Arnold

Introduction

There was no way of knowing it at the time, but a baby boy born in Graz, Austria, was pre-destined for greatness. His father strongly encouraged him to become involved in athletics in order to develop a strong sense of determination trait that evolved into nothing short of a dogged pursuit of excellence in every aspect of his life. He participated in the sport of soccer and competed in track and field events before discovering his true passion for weight lifting at the age of 15. Three years later, he trained as a professional bodybuilder and by the age of 20, he became none other than Mr. Universe. That baby boy grew up to be ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER.

Early life

Arnold was born July 30 1947, in the little town Thal in Austria, four miles from Graz.

The name Schwarzenegger means "black plowman".

His father Gustav was a former military officer who later became a policeman and his mother was a house wife. They all lived above the police station, where Gustav worked. Arnold had a one year older brother, Meinhard, who died in a car accident when he was in his twenties. They were both raised in a very strict catholic home. One day after seeing the Olympic swimchampion Johnny WeissmÑŒller in Graz, Arnold was so inspired by Johnny's physique that he decided he wanted to become a champion athlete and started training.

In the early years Arnold and his brother practiced a lot of different sports such as skating, skiing, hiking, swimming and table-tennis. Because of the interest in sports the school came in second place and did not get much attention. The brothers were always competing against each other both in sports and in school. Gustav wanted Arnold to become a world-class soccer player, but at the age of thirteen Arnold dropped out of the soccer team.

He was looking for a role model and found one on the silver screen, Hercules. He watched all the Hercules movies over and over.

He started to collect muscle magazines and was so impressed by the strength and the muscles in the magazine that he had just one goal clear in his mind.

So he started to train.

Bodybuilding

Just about everyone who walks the face of the earth has heard of the legendary Arnold Schwarzenegger. The man is an inspiration to millions of men around the world, both in success and fitness.

Even though times have changed -- today's bodybuilders are far bigger than in Arnold's time -- we can still learn a lot from the man that brought bodybuilding to the masses.

In 1961 Arnold met Kurt Marnul, the former Mr. Austria. Marnul was impressed by Arnolds body and asked him if he wanted to train in the Athletic Union in Graz. And of course Arnold wanted that.

Arnold trained seven days a week and for that he had to drop out of school and abandon the church.

Besides training Arnold began a three-year apprentenship as a carpenter. He competed in his first competition in Graz hotel and came in second place. In 1965 he enlisted in the Austrian army, and to compete in Stuttgart Arnold had to go A.W.O.L and for that he was jailed when he came back. But he won the competition and was awarded the title Junior Mr. Europa.

By the age of twenty he had been named Mr. Germany and runner up in his his first Mr. Universe. When he retired in 1975 he had been awarded Mr. Universe five times, Mr. Olympia six times and Mr. World once. But five years after his retirement in 1980 he won his seventh Mr. Olympia titel.

"The secret is to make your mind work for you -- not against you."

- Arnold's bodybuilding philosophy

Arnold's approach to bodybuilding was more mental than physical. For him, it was (and still is) all or nothing. While competing, he didn't go through the motions; he worked out to be larger than life.

Acting

Schwarzenegger would of course go on to become one of the most successful entertainers in box office history, but before the Austrian bodybuilder immersed himself in his lifelong ambition to act, he moved to the United States and received a business degree from the University of Wisconsin. His humanitarian contributions subsequently garnered him an honorary doctorate from the same university. While attending the University of Wisconsin, he continued to compete in bodybuilding, packing an unprecedented thirteen world titles under his belt, including Mr. Universe, Mr. Olympia and Mr. World. With an international fan base, charisma, growing popularity and natural talent in front of media and cameras, his goal of launching a motion picture career was the next logical and inevitable transition.

In 1970, he landed a small role in the aptly titled Hercules in New York. Another minor break followed when director Bob Rafelson cast him in a key role opposite Sally Field and Jeff Bridges in Stay Hungry. His performance not only earned him winning reviews, but even a Golden Globe Award for Best Newcomer that year. But it would be the critically acclaimed 1977 film Pumping Iron that really captured his engaging, natural presence in front of the camera. The feature-length documentary about the Mr. Olympia competitions would ironically allow him to put his own Mr. Universe moniker aside and pursue acting full-time.

A romantic action-comedy western called The Villain was released next, pairing Schwarzenegger with Kirk Douglas and Ann-Margret. That same year, Arnold agreed to play the part of Mickey Hargitay opposite Loni Anderson in The Jayne Mansfield Story. But it wasn't until 1982 that the former bodybuilder really made his mark on the Hollywood scene in director John Milius' interpretation of Conan the Barbarian, in which Arnold portrayed the overblown comic-book hero of the mystical Dark Ages. The film grossed over $100 million worldwide, spawning a popular sequel called Conan the Destroyer and securing Schwarzenegger a devoted following around the globe.

Soon after becoming a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1983, Schwarzenegger took a chance on a low-budget independent film by an unknown director named James Cameron. A futuristic thriller that featured Arnold as one of the most terrifying villains in movie history, The Terminator was a runaway box-office hit. Cited by Time magazine as one of the year's Ten Best Films, the success of The Terminator immediately thrust its star into the forefront of Hollywood's elite.