikTok account @russwole has 363.8 K followers. For those interested in his weightlifting videos, you can join his 395 K subscribers and subscribe to his YouTube channel at @RusselOrhii.
Relationship
Russel Orhii was speculated to be dating a fellow powerlifter Martha Salaya for a long time. She also represents United States in several powerlifing tournaments in the Womens 56 kg category. The duo often shared pictures together on social media and Martha Salaya and Russel Orhii even trained at the same gym- the Corrupted Strength. However, since past few months there have been rumours about their split up. These rumors became even stronger when Orhii mentioned in one of his podcast episodes that he ‘no longer cares to keep up with and doesn’t allow their negative energy to disrupt his’. There have been no link-ups of Orhii with anybody else and he is speculated to be single as of 2024.
Image Source: @RusSwole X
Russel Orhii and Martha Salaya
Net Worth
There is no official information available regarding the net worth of Russel Orhii. However, based on his career and his representation of America in several tournaments worldwide combined with his merchandise money and social media earnings, Russel Orhii’s net worth as of 2024 is speculated to be between 1 million dollar to 5 million dollars.
Trivia
- Russel Orhii was always more interested in bodybuilding and thus he wanted to become the ‘bridge between bodybuilding and powerlifting’. This also earned him the title of PowerBuilder.
- While his glorious powerlifting career takes away all the limelight, it is a lesser-known fact that he also participated in a bodybuilding competition back in 2016. This was the NPC Lee Labrada Classic.
- It is said that he used to do 100 pushups and situps every day when he was younger just so he could look like his favorite anime characters.
FAQ’s
How tall is Russel Orhii?
Russel Orhii is 5 ft 6 inches tall (168 cm).
How much can Russel Orhii squat?
Russel Orhii holds the world record for raw squat after he squatted 320.5 kilograms (706.6 pounds) in 2021 during he IPF World Championship. During the same event, he also set the total world record of 841 kg raw total.
What gym does Russel Orhii go to?
Russel Orhii regularly trains at a gym called Corrupted Strength which is located in Houston. He has posted several pictures and videos of him training at the gym and the official website of the Corrupted Strength Gym also boasts itself as ‘the home of Russel Orhii- the 89 kg King’. However, the gym took to its Instagram handle to make a post stating that they were closing and it was ‘not a goodbye but a see you later’.
Does Russel Orhii still compete?
Yes, Russel Orhii is still competing and he recently won in the 2024 PA Raw Nationals. As of April 2024, he is preparing to represent America in the 83 kg category at the 2024 IPF World Championship that is scheduled to take place in Lithuania.
What weight class is Russel Orhii?
Russel Orhii competes in the 83 kg weight class and he has represented America in the same weight class for almost every tournament that he has been a part of. However, during the Korea Winter Showdown in 2022, he competed in the 90 kg category and scored 572.69 points.
Video
Image Credit: @russwole Instagram