COVER STORY

ARNOLD: THE FIRST 60 YEARS

THE ARNOLD
FIRST THE MOVIE
60 “Truth is stranger than fiction,
but it is because Fiction is obliged
to stick to possibilities; Truth isn’t.”

YEARS
As he prepares to celebrate his 60th birthday
— Mark Twain
Look at Arnold Schwarzenegger; look at
everything he has done since growing up
poor in a tiny Austrian village. See all the
bodybuilding titles he won, all the movies
he starred in, the hundreds of millions of
dollars he made, the political office he now
on July 30, we look back at the amazing holds and the influential national figure he’ll be
in the 2008 presidential election. See the enormous

life and times of Arnold Schwarzenegger legend growing right there in front of you: One of the
largest yet perhaps most improbable icons the world
has ever seen — maybe even the most recogniz-
able person on the planet.
iNCLUDES Lights, But for a better perspective you must look
camera, through the lens of a movie camera. The
ARNOLD: ARNOLD: THE QUOTABLE Arnold! naked eye won’t work — it would never
believe what it was seeing. No way, your eyes
THE MOVIE THE MOVIE COMPLETE ARNOLD would tell you, that this man’s story actually
1960–1970 1970–1980 ARNOLD The words of occurred the way it did. Only in a movie
the competitors,
By Joe would this happen, and only in the most unbe-
The inspiration, The Oak becomes The best of
the dedication Mr. Olympia, and Arnold’s training mentors and Wuebben lievable of fantasy tales. Through a camera lens
it’s easier to understand, even if for only a couple
and drive that Hollywood begins advice featured training partners and of hours, that, sure, maybe it could’ve happened.
fueled Arnold’s to take notice in one amazing who knew the Peter That’s the only way you’ll be able to put Arnold’s
story in context. In fact, he feels the same way.
early years of Arnold collection legend best McGough “I still look back today,” he remarks about his
Page 166 Page 190 Page 214 Page 230 incredible life journey, “and say to myself, ‘How did it
2007 Photos happen? How did that become a reality?’” Through
a series of events that can be told only as if
PLUS THE COMPLETE M&F by Robert Reiff scripted for a movie, that’s our contention.
ARNOLD COVER COLLECTION So sit back, relax and enjoy the picture.

AND AN EXCLUSIVE FREE POSTER

2007OLYMPIA.COM 165
 ARNOLD: THE FIRST 60 YEARS
ARNOLD: THE MOVIE

960-1970 ACT ONE

SCENE I
Summer 1962. Fourteen-year-old Arnold Schwarzenegger walks
into a gym for the first time in his hometown of Graz, Austria. The place
is very primitive, like some sort of torture chamber or dungeon.
Weightlifters are doing clean and jerks and presses and squats on a
weightlifting platform. You can hear the humming of quiet conversations,
and every so often someone screams loudly in the middle of a set of squats
or snatches. Outside of that, very little idle chitchat takes place. The walls
Before of the gym are filled with chalk. In one small area, for instance, “Clean-
The Oak
there was
and-Jerk 20 sets” is written on the wall. Underneath that, white chalk
The Acorn lines are drawn to tally how many sets have been performed. Other
lifting stations have different colored chalk on the walls for different
exercises, all serving as archaic training logs.
Forty-five years later, those chalk lines stand America of all places. What better way to set
out in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s mind more a goal than with some chalk on a wall?
than anything else. “I loved the idea of writing down your goal

N E W P H O T O BY R O B E R T R E I F F W I T H O R I G I N A L I M A G E U S E D
And why not? Because, after all, you can more and then, in the next hour or two, turning

F O R C U T O U T C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S
or less boil the story of Arnold Schwarzenegger it into reality,” Arnold says. “You knew that if
down to chalk marks: setting goals, drawing up you made 18 lines and the number 20 was there
a plan to achieve those goals and then execut- you were short, and you could not really follow
ing the plan successfully. Then setting further through with your goal, and you better go
goals and planning and executing, and so on. and do the other two sets. That’s one thing
No goal was off limits. No goal was too grand, I learned from bodybuilding: If you set a goal,
too far beyond Arnold’s reach, whether it you better follow through. You write it down,
meant setting out to be the best bodybuilder you tell everyone about it, so you make an
in the world as a 150-pound 14-year-old or official commitment. Then you have to go all-
somehow parlaying that into a movie career, in out, otherwise you embarrass yourself.”

2007OLYMPIA.COM 167
 ARNOLD: THE MOVIE

SCENE II
Later that summer, 1962. Arnold is looking up at the wall
Arnold can still recall his hands again; this time it’s the wall of a movie theater in Graz. He is watching
sticking to the chinning bar while Hercules vs. the Vampires. And there he is: Reg Park, the man Arnold
working out because it was so cold had already seen and admired in muscle magazines. Reg is rugged,
powerful and rough, more so than, say, Steve Reeves, another popular
Arnold was born July 30, 1947, in Thal, Austria, a small village potential took him under their wings.
of 1,200 people. He was the son of Gustav, a tall, solidly built Soon thereafter, Arnold quit playing all other sports. He bodybuilder turned movie star, who Arnold finds too polished and elegant
man, a former ice-curling champion who was hooked on lifting weights. Three
made a career in law enforcement as chief of nights a week he would go to the gym in for his liking. Reg Park is Arnold’s new idol.
police for the area surrounding Graz (4 Graz, 6 miles from his home. He either
miles or so from Thal), and Aurelia walked or rode his bike to get there, And there it was, on the wall, another goal: to become the going to get out of Austria and come to America. From the
Schwarzenegger. His older brother Mein- which didn’t bother him, as he knew it next Reg Park. Arnold became obsessed with the man. He time I was something like 10 years old I felt this way. But
hard was physically gifted in his own right, was helping strengthen his body, specifi- learned everything he could about Reg — what he ate, how I had no idea how I was going to make that happen, because

F R O M T O P : C O U R T E S Y O F A R N O L D S C H W A R Z E N E G G E R / W E I D E R H E A LT H & F I T N E S S ,
maybe even more so than Arnold, though cally his legs and lungs. The gym, housed he trained — from programs published in muscle maga- there just seemed to be no way.”
he didn’t possess the same drive. (Meinhard in Graz’s soccer stadium, was closed on zines. He studied every photo of Reg he could, read every No way he would do all this — move to America, star in

K E V I N H O R T O N . O P P O S I T E : C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S
died tragically in a car crash in 1971.) weekends because of matches being German article on Reg he could, and even had a friend trans- movies, become famous — all because of bodybuilding. It
With the encouragement of his father, played there, which forced Arnold and late the ones written in English. The men Arnold trained was a widely unaccepted sport at the time — most of his
Arnold grew up immersed in sports: soccer his lifting partners to break the gym’s with at the gym told him maybe, just maybe, he could friends, not to mention his parents, found it a rather peculiar
especially, but also ice-curling, running, windows to get in and lift. Other days he achieve what Reg had in the next 10 years. But Arnold didn’t way to spend one’s time — but Arnold set a precedent of
swimming, boxing and throwing the trained at home in the gym he constructed have 10 years. He wanted it sooner, so he stepped up his carving his own path rather than simply doing what was
javelin and shot put. The latter activities are out of basic equipment welded to suit training, lifting six days a week, sometimes more than once popular. He didn’t want to be a fireman, detective or sailor
evidence that he preferred individual his needs. a day. Workouts on top of workouts, and, more importantly, like the other kids. And, for that matter, he didn’t want to be
sports, where one person, and one person This home gym wasn’t heated, of goals on top of goals: Arnold wouldn’t just be the next Reg just another bodybuilder.
only, would receive reward and praise for course. In the midst of an Austrian winter, Park. He would be the best-built man in Europe. And he “With my desire and drive, I definitely wasn’t normal,”
a victory. Arnold often trained in below-zero would eventually be the best bodybuilder in the world. Then Arnold says. “Normal people can be happy with a regular
During the summer of 1962, just before he temperatures. The club where he lifted he would go to America where he, like Reg, would star in life. I was different. I felt there was more to life than just
turned 15, Arnold discovered bodybuilding in Graz was similar in that it had just one movies. The chalk was on the wall. plodding through an average existence. I’d always been
as a way to get stronger for soccer, and The early days: Arnold and his primitive heater for the entire place. But how? No one in those days ever traveled that far, from impressed by stories of greatness and power. Caesar, Charle-
immediately he knew that’s what he wanted older brother Meinhard and the
house they grew up in
Arnold can still recall his hands sticking Nowhere, Austria, to America. No one could afford to. “The magne, Napoleon were names I knew and remembered.
to do. At roughly 6 feet tall and only 150 to the chinning bar while working out goal was to become another Reg Park,” Arnold says. “I had I wanted to do something special, to be recognized as the
pounds, Arnold, though thin, was athletic and muscular because the room and equipment were so cold, and ripping no idea at that point how to do it, but I was absolutely con- best. I saw bodybuilding as the vehicle that would take me to
for his age, and older gym members who saw his physical the skin off his fingers to remove them. vinced that this was going to happen. I always felt that I was the top, and I put all my energy into it.”

1907 1945 1947 1955 1962 1964

TIMELINE

Aug. 1 Oct. 20 July 30

ARNOLD’S

Nov. 6 July February

Arnold’s father Gustav Arnold’s parents marry in Arnold is born at 4:10 a.m. Maria Shriver, Arnold’s A 14-year-old Arnold Arnold wins the city
is born Mürsteg, Styria in Thal, Austria future wife, is born meets Kurt Marnul (future and national curling
Mr. Austria), manager championships, junior
1922 1946 1953 1962 of the Athletic Union Graz division
in Graz, Austria
July 29 July 17
By Joe Roark

Arnold begins attending February

Arnold’s mother Aurelia Arnold’s older brother the Hans Gross School Arnold finishes sixth in an April 26
is born Meinhard is born ice-curling competition Arnold begins work Arnold places third
in Thal as an apprentice in Mr. Austria and
carpenter in Graz Mr. Herkules, and fourth
The
in Mr. Steiermark odyssey
begins
»
168 MUSCLE & FITNESS Month
July 2007
2005 MUSCLE-FITNESS.COM
2007OLYMPIA.COM 169
 ARNOLD: THE MOVIE

SCENE III
October 1965. Arnold is staring up at the wall of his army
barracks in the middle of the night. He can’t sleep. He can’t decide what
he should do: obey his orders and not leave the base, or sneak out of camp

O P P O S I T E , F R O M L E F T: N E W P H O T O BY R O B E R T R E I F F W I T H O R I G I N A L I M A G E U S E D F O R C U T O U T C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R H E A LT H
and cross over into Germany to compete in the bodybuilding competition
he so desperately wants to win. He finally makes his decision. He’ll leave.

A N D F I T N E S S . T H I S PA G E , F R O M T O P : C O U R T E S Y O F A R N O L D : T H E A M E R I C A N D R E A M / A M I ; © B U S E K / S C H W A R Z E N E G G E R
Not even stopping to pack a bag with extra clothes in it, he gets up and
climbs over the wall, out of camp. He has scrounged barely enough money
for a third-class train ticket. The train stops at every station along the
Ladies and
way and one day later arrives in Stuttgart.
gentlemen, the
“Best Built
Athlete in Three years after first visiting that rundown gym and
Europe”
winner for
seeing Reg Park on the movie screen, Arnold was training as
1966 hard as ever. And now, at age 18, he had joined the Austrian
Army, conveniently assigned to a camp near Graz and
commissioned as a tank driver. “The army became a luxury,”
Arnold says. “Before that, I only ate meat once a week or so
because my family didn’t have the money. In the army,
you could have meat every day. And then, if you screwed up,
they would put you in the kitchen at night to peel potatoes
and do preparation work for the chef the next day. That was
no punishment to me; it was the ideal situation, to go and eat
everything you wanted. There was always meat left over, and
there were eggs that you could make right there. So I worked
out, then did my duty for two hours, and then I’m eating.
I was actually gaining the most weight during that period
[up to around 225 pounds from 200]. Even though we were
working hard and running every day, it was still the time to
In 1965 Arnold (center) was a tank driver in the Austrian Army
really get in there and gain weight. It was fantastic!”

1965 1966
Spring Aug. 1 Sept. 29
Arnold wins Mr. Steiermark Arnold begins working British magazine Health &
at Putziger’s Gym in Strength offers its first
Oct. 1 Munich; he buys the gym mention of Arnold:
Arnold begins compulsory the next year “This 20-year-old Austrian
one-year service in is typical of the huge
Photogra pher’s N ame

Sept. 24
Austrian Army as a tank improvement in European
At the NABBA
driver entries in our [Mr.] Uni-
Mr. Universe in London,
verse.” Arnold is erro-
Arnold places second
neously called Leopold
in the amateur tall class
Schwartzenegger
»
170 MUSCLE & FITNESS July 2007 2007OLYMPIA.COM 171
 ARNOLD: THE MOVIE
1 2

SCENE IV
Early 1966. Arnold is beginning to prosper. He now lives in
Munich, Germany, having moved there shortly after winning the Junior
Mr. Europe competition and leaving the army. He trains at a gym along-
side top-level bodybuilders. For work, he manages the gym where he
trains, after spending just two weeks as a personal trainer. Arnold’s

W E I D E R H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S , Z E L L E R / © F I T N E S S P U B L I C AT I O N S , I N C . / C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S ,
O P P O S I T E PA G E , C LO C K W I S E F R O M T O P R I G H T: A R A X C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S , C O U R T E S Y O F
learning curve is steep, having hardly ventured outside of Austria and

C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S ( 2 ) ; T H I S PA G E : C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S
not being up to speed with the multitude of languages being spoken at
the gym and around the city, such as Spanish, Turkish and English. But
1) Arnold came in second at the 1966 Mr. Universe at age 20 2) Doing an impromptu posing routine after the 1966 Mr. Universe Arnold learns quickly — learning how to train, learning how to become a
3) Arnold and Chet Yorton (right) at the 1966 Mr. Universe 4) Developing the mind/muscle connection 5) Posing by the lake in Graz
champion bodybuilder. He’s training to become Mr. Universe.
To truly understand the success of Arnold Schwarzenegger “After the show [in Stuttgart] I took Arnold to a restaurant,”
is to realize that it’s as much due to his aptitude for social Albert says of his first encounter with the then 18-year-old.
interaction — specifically that people have always been drawn “I already knew that, physically, he had the greatest potential
to him and wanted to help him — as his physical prowess. I’d ever seen. As we talked, his personality and sense of fun
This is one reason he moved to Munich in the first place, for made a deep impression on me. He had a hunger for success
in Stuttgart he had met Albert Busek, who by that time had a and a drive for improvement I’d never experienced in anyone
considerable presence in the German bodybuilding commu- before or since. He told me he was looking to make the next
nity as the co-founder and editor of the magazine Sport Revue, step in his bodybuilding career. He told me his ambition was
and soon would found the German Bodybuilding and Fitness to eventually go to the United States, become the best body-
Federation in 1966. (To this day, Albert is still involved with builder in the world and be a movie star.”
the sport as a photojournalist living in Munich, and remains Indeed, the trip to Stuttgart proved in many ways to be a
close friends with Arnold. In 2005, he received the Artie Zeller worthwhile, if not deviant, venture, as another individual
award for photographic excellence at the Ironman Pro Invita- Arnold met there was Franco Columbu, who was competing
tional in Pasadena, California.) Albert, impressed both by in the lightweight division of the Europe Powerlifting
Arnold’s physique and charisma, convinced him to move to Championships at the same location. Arnold and Franco,
Munich and work in the gym he managed. who was from Sardinia and was now living in Munich, too,
3 4 5

Only one problem: The Junior Mr. Europe competition, in When he returned to camp, he was caught climbing back 1966 (CONT.) 1967 Even early
Stuttgart, Germany, happened to fall in the six weeks of basic over the wall and spent the next seven days in jail with very in his career,
training when the soldiers weren’t allowed to leave the base for little food and only a cold, stone bench to sleep on and a Oct. 9 Jan. 28 April 4 Arnold
Arnold wins Best Built Arnold gives a barbell- Arnold places second attracted
any other reason besides the death of a family member. Arnold blanket to keep warm with. But Arnold had his trophy, and attention
Athlete of Europe, in curling demonstration at at a powerlifting contest
bolted anyway. When he arrived at the competition, this being by the time he was released from jail, word had spread around Cologne, Germany the Mr. London contest, in Germany
his first one, he was clueless. He had to borrow posing trunks the base that he was the new Junior Mr. Europe. He became working up to doing cheat
and body oil from other competitors. For his posing routine, all a local hero, even among his superiors, who granted him two Oct. 30 reps with 260 pounds Sept. 23
Photogra pher’s N ame

he could do was try and mimic what he had seen Reg Park days leave for bringing prestige to the Austrian Army. “You Arnold wins Best Built Ath- Arnold wins the amateur
doing in the magazines. Somehow it all worked out — Arnold have to fight to achieve,” the drill sergeants said to the lete of Europe, in Stuttgart, March 2 & 16 NABBA Mr. Universe in
went through the preliminary rounds, then got called for the soldiers in the field. “You have to have courage. Look at what and wins a heavyweight Arnold gets his first and London, tall class and
pose-off, and then became the new Junior Mr. Europe. Schwarzenegger did just to win this title.” powerlifting title; Franco second covers of Health & overall, becoming the
Columbu wins the mid- Strength magazine youngest man ever to win
dleweight division a Mr. Universe title »
172 MUSCLE & FITNESS July 2007 2007OLYMPIA.COM 173
 ARNOLD: THE MOVIE

When Arnold turned 20, his weight

had reached between 240 and 250
pounds, practically unheard of
for a bodybuilder in the late ’60s
became training partners and friends right away. “Franco American competition, namely Chet Yorton, told him he had
would invite me over to his apartment and cook,” Arnold a ways to go yet. Arnold was big, yes, but he wasn’t nearly
says. “He was already a good cook. So we had a terrific time.” where he needed to be as a bodybuilder. “The kind of thing

T H I S PA G E , F R O M T O P L E F T: N E W P H O T O BY R O B E R T R E I F F W I T H O R I G I N A L I M A G E U S E D F O R C U T O U T C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S , C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R
Arnold began training twice a day, six days a week, using a I was seeing [in Chet and the other American bodybuilders]
split routine that would one day become famous. He trained had very little to do with body size, which was what I had
in the morning from 9–11 o’clock, and then came back at 7 p.m. concentrated on,” he says. “That was mere foundation material.
for another two-hour lifting session. Fellow gym members Now I had to work it down, to carve and shape it. I had to get
thought Arnold would surely overtrain himself and lose size, the separation, the finish, the tan.”

H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S . O P P O S I T E PA G E , F R O M T O P : C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S , C A R U S O / C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S
but he gained another 5 pounds of quality muscle in less than Regardless, Arnold placed second in the tall class to Chet.
two months using the double-split routine. By the time he was More important, people noticed him. After the show, Ameri-
to compete in his second competition, the Mr. Europe in early can journalists wanted to interview and photograph Arnold.
1966, rumors were already spreading of the 19-year-old They wanted to know his training secrets, because surely …within a few years they measured 22 inches
Austrian giant with the biggest arms in all of Europe, at 20 to get that large he had to be doing something different.
inches. Bodybuilding spectators were clamoring to see him in Spectators of the event were anointing Arnold the next Mr. He returned to Munich and began training even harder, Chet Yorton not competing this time around. But just as had
person, to touch his enormous physique. Arnold won the Mr. Universe. But Arnold took nothing for granted. His hunger determined to avenge his loss at the Mr. Universe. By the been predicted a year earlier, the outcome was clear. Leaner,
Europe, and soon thereafter won the title of Best Built Man in to become the best-built man in the world was only growing. following summer, when Arnold turned 20, his bodyweight more defined and now armed with a new posing routine,
Europe in a separate competition. had reached between 240 and 250 pounds, a bodyweight Arnold was the obvious winner, the youngest man ever to
His next contest was the NABBA (National Amateur practically unheard of for a bodybuilder in the late ’60s. He win the Mr. Universe title. And he soaked it all up. As pho-
Body Builders Association) Mr. Universe in London, in also became leaner and more defined, as he’d set out to do the tographers’ light bulbs flashed and fans screamed, Arnold
September 1966. It was Arnold’s first time on an airplane. previous year in London. thought to himself, over and over, Arnold Schwarzenegger,
Luckily, he was seated next to two German businessmen who To become an even more complete bodybuilder, Arnold Mr. Universe 1967.
spoke English. They immediately were enamored of the honed his posing technique, this time with the help of Wag “It was unlike anything else, the amount of help I got
young bodybuilder — so much so that they, too, like Albert Bennett, an instrumental player in England bodybuilding from so many people,” Arnold says in reference to, among
Busek, felt compelled to help him. “In that hour-and-a-half circuits who’d been a judge at the Mr. Universe contest. Wag, others, Albert, Wag and even the lucky encounter with the
flight,” Arnold says, “it became very clear that I didn’t know in addition to inviting Arnold to do bodybuilding exhibitions German businessmen on the plane. “I think they saw I was
how to even reach my hotel [in London]. The businessmen in England, had him over to his home in London to work on sincere, that I wanted in the worst way to be a champion,
guided me through the luggage department and passport posing routines. For the first time, Arnold posed to music. As that I appreciated any help I could get. It’s amazing how I’m
check in the airport. And they offered me a taxi ride, even he recalls the educational session with Wag: “‘Arnold, to a product of people helping me and pushing me along.”
though they were going to a different hotel.” what music do you pose?’ [Wag asked.] ‘Reg Park poses to
As for the competition itself, being 230 pounds with 20-inch Legend of the Glass Mountains.’ And I said, ‘I pose to no music.
Arnold would use his arm strength to do 12-ounce curls…
arms gave Arnold all the size he needed, but one look at his I would never know what music to pick.’ And he would say,
‘We’ve got to pick some music for you, because when I bring
you over here for exhibitions, there has to be music.’”
1967 (CONT.) 1968
The music Wag selected for him was from the soundtrack
Oct. 26 & Nov. 9 Feb. 2 Sept. 27 to the movie Exodus. At first, flexing to music seemed silly to
Arnold is on the cover of Arnold’s nephew Patrick Arnold arrives in Miami, Arnold, but soon his poses were in sync with the rhythm.
Health & Strength is born Florida, brought to the
After receiving a strong ovation in his first London posing
United States by Joe
exhibition, Arnold’s confidence was at an all-time high. The
December Sept. 21 Weider for the IFBB Mr.
Universe. They meet for the
amateur Mr. Universe competition was approaching once
Arnold spends Christmas Arnold wins the NABBA Pro
H E R ’ S NNAame

again, in September of 1967, and in Arnold’s mind, he had

ME

with Reg Park and his Universe in London first time the next day
Sept. 28 already won.
H O T O G R A Ppher’s

family in South Africa

Arnold wins the IFBB Mr. He was right. Dennis Tinerino, who’d just won the Mr.
Arnold and Franco Columbu, friends for more than 40 years
America competition, was Arnold’s biggest threat, with
PPhotogra

Universe tall class, but he

loses the overall title to
Frank Zane in Miami
»
174 MUSCLE & FITNESS July
Month2007
2005 2007OLYMPIA.COM 175
 ARNOLD: THE MOVIE
1 2 3

SCENE V
December 1967. It’s 4:30 in the morning in South Africa and
Arnold is sleeping.
Reg Park: Come on, Arnold, we got to go training.
Arnold: What?
The two train together from 5 to 7 in the morning. After the workout 1) Arnold’s first Mr. Universe win 2) At one of his many magazine photo shoots 3) Victorious in London at the ’67 Mr. Universe

they eat protein powder and corn flakes for breakfast. Arnold is staying 4

at Reg’s house, located on a mountain called Mount Olympus. Reg has at

C LO C K W I S E F R O M T O P R I G H T: C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S , N E W P H O T O BY R O B E R T R E I F F W I T H O R I G I N A L I M A G E U S E D F O R C U T O U T C O U R T E S Y
least one dog named Hercules. This is total madness, Arnold thinks to

O F W E I D E R H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S , G E O R G E G R E E N W O O D / C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S ( 2 ) , C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S ( 2 ) .
“How d’ya

himself. But where is he — at the theater again, watching another Reg like the
trunks?”

Park movie, mistaking some other Austrian teenager for himself? No

way that Arnold is actually working out with his idol and staying at his
house. But it is happening. It isn’t a movie. Arnold may not be the next
Reg Park just yet, but hell if he isn’t training with him!
By the time Arnold won the Mr. Universe title, Reg had around 9, 10 o’clock. With him, we always had to do calf
become very familiar with the enormous young Austrian raises at 6 o’clock with 1,000 pounds, and squatting with 500
and invited him to South Africa to train with him. Arnold pounds at 5:30 in the morning. I don’t think I’ve ever met
couldn’t believe it; not only did he finally get to meet his idol, anyone who could come close to those kinds of experiences. 4) Arnold sizes up his idol Reg Park
but he was now working out with him, too, learning the I mean, you come from Austria, from the farm, and then all 5) In 1967, Reg Park (left) was Arnold’s mentor.
Three years later, the pupil beat Reg for the
things from Reg he could never have gotten from the maga- of a sudden you step into this! You’re living and training with 1970 Mr. Universe title
zines. Every morning they trained together, from 5–7. Arnold your idol, who you’d first seen in movies.
was a sponge, soaking up every bit of advice Reg had to offer. “When I came back to Munich, I worked out not from 5–7,
“I was like a panting puppy dog,” he recalls, “lapping up all but from 7–9,” Arnold says. “And having my first workout
the tidbits my master tossed at me. Working out with Reg early in the morning, I could actually put in three workouts
definitely changed my view on when to work out, because a day — morning, a lunch workout and one in the evening.
I always felt before that the body doesn’t get up to speed until Experiences like that will change your way of thinking.”

Arnold couldn’t believe it;

not only did he finally get to
meet his idol, but he was now
Photogra pher’s N ame

working out with him, too

5

176 MUSCLE & FITNESS July

Month2007
2005 2007OLYMPIA.COM
MUSCLE-FITNESS.COM 185
 ARNOLD: THE MOVIE
3

SCENE VI
September 1968. Arnold is in America. Finally. In Miami.
1 4
He’s seeing, for the first time, things he has only seen in movies and books

T H I S PA G E , C LO C K W I S E F R O M T O P R I G H T: C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S , C A R U S O / C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S , G E T T Y I M A G E S , Z E L L E R / © F I T N E S S P U B L I C AT I O N S ,
2 5
and magazines: six-lane highways, concrete overpasses that seem to all
spiral together to join this freeway to that freeway. He senses an energy

I N C . / C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S , C A R U S O / C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S ( 2 ) . O P P O S I T E PA G E : C A R U S O / C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S ,
around him he has never felt before, what he would later describe as a
“Cuban flavor.” He hears Latin music everywhere he goes. Where he’s
from, it’s cold this time of year, but in Miami it’s hot and humid. All 1) This looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship 2) Arnold and Franco soak up the California sun 3) Arnold offers
congratulations to Sergio Oliva for winning the 1969 Mr. Olympia 4) One of Arnold’s favorite issues of MUSCLE BUILDER/POWER
this newness going on around him leads to one simple conclusion: This is 5) Joe Weider congratulates Arnold on winning the 1969 Mr. Universe

a totally different place. say? How many protein drinks does he take?”
Shortly after, Joe flew Arnold out to stay with him in his
New York apartment (before Joe lived full time in California).
Arnold was fresh off winning his second NABBA Mr. Arnold would spend one year in America, training and During the stay, one story in particular paints a picture of
Universe contest on Sept. 21. Immediately afterward, he was divulging his techniques to Joe’s magazines. He would also Joe’s affinity for Arnold. As Arnold tells it, “It was just
contacted by Joe Weider and invited to come to America and compete in the following year’s Mr. Universe in New York. a regular-sized apartment, but it was really nice, with
compete in the IFBB Mr. Universe to be held in Miami one Arnold moved to Southern California and immediately beautiful antiques and Tiffany lamps and paintings. And Joe
week later. Joe told him that they would then discuss Arnold resumed his training. Only this time, instead of aiming says, ‘The only thing is these two chairs, don’t touch them,
coming out to California for a few months afterward to train. merely for size, definition and muscle quality held a higher because they’re antiques. I’m really a fanatic about antiques.’
Arnold was confident heading into the contest. American priority, as he whittled his physique down to 230 pounds from So it comes time to go to bed and I start taking off my pants.
onlookers were seeing him for the first time and were imme- 250 in preparation for the Mr. Universe. And you know how you take off your pants and you get
diately taken aback by his size, especially for how young Arnold and Joe formed an immediate bond. Where once stuck? I started falling straight over the antique chair, and
he was, still only 21 at this point. But Arnold learned yet Arnold was like a sponge soaking up Reg Park’s every ounce I wiped it out into like 15 pieces lying on the ground. So
another lesson in quality over quantity from one of America’s of knowledge, now Joe was hungry for every detail of I went to Joe and said, ‘Joe, I don’t know what happened.’ If
top bodybuilders, Frank Zane. Arnold outweighed Frank by Arnold’s new life in America. At one point, in 1969, he sent anyone else would have done it, he would have killed them
at least 50 pounds, but his definition was no match for the Arnold to Chicago to train with the reigning Mr. Olympia right there. But he just looked at it and said, ‘Ah, don’t worry
American’s meticulously carved physique. Arnold won the and Cuban behemoth Sergio Oliva, who Arnold would about it. I’m gonna get it glued together tomorrow.’ That
tall class but ended up finishing second overall to Frank. compete against later that year. Joe wanted to know every- was really funny because he was probably freaking out
Joe Weider was not deterred. He was fascinated by the thing about their time together so he could write a story inside over the whole thing.”
gigantic young bodybuilder with the thick Austrian accent. about it. “Tell me about your day and about working out with This all leads up to Sept. 13, 1969, in New York. It was a
Joe and Arnold worked out an agreement shortly thereafter: Sergio,” Joe said each night on the phone. “What did Sergio momentous night for Arnold, a microcosm of his competition
experience to this point — a victory and confidence-builder
followed immediately by yet another humbling lesson.
The victory: an easy win in the IFBB Mr. Universe. The
Arnold 1969
takes lesson: a loss in the Mr. Olympia competition that same
Miami by Arnold wins the Sept. 13 Sept. 20 night to Sergio, who had won the title in 1967 and 1968. Most
storm Mr. International in Arnold wins the IFBB Arnold wins the pro NABBA notable about the loss was how in awe of Sergio Arnold was.
Tijuana, Mexico Mr. Universe in New York Mr. Universe in London
No sooner did the Cuban strip down to his posing trunks
City, then places second
Arnold begins writing than did young Arnold concede victory to him. So sure of
to Sergio Oliva in the Mr. Sept. 28
under his own byline in Joe Olympia that same evening
himself was Arnold just hours earlier at the Universe, he was
Arnold wins the IFBB
Photogra pher’s N ame

Weider’s MUSCLE BUILDER Mr. Europe in Essen,

now second place before he even stepped onto the Olympia
West Germany stage. But the experience marked an end to two things: This
Franco arrives in America was the last time he would be intimidated by an opponent.
and becomes roommates Arnold quickly fell in love with Southern California
And it was the last time Arnold would lose.
with Arnold

186 MUSCLE & FITNESS July 2007 2007OLYMPIA.COM 187

 ARNOLD: THE FIRST 60 YEARS
ARNOLD: THE MOVIE

970-1980 ACT TWO

SCENE I
1970. Arnold’s back in the gym, in America for good, and training as
hard as ever. There’s no chalk on the walls in Southern California gyms.
Doesn’t need to be. Arnold knows his goal: to become Mr. Olympia.
Besides, he’s got Franco Columbu to train with now, having talked Joe
Weider into bringing his friend over to America so Arnold would have
a competent training partner. Arnold is taking no chances in his prepara-
tions. He’s spending hours in the gym every day, keeping strict with his
diet, and even taking ballet lessons at UCLA to perfect his posing.

T H I S PA G E : C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S ; O P P O S I T E PA G E , F R O M L E F T: N E W P H O T O BY R O B E R T R E I F F
Not that the extent of Arnold’s California in a 15-day span. The first one, the defense
experience was training. Los Angeles, not sur- of his pro Mr. Universe title on Sept. 18 in
prisingly, was a far cry from Graz, or even London, might have been his toughest, based

W I T H O R I G I N A L I M A G E U S E D F O R C U T O U T: C A R U S O / C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S
Munich, and Arnold soaked it solely on one factor: Reg Park,
all in. “I had some really great staging a comeback, competed
experiences right away,” he in the show. Before the contest,
The Oak is says. “It was always a great Arnold weighed his options:
now fully time. Joe would always have Compete and likely beat his
grown
photo shoots on the beach with idol, or drop out and avoid the
a bunch of girls, great-looking situation altogether. Arnold
girls. And other bodybuilders stayed in the competition and
were at the shoots, too, and they beat Reg, who finished an
were always a lot of fun. After impressive second place 20
several months in California years after his bodybuilding
I returned to Austria for a visit. Arnold and Franco hit the weights at debut. “We were both com-
After the second day there, Southern California’s Muscle Beach petitors, sportsmen, and there
Photogra pher’s N ame

I was already homesick for America.” was a dignity in that,” Arnold said afterward.
The Mr. Universe and Mr. Olympia were “I didn’t look at it as beating Reg Park but as
held back to back the year before, but in 1970 being able to step up beside him, to finally
Arnold competed in three major competitions share an equal place with him.”

2007OLYMPIA.COM 191
 ARNOLD: THE MOVIE

SCENE II
Early 1970s. Arnold is looking up again, this time through the sky-
light windows at Gold’s Gym. He’s going to college in Santa Monica, he
and Franco have established their own bricklaying business, and he has
started his own mail-order operation. And whether he knows it or not,
he’s living in the Golden Age of bodybuilding, training practically every
day at Gold’s with the Francos and Dave Drapers of the world. And how
beautifully and organically it’s all coming together. Arnold and his friends
train early in the morning, as does legendary photographer and friend of
Arnold’s, Artie Zeller, before starting his shift as a postman — and he

Z E L L E R / © F I T N E S S P U B L I C AT I O N S , I N C . / C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S ( 2 )
always brings his camera. Those skylight windows are perfect for photo-
1) A classic photo shoot on the beach with the Weider gang 2) Arnold and Betty Weider in an iconic ad from the early 1970s
graphing. So here are Arnold and Dave and Franco, lifting away, and
The next show was the AAU Pro Mr. World a day later in ately billed as the ultimate heavyweight showdown.
Columbus, Ohio. It was here that Arnold first met promoter But the psychological edge was clearly in Arnold’s favor, Artie, clicking away, and morning sunlight shining down on the entire
Jim Lorimer, who had arranged for Arnold to fly from Lon- for after the Columbus show he cleverly “advised” Sergio to
don to New York and then hop on a private jet to Columbus add 15 more pounds to his frame before the Olympia, explain- scene, helping to create the timeless, legendary photos you’re looking at
in time for the contest. The two men immediately bonded ing that the extra size would improve his chances of winning.
and would later become business partners in the Arnold Sergio trusted Arnold’s advice and aimed to add the weight.
now. Take away one of these factors — Arnold or Artie or the skylight
Schwarzenegger Classic, today one of the two biggest body-
building competitions in the world. More memorable, how-
“I told Sergio [at the Mr. World contest], ‘Everyone out there
said that you were ripped, but you somehow had lost your
windows — and there is no Golden Age, at least not on film.
ever, was the surprising entry of Sergio Oliva, whom Arnold size,’” Arnold says. “And he says, ‘Oh, man, I’m going to gain
hadn’t expected to compete against until the Olympia two 15 pounds so quickly. In New York I’m going to be big again.’ But amid all the serendipity, Arnold was as hungry as ever. In 1972, he beat Sergio for the last time to claim his third
weeks later. And of course that backfired big time, because you cannot It had always been his goal to beat the world’s best body- straight Olympia win, in Essen, West Germany. The victory,
As in the previous year, Sergio looked monstrous, but gain 15 pounds that quickly. You can gain maybe 3, 4 pounds builders, and now that he was the best he still desired to take however, wasn’t without some controversy, as Sergio had
Arnold was better now than in ’69 — more defined, more sep- in two weeks, but not 15.” on any would-be champions. The 1971 Olympia had all the improved significantly and came in as big and sculpted as
arated and a more astute poser at 240 pounds. This time, Arnold went on to win his historic first Mr. Olympia title, makings of the most competitive contest ever, particularly ever, so much so that many bodybuilding insiders felt he had
Arnold was victorious, bringing the crowd to its feet in becoming indisputably the best bodybuilder in the world, because of the top two challengers to Arnold’s title. “If there the decidedly superior physique. But here was the difference
shouts of “Arnold! Arnold! Arnold!” The upcoming Mr. just as he’d set out to be less than 10 years earlier. And yet, his was ever a heavenly situation, it was [the Mr. Pro Universe in] between having star power and simply having physical power,
Olympia contest, in New York City on Oct. 3, was immedi- story was still in its infancy. London in 1971. Because there was Sergio and [reigning Mr. between being able to outsmart your opponent and being sus-
Universe] Bill Pearl,” Arnold says. “Sergio had gotten so big ceptible to being outsmarted. It was the difference between
— he went up to 245 pounds or so — and he was scary. And Bill Arnold and Sergio. Had Sergio possessed the intangibles of
was the king of the conservative world of bodybuilding, the his rival, maybe the Olympia outcomes in ’70 and ’72 would
1970 traditional NABBA Mr. Universe. I was big, too. I was train- have been different. But, of course, this wasn’t the case — all
TIMELINE
ARNOLD’S

Arnold stars in his first Sept. 18 Oct. 3 ing hard and I was around 246 pounds. I felt like this was it — the more fortuitous for Arnold.
film Hercules in New York Arnold wins the pro Arnold wins his first there is no better place to go and just destroy these guys.” Arnold won the Olympia again in ’73 and ’74, minus the
(sometimes called NABBA Mr. Universe in Mr. Olympia title in But Arnold didn’t get his wish. A few weeks before the con- controversy that had surrounded wins in previous years. No
Hercules Goes Bananas), London, beating his idol New York City test the IFBB announced that anyone who had competed in one argued his victories anymore, what with Sergio having
under the stage name Reg Park
a non-IFBB-sanctioned competition would be ineligible to removed himself from IFBB contests after his defeat in ’72,
Arnold Strong Dec. 5 compete in that year’s Olympia. Consequently, Arnold Arnold continuing to improve his physique and his chief com-
Sept. 19 Arnold receives IFBB
defended his Olympia title unopposed. Looking back at the petition being Franco and Frenchman Serge Nubret, both
By Joe Roark

Arnold wins Mr. World Certificate of Merit

Photogra pher’s N ame

in Columbus, Ohio,
Bill Pearl clash that never happened, Arnold says, “To me, tak- quality bodybuilders but not quite in Arnold’s league. Run-
beating reigning
ing on Sergio and Bill would have been pure heaven. It’s ning out of challenges on the bodybuilding stage, Arnold had
Mr. Olympia Sergio Oliva. a challenge I would have relished.” his eye on the horizon.
Arnold meets Jim Lorimer
at the same contest
»
192 MUSCLE & FITNESS Month
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 ARNOLD: THE MOVIE
1 4

4) In the Golden Age of bodybuilding, Gold’s Gym featured a who’s who in the sport. From left: Paul Grant, Ed Corney, Danny Padilla
and Arnold 5) Arnold and Ed Corney 6) An off-camera moment from the movie Stay Hungry 7) Arnold and Frank Zane in Santa Monica

1) Arnold and Dave Draper going for broke 2) Front squats were an Arnold staple 3) Joe and Arnold shared an easy friendship

S E F R O M B O T T O M L E F T: Z E L L E R / © F I T N E S S P U B L I C AT I O N S , I N C . / C O U R T E S Y
O F W E I D E R H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S ( 2 ) , C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S . O P P O S I T E
“To me, taking on Sergio and Bill

F I T N E S S , M A X H E L LW E G / C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S , C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R
PA G E , F R O M T O P : Z E L L E R / © F I T N E S S P U B L I C AT I O N S , I N C . / C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R H E A LT H A N D
would have been pure heaven. It’s
a challenge I would have relished”
5 6 7
2 3
1971 1972
May 20 Arnold studies general Sept. 24 Dec. 11
Arnold’s brother courses at Santa Monica Arnold wins the Arnold’s father Gustav
Meinhard dies in a car City College in California Mr. Olympia for the dies of a stroke at age 65
crash. Arnold would later third time in Essen,
bring his nephew Patrick Sept. 16 West Germany, with his
to the United States Arnold meets George father in the audience
Butler for the first time,
Sept. 25 and George almost imme- November
H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S ( 2 )
C LO C K WNI ame

Arnold wins the diately decides that Arnold Arnold injures his knee
Mr. Olympia for the should be the main focus
H I S PA G E , pher’s

when a platform collapses

second time (in Paris) of an upcoming book and during a South African
TPhotogra

movie tentatively titled guest-posing appearance

Pumping Iron
»
194 MUSCLE & FITNESS July 2007 2007OLYMPIA.COM 195
 SCENE III
October 1974. Arnold wants to retire from bodybuilding. What
more is there he can do in the sport? He has just won his fifth Mr.
Olympia title. It’s as if the chalk on the wall said, “Mr. Olympia 5 times,”
and Arnold has drawn five lines underneath that. Time for a new goal.
Time to advance his movie career. But wait. What if going for Olympia
No. 6 will advance his movie career? One more go-round, then. He can’t
miss the 1975 Mr. Olympia contest. George Butler will be there.
Who? George Butler, the author, along with Charles bodybuilder Joe Santo alongside Jeff Bridges and Sally Field.
Gaines, of the book Pumping Iron: The Art and Sport of The role required Arnold to drop down to 210 pounds. This
Bodybuilding, released in 1974, that delved into the subculture made for close timing, as filming concluded in July and
of bodybuilding and profiled its major players, including Arnold had just three months before the Olympia to get his

T H I S PA G E : Z E L L E R / © F I T N E S S P U B L I C AT I O N S , I N C . / C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R H E A LT H
Arnold. The book was well-received, weight back up to 230–240 pounds. With In the midst of filming the groundbreaking documentary Pumping Iron, which would introduce him to a worldwide audience

A N D F I T N E S S ; O P P O S I T E PA G E : C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S
so now George wanted to turn it into cameras on him throughout his precon-
a movie documentary. And he wanted, test training, he managed to pull it off. who knows what would have become of his Hollywood fate. scene with his arm around “Big Louie” on the bus going back
no, needed, Arnold to be the star. No But the groundbreaking documentary In Pumping Iron, Arnold brought the metaphysical — what to the airport in Pretoria, even though he’d just beaten him
other bodybuilder had the résumé, pres- almost didn’t happen. If Charles and he calls “it” — into play. Franco didn’t have “it,” nor did Mike (Lou finished third). Maybe that’s what “it” is.
ence and charisma of the Austrian. The George thought pulling off a book about or Ken, and Lou, playing the role of the subordinate son to the But who cares what “it” is? Arnold certainly doesn’t, so
plan was to shoot a number of body- bodybuilding was tough — the book’s domineering father, definitely didn’t have “it.” But what long as he has it. “I had the personality better than anyone
builders preparing for the 1975 Mr. first publisher, Doubleday, pulled out exactly is “it”? Maybe it’s Arnold so eloquently describing else,” Arnold says. “And I had ‘it,’ whatever ‘it’ is. In terms of
Olympia, to be held in Pretoria, South upon receiving the manuscript, reason- in a now-legendary segment of the movie how the muscle the personality, I think it’s a combination of a zest for life,
Africa, with the climax set for the finals ing that no one would be interested in pump he achieves in the gym is like sex and how he achieves curiosity and being entertaining, enjoying being on the stage
onstage. Arnold couldn’t pass up the this character named Arnold Schwarz- that orgasmic feeling all day, every day. Maybe it’s Arnold and being in the spotlight. Lighting up the room when you
opportunity. The cast would include enegger — completing a movie project having breakfast with the Ferrigno family the morning walk in. This is what ‘it’ is. In movies, the camera guys
him, his new “rival” and eventual star was a much more difficult (read: expen- before the contest, talking trash, telling the Ferrignos he’d always come up to me and say, ‘You can’t take any credit for
of The Incredible Hulk series Lou Fer- Arnold wins his fourth Mr. Olympia title sive) challenge. George had raised just spoken to his mother on the telephone and told her he this because the camera loves you.’ Certain people have it,
rigno, Franco, Serge, and amateur com- $400,000 for the filming but soon found had already won the Mr. Olympia for a sixth time, even and luckily only a few. It means you can go further, you can
petitors Mike Katz and Ken Waller, among others. that wasn’t enough. He resorted to fund-raisers, dipping into though the contest was still hours away, yet somehow man- push the envelope much harder…you can get away with
Not that this was Arnold’s first motion picture. He had his own pocket and incurring serious debt to finance the film, aging to endear himself to Lou and his dad, the latter two more,” Arnold says, smiling.
just filmed the movie Stay Hungry in the spring/summer of but it was eventually completed and sold. Once again, fate laughing right along with Arnold. Maybe “it” is Arnold own- Arnold, of course, won the 1975 Mr. Olympia competition
’75, which found him playing a considerable role as Austrian was on Arnold’s side, for if the movie had never been made, ing the spotlight throughout the film, concluding in the final easily, beating out Serge and Lou in the over-200-pound class,

1973 1974 1975 1976

Arnold starts taking March 7 Charles Gaines’ and October June 16 Nov. 8 Nov. 22–23 Feb. 25
business courses while Arnold’s second movie, George Butler’s book Sports Illustrated People magazine Arnold wins his sixth Arnold begins a six-city With Frank Zane and
attending night school The Long Goodbye, Pumping Iron: The Art and features Arnold in features Arnold in “Arnold Mr. Olympia title seminar tour Ed Corney, Arnold poses
at the University of premieres Sport of Bodybuilding is “The Men and the Myth” Schwarzenegger: A Name (in Pretoria, South Africa), in Pittsburgh at the Whitney Museum
California, Los Angeles published and well- by R.W. Johnson to Remember in the Body- then announces his of Art in New York City in
Sept. 8 received Building Business” retirement from an exhibition titled
January Arnold wins his fourth Nov. 19 by Andrea Joiner competitive bodybuilding. Articulate Muscle: The
Arnold has surgery on his Mr. Olympia title (in New Oct. 12 Arnold appears on the TV His preparation for the Male Body in Art
Photogra pher’s N ame

left knee, which was York City) Arnold wins his fifth show Happy Anniversary ’75 Olympia is the
injured in South Africa Mr. Olympia title (in New and Goodbye with Lucille backdrop for the ground- April 23
York City) Ball, playing the character breaking documentary Stay Hungry is released.
of an Italian masseur Pumping Iron, produced Arnold stars with Jeff
by George Butler Bridges and Sally Field
»
202
196 MUSCLE&&FITNESS
MUSCLE FITNESS 05.10
July 2007 2007OLYMPIA.COM 197
 ARNOLD: THE MOVIE
3

“So I did the meditation and it really

helped me for about a year. And then
I stopped, and I never needed it again”
then beating his best friend Franco, the 2
under-200-pound class winner, in the
pose-off. At the end of the contest,
Arnold predictably announced his retire-
ment from competitive bodybuilding,
adding, among other things, “This is the
best sport in the world.” In a scene fol-
lowing that, he strutted around back-
stage wearing a T-shirt that read
“ARNOLD IS NUMERO UNO.”
“That year [1975] was the one time

C LO C K W I S E F R O M T O P : Z E L L E R / © F I T N E S S P U B L I C AT I O N S , I N C . / C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S , N E W P H O T O BY R O B E R T R E I F F W I T H O R I G I N A L
that I had to take transcendental medi-

I M A G E U S E D F O R C U T O U T: Z E L L E R / © F I T N E S S P U B L I C AT I O N S I N C . / C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S , C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R H E A LT H A N D F I T -
tation [to relieve stress],” Arnold says. “I
had to bring myself down because I was
so wired with bodybuilding, Stay Hungry

N E S S ; O P P O S I T E PA G E , F R O M L E F T: C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S , C A R U S O / C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S
and Pumping Iron — it was the only time 3) In the gym, no one worked harder than Arnold 4) Reflections of a Golden Age
I felt as though there was really a lot on
my plate. Like with Pumping Iron, it was
the experience of having a camera there Arnold believed
24 hours a day. The film crew just in always moving
forward, never
descended on the gym, you were filmed standing still
all the time, and it rattles you occasion-
ally. So I did the meditation and it really
helped me for about a year. And then
I stopped, and I never needed it again.
What it came down to was this: You have
24 hours in a day, and you have only
so many years to reach your dreams. I
utilized the 24 hours more than anyone
I know. You snooze, you lose. So what
are you gonna do?”
1
Photogra pher’s N ame

1) Arnold endorsed a few products along the way 2) Winning his sixth Mr. Olympia in South Africa 4

198 MUSCLE & FITNESS July

Month2007
2005 2007OLYMPIA.COM
MUSCLE-FITNESS.COM 199
 ARNOLD: THE MOVIE

SCENE IV
January 1977. Arnold is staring up at the stage at the Beverly
Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles. This is all new to him. Sure, he has been
onstage many times before, he has even sat in the audience. But always in
posing trunks or a sweatsuit, and always around bodybuilders. Never in
a tuxedo. Never in the company of Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman
and Sylvester Stallone. And then suddenly, his name is called, and he’s up
onstage. Arnold has just been awarded the Golden Globe for Best Acting
Debut in a Motion Picture, Male, for his role in Stay Hungry, which
was released in 1976.

F R O M T O P : T H E G A R R E T T C O M PA N Y / C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S ,
Pumping Iron was finally released on Jan. 18, shortly after
Arnold won the Golden Globe, and the documentary
became an instant cult classic. Arnold went on a full media

© D O U G L A S K E N T H A L L / C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S
tour to promote the film, from CBS’s program Who’s Who to
the Today show with Barbara Walters. Just like that, he was
the hottest actor in America, at least temporarily. The little
boy from Thal was standing 10 feet tall.
And was this all brand-new to him? Of course. But he was
right at home, even at the Cannes Film Festival following the
releases of Stay Hungry and Pumping Iron. “Yes, I was at
home,” Arnold says, articulating his innate ability to enter a Arnold with fellow Stay Hungry cast members Sally Field
and Jeff Bridges
new arena and play by its rules. “That’s exactly the way it
ought to be every day, the whole year, with girls lying was nothing, it was bogus.”
around on the beach, and playing soccer with Pelé, and And what did the two movies, Stay Hungry and Pump-
talking with producers. But it was all crap. Ninety- ing Iron, have in common? In the latter, Arnold played
nine percent of the dialogue at Cannes is nonsense. himself, a champion bodybuilder from Austria; in the
This guy or that producer promises you three movies, former, Arnold played the role of, um, a champion
so you go back to the press and say, ‘I have so many deals bodybuilder from Austria. A formula for success: Play
and now I’m going to make all these movies.’ But it yourself, Arnold, be yourself, and you’re set.

1976 (CONT.). 1977

Sept. 18 Douglas Kent Hall’s Arnold: Jan. 24 Aug. 28
In partnership with Jim The Education of a Body- Newsweek magazine Arnold meets
Lorimer, Arnold promotes builder is published; reviews the movie Maria Shriver at the
the Mr. Olympia contest Arnold wins a Golden Pumping Iron Robert F. Kennedy Tennis
in Columbus, Ohio Globe for Best Acting Tournament in Forest
Debut for his role in Stay May 5 Hills, New York
Hungry Arnold appears in an
episode of TV’s The Oct. 1
Photogra pher’s N ame

January Streets of San Francisco Arnold co-promotes the

The world’s best-known called “Dead Lift” Mr. Olympia with Jim
bodybuilding movie to Lorimer in Columbus,
date, Pumping Iron, is Ohio. Frank Zane wins
released
Premiere of
Pumping Iron »
200 MUSCLE & FITNESS July 2007
 ARNOLD: THE MOVIE

SCENE V
August 1977. Look at Arnold now. He’s trying his hand at tennis.
Is he playing? Well, not exactly. He’s mingling with American royalty,
the Kennedys, attending the Robert F. Kennedy Tennis Tournament in
Forest Hills, New York, on Aug. 28. He’s being himself, despite being
in the presence of some of the most powerful people in the country. He’s
a smashing success with the Kennedys, especially with the 21-year-old
niece of JFK, Maria Shriver.

F R O M L E F T: R O B I N P L AT Z E R / G E T T Y I M A G E S , C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S
Arnold wasn’t just a bodybuilder any- 2
1
more. He was now a recognizable movie
star, as well as a businessman, having begun
promoting bodybuilding contests, his first
major one being the 1976 Mr. Olympia in
Columbus, Ohio, with Jim Lorimer. Natu-
rally, Maria was impressed by the fact that
Arnold was a self-made man with as much
passion and ambition as one human being
can possibly have. And the feelings were
mutual. Although Maria obviously benefited from being a member of one of
the country’s most famous families, she was extremely ambitious, a talented
budding journalist who had just graduated from Georgetown University. The
two were immediately attracted to each other and began dating.
The remainder of the 1970s was, by Arnold’s standards, a bit mundane. Fol-
lowing great success in Stay Hungry and Pumping Iron, his most notable role was
the part of “Handsome Stranger” in the movie The Villain, opposite Kirk Dou-
glas and Ann-Margret. It wasn’t until 1982 that his film career picked up where
Pumping Iron had left off. Before that, in 1979, CBS aired the Mr. Olympia and
hired Arnold to be an expert commentator. He would have done it again in 1980 1) Arnold and Maria in the late ’70s
2) As a color commentator for CBS
but instead opted for a more controversial role in that year’s contest.

1978 1979
The Pumping Iron Arnold’s Bodyshaping expert commentator Oct. 7
calendar is published for Women by Arnold to assist in their Arnold co-promotes the
and sells for $3.95; and Douglas Kent Hall coverage of the 1979 Mr. Olympia with Jim
Arnold declines a role is published; Mr. Olympia contest in Lorimer in Columbus,
in the Mae West movie Arnold and Bill Dobbins Columbus, Ohio; Ohio. Frank Zane wins
Sextette co-author Arnold’s Arnold stars in The Villain
Bodyshaping for Men; (also known as Cactus Nov. 10
Sept. 23 Arnold is named Special Jack) with Kirk Douglas Arnold graduates from the
H E R ’ S NNAame
ME

Arnold co-promotes the Olympics International and Ann-Margret; University of Wisconsin,

Weight Training Coach (he
H O T O G R A Ppher’s

Mr. Olympia with Jim Arnold has a cameo Superior, with a major in
Lorimer in Columbus, currently serves as a appearance in the movie international marketing of
PPhotogra

Ohio. Frank Zane wins Global Ambassador to Scavenger Hunt with fitness and business
the Special Olympics); Richard Benjamin and administration
CBS hires Arnold as an James Coco »
202 MUSCLE & FITNESS July
Month2007
2005
 ARNOLD: THE MOVIE

SCENE VI
October 1980. Arnold is looking out the window of an airplane
en route to Sydney, Australia, for the 1980 Mr. Olympia contest. He’s a
CBS employee, making the trip overseas to cover the competition as a TV
analyst. But for some reason, he has been training hard leading up to the
show. But why? Was it for a movie role? Or was he planning on making
a comeback? Couldn’t be. He has been asked that question countless times
recently, and every time he has said no. Frank Zane, Mike Mentzer — the
top bodybuilders of the time — have nothing to worry about. Or do they?
So why was Arnold training so hard? He had told some enough to justify the victory. Either way, it was his seventh

C LO C K W I S E F R O M T O P L E F T: C O U R T E S Y O F D I R E C T S O U R C E , C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R
people that it was for the part of 1956 Mr. Universe Mickey Olympia title, the most of all time at that point (two men,

H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S , N E V E U X / C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S
Hargitay in the upcoming made-for-television movie The Lee Haney and Ronnie Coleman, have since surpassed
Jayne Mansfield Story. But he had already finished filming it. Arnold’s record with eight titles each). It only proved that,
Leading up to the show, Frank asked Arnold if he was plan- even when not at his best, Arnold still was the best.
ning on competing. Arnold said no. But what was he sup- “It was maybe the wrong decision, the wrong motivation
posed to say? That he was indeed competing,
only to motivate Frank and others to train that
much harder? Arnold would compete, but
he would keep it a secret up until the morning
of the competition. He’d psyched out Sergio
Oliva 10 years earlier at the Olympia. Now
he’d do the same to Frank and Mike with his
surprise entry.
Arnold won the competition in what is still
considered the most controversial Olympia
in history, with Frank finishing third and
Mike fifth. Some called the win a gift, saying
Arnold wasn’t in the shape he was in his With Loni Anderson and Russ Warner at the
prime and that his legs weren’t nearly big premiere of The Jayne Mansfield Story

1980
The 1980 Arnold Oct. 4
Schwarzenegger As a last-minute entrant,
Calendar With Exercises Arnold wins his seventh
is published by Mr. Olympia title in
Simon & Schuster Sydney, Australia

October
Arnold appears with
Photogra pher’s N ame

Loni Anderson in the TV

movie The Jayne
Mansfield Story, playing
Mickey Hargitay

204 MUSCLE & FITNESS July 2007

 ARNOLD: THE MOVIE

[to compete],” Arnold said recently. “The fact of the mat-

ter was, I was an established bodybuilding champion. I was
someone who switched over to entertainment. I was some-
one who was making money from the movies, so why
would I take something like this, a title like this, away from
the [other bodybuilders]? But I always had a big ego and In 1980 Arnold
leaves competitive
that also came into play in the whole thing. And I barely bodybuilding
behind, but he
won. I remember that. I barely won. It was really like a hair- carries all the
raising experience.” lessons he learned
into the next
The 1980 Mr. Olympia would prove to be Arnold’s last phases of his life
bodybuilding contest. He left the competitive side of the
sport as the greatest ever (many feel he still deserves that
accolade), the king of his domain. For most, such accom-
plishment would have been enough — but come on, this was
Arnold Schwarzenegger. There were new worlds to con-
quer. Hollywood beckoned, and as we’ll discover in Part 2
of his story in the next issue, he was merely scratching
the surface of his legend. M&F

O B E R T R E I F F W I T H O R I G I N A L I M A G E U S E D F O R C U T O U T:
C A R U S O / C O U R T E S Y O F W E I D E R H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S

Check out our next

O T O BY NRame

issue for part 2 of

N E W P Hpher’s

“Arnold: The Movie.”

Photogra

He’ll be back!

206 MUSCLE & FITNESS July 2007