There are strong guys, there are animals, and then you have the Russians. Well, everyone who follows strength sports like Powerlifting or Strongman competitions knows that when the Russians arrive, they mean business.

Konstantin Konstantinovs was one such powerlifting legend and was one of the strongest men to have walked the face of the Earth.

© Twitter

His nickname was the 'Kalashnikov' which means a type of sub-machine gun made in Russia.

He held the raw world deadlift record of 426 kilos and was a pure old-school guy. No fancy equipment, no fancy stuff, nothing. Only pure aggression and madness!

He used to lift weights like they owed him money and were avoiding him and it looked like the weights were trembling in fear when he used to lift them.

Here is another video of his record raw lift of 426 kilos. Whenever he used to lift, it used to be a show, and people used to come to just watch him lift.

He was a pure legend in every sense.

Along with being a competitive powerlifter, he worked as a personal bodyguard in Russia. There is a rumour floating around on the internet that his death was due to a street fight which led to him being stabbed and killed.

© YouTube

Though, as of now, it is just a rumour, there is a high chance is it true for two possible reasons; number one, being a bodyguard is a dangerous job and number two, it is Russia.

In Konstantin, the world has lost a legend.

He was a strong and intimidating man and someone people highly looked up to due to his personality.

I would like to end my tribute with one of his quotes:

"..if you feel that you can lift the record today, never postpone it for tomorrow. Tomorrow may just not come."

RIP big man.  

Author bio:

Pratik Thakkar is the co-founder and director of GetSetGo Fitness, an online fitness company and the founder of Mars Nutrition, a nutrition supplement company. Both his companies are geared towards providing you with the right information and products without any false or fake claims. You can reach out to him at pratik@getsetgo.fitness and follow him on Instagram.