Milan Jovanović ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Јовановић; born February 5, 1970) is a former WPA and GPC world

powerlifting Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight single-lift effor ...

champion and a

strongman In the 19th century, the term strongman referred to an exhibitor of strength or similar circus performers who performed feats of strength. More recently, strength athletics, also known as strongman competitions, have grown in popularity. These ...

competitor. He is sometimes known by the nickname Ribcracker. He is also a writer and blogger.

Sporting career

Jovanović started powerlifting in 1998 and won nine Serbian

nation A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective identity of a group of people understood as defined by those ...

al championships in a row. He achieved his major success in powerlifting at the international level by winning the 2000 WPA world title in Lancaster,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

and the 2003 WPC world title in

Wien en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

when he finished first overall with 936 lbs in squat. In 2003 Jovanović entered his first Strongman competition, which was held in his native Niš, Serbia. He achieved his major success at the international level in 2005 when he finished fifth overall in the United Strongman Series competition. In 2006 he was injured and retired from competition. In September 2010 he made a successful return, taking part at the GPC worlds RAW competition held in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

Personal bests

* Bench press - 628 pounds (285 kg) * Squat - 1000 pounds (430 kg) * Deadlift - 794 pounds (361 kg)

Bodyguarding career

After injury he moved to the United States and became a bodyguard in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, working for celebrities including

Mickey Rourke Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke Jr. (; born September 16, 1952) is an American actor and former boxer who has appeared primarily as a leading man in drama, action, and thriller films. During the star of the 1980s, Rourke played supporting roles i ...

and Kimbo Slice,

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), known commonly as "Shaq" ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. O'Neal is regarded as one of the greates ...

, and

Jenna Jameson Jenna Marie Massoli (born April 9, 1974), known professionally as Jenna Jameson (), is an American model, former pornographic film actress, businesswoman, and television personality. She has been named the world's most famous adult entertainme ...

. According to

Bas Rutten Sebastiaan "Bas" Rutten (; born 24 February 1965) is a Dutch-American actor, former mixed martial artist, kickboxer and professional wrestler. He was a UFC Heavyweight Champion, a three-time King of Pancrase world champion, and finished his car ...

, Jovanović was also Slice's strength coach.

Writing career

His blog on b92.net is the most visited blog in Serbia. Milan Strongman Jovanovic publishing his texts in Serbian issue of Playboy and newspaper

Kurir ''Kurir'' is daily tabloid newspaper published in Belgrade, Serbia. History ''Kurir'' first issue appeared at the news stands on 6 May 2003. While Kurir's history is relatively short, it is also a checkered one. It goes back to the state of emer ...

Personal life

Jovanović has three sons and holds a master's degree in electronics at the Faculty of Electronic Engineering

University of Niš The University of Niš ( sr, Универзитет у Нишу, Univerzitet u Nišu) is a public university in Serbia. It was founded in 1965 and consists of 13 faculties with 1,492 academic staff and around 20,500 students (as of 2018–19 sch ...

. He also appeared in several supporting roles in a couple of movies, namely The Parade, The Sisters an
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IMDb's database on Milan Jovanovic
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Acting career

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jovanovic, Milan 1970 births Living people Serbian powerlifters Serbian male bloggers Serbian strength athletes Sportspeople from Niš Sportspeople from Miami Serbian emigrants to the United States Male powerlifters