Kadhem Sharif - Biography

Biography

Kadhem Sharif was born in 1952 and like his father became obsessed with motorcycles. "I was 12 when I sneaked out on my father's Harley for the first time. I bought my first one eight years later, a 1966 Fatboy," Sharif recalls.

As he grew up he also developed a passion for wrestling and weightlifting, becoming a world-class athlete. Many of his sporting adventures held danger and he remembers that every time the Iraqi team did badly the leader of Iraqi sports, Saddam's son Uday Hussein, would order that everyone have their heads and eyebrows shaved and on at least one occasion, they were put in prison.

Sharif's association did not end there as Uday had Sharif build him a world-class gym. Sharif also developed a weightlifting program for Uday. Sharif supplied some supplements but Uday instead started abusing steroids

“	Steroids affected him, he became an addict. The doctors said he should not mix alcohol and steroids, but he did and it drove him mad. He was trying to be a hero by taking more and more tablets. But he failed.	”
	— Kadhem Sharif talking about Uday Hussein's drug use

Uday took up collecting motorcycles like Sharif, even stealing some from him. It was at this point that they had a falling out and Sharif refused to fix any of Uday's bikes. It was then that he was thrown in jail on trumped up charges and spent two years in Iraqi prisons.

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