MEET Matthias “Hellboy” Schlitte, the German arm wrestling phenomenon with one enormous arm.
While his left arm is normal size, Schlitte’s right is Popeye-like due to a rare genetic defect that makes his right forearm bone 33 per cent larger than his left.
Schlitte first hit the arm wrestling circuit as a 16-year-old on the advice of his mother, and was ridiculed because of his light 65kg frame.
But what his competitors didn’t realise is that much of that weight was taken up by his right limb.
Matthias Schlitte was born with a gigantic superhuman arm. Source: News Corp Australia
“It was in 2004 and my mother found a flyer in a petrol station and the flyer was looking for an arm wrestler for men of up to 90kg,” Schlitte told Yahoo!7 Sport.
“I was 16 and I went into this small bar in Haldensleben and I only weighed 65kg. All these bigger men were laughing at me, but when I beat them all the men changed from laughing to respect and the rest is history.”
The 27-year-old is now 11 years into his arm wrestling career and is a seven-time German champion and 14-time international champion.
“I first discovered I could use my gift when I was three years of age,” Schlitte added.
“We had a family oven at home in Germany and I picked up a rather large bucket of coal for the oven and carried it around for my mother, which was probably very uncommon for a three-year-old.
“Everyone has a challenge in life. I’m not a religious guy or anything but this was a gift from a higher power and this was my calling in life.”
While his left arm is normal size, Schlitte’s right is Popeye-like due to a rare genetic defect that makes his right forearm bone 33 per cent larger than his left.
Schlitte first hit the arm wrestling circuit as a 16-year-old on the advice of his mother, and was ridiculed because of his light 65kg frame.
But what his competitors didn’t realise is that much of that weight was taken up by his right limb.
Matthias Schlitte was born with a gigantic superhuman arm. Source: News Corp Australia
“It was in 2004 and my mother found a flyer in a petrol station and the flyer was looking for an arm wrestler for men of up to 90kg,” Schlitte told Yahoo!7 Sport.
“I was 16 and I went into this small bar in Haldensleben and I only weighed 65kg. All these bigger men were laughing at me, but when I beat them all the men changed from laughing to respect and the rest is history.”
The 27-year-old is now 11 years into his arm wrestling career and is a seven-time German champion and 14-time international champion.
“I first discovered I could use my gift when I was three years of age,” Schlitte added.
“We had a family oven at home in Germany and I picked up a rather large bucket of coal for the oven and carried it around for my mother, which was probably very uncommon for a three-year-old.
“Everyone has a challenge in life. I’m not a religious guy or anything but this was a gift from a higher power and this was my calling in life.”
