Torokhtiy was born on May 22, 1986 in Zugres, Donetsk region, Ukraine.

Oleksiy started weightlifting in 2000. In 2005 he joined the Ukrainian national Olympic weightlifting team.

In 2003 he graduated from Kharkiv Regional Higher School of Physical Culture with a degree in Physical Education.

In 2006, at the European Junior Championships, he became a bronze medalist in the snatch and clean & jerk.

In 2007 he became the winner of the World Weightlifting Cup in Apia.

In 2008, he became a participant of the XXIX Olympic Games in Beijing, where he became one of the 10 strongest athletes in the category of up to 105 kg. Due to a lack of financial support, he had to retire from competitive Olympic Weightlifting right after the Olympic Games 2008 in Beijing. 5 months after his retirement, he got a sponsor, that allowed him to continue with his professional career.

In 2009 he became a silver medalist in European Championships in Bucharest (405 kg).

In 2010 he graduated from Kharkiv Aviation Institute with a major in “Control system for flying machines and complexes” and was certified as an engineer.

In 2010, he received the silver in clean & jerk and became the bronze medalist of the European Weightlifting Championships in Minsk.

In 2011 in Paris, Oleksiy Torokhtiy became the bronze medalist of the World Championship.

On August 6, 2012 in London Oleksiy became the Olympic Gold Medalist in weightlifting in the category 105 kg.

In 2014 he received a second degree in Zaporizhzhya National University, specializing in physical education and sports / weightlifting coach.

In 2016, he founded the international brand of sportswear and accessories “Warm Body Cold Mind” (WBCM). It became famous for its slogan on t-shirts. “The (WBCM) shirt made its debut in (famous American baseball player Bryce Harper) his first media address in Florida, and was casually noted by the Washington Post, ESPN, Yahoo! Sports and more, who failed to grasp what it means”. As well Oleksiy Torokhtiy launched an online weightlifting program Torwod.

On 22 December 2018, it was announced that as a consequence of the International Olympic Committee’s re-analysis program in connection with the 2012 London Olympic Games Oleksiy had tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. and in December 2019 it was confirmed that he had been disqualified.