The world’s star of bodybuilding and cinema, Arnold Schwarzenegger was born July 30, 1947 in the village of Tal, near Graz (Austria). His traditional Catholic family visited the church every Sunday until 1938, when Arnold’s father (Gustav Schwarzenegger) joined the Nazi party. When the war was over, he was allowed to work in the local police for lack of evidence of crimes committed in wartime. However, the salary of the chief of police was not particularly developed for a family – they lived poorly, and Arnold still considers one of the most vivid memories to be the purchase of a refrigerator. In the house of the future bodybuilding star there was no heating, no home appliances, even the toilet was located in the backyard.

However, the financial situation did not prevent Arnold from growing an active curious child. The boy was fond of sports since childhood – Arnold’s father dreamed of the future of a great football player for his son, so football became the first passion for the boy. However, at 14 years old, the young man preferred to do bodybuilding. He was inspired by examples of Reg Park, Steve Reeves and Johnny Weismuller (American sportsman, swimmer who played the role of Tarzan). After the first training, Arnold was so exhausted that he could not even lift a cup of coffee. Despite the fact that the club of bodybuilding in the city did not work on Saturdays and Sundays, Arnold went to the gym every day.

At that time, the main problem for him was the lack of experience and knowledge. Bodybuilding was quite a new kind of sport – young athletes did not have body oil, or swimming trunks. In his first competition, Arnold Schwarzenegger did not even know how to pose correctly – all that was in his head is photographs of Reg Park. And yet Arnold was approaching to success by leaps and bounds – he said, he increased the total muscle mass by 20 pounds per year, and the volume of biceps by half an inch in just 2 months.

In 1968, Arnold moved to the United States, setting out to “heal the muscular mass brought from Europe and give it the right shape.” The judges were simply subdued by a stubborn and hard-working youth who, despite more than a successful takeoff, the field of each competition approached them and asked what exactly he should improve or correct. With no less enthusiasm, Arnold adopted experience from his “colleagues”, including his idol Reg Park.

Already in 1970 (just five years after the beginning of serious training) Arnold Schwarzenegger receives his first title “Mr. Olympia” (an impressive result, given that many take it for 10-15 years), although the bodybuilder himself explains his success due to genetic predisposition. In his opinion, bodybuilding is a very specific sport – suitable genes can bring much more success than the most stubborn labor.

The beginning of the 70’s was a time of hard trials for the Schwarzenegger family – in 1971, Maynard, Arnold’s older brother, died, and a year later his father died. At the funeral, Arnold never appeared, his relations were strained, and his father frankly “overstrained the stick” in educating his son, not so much being interested in themselves, but as maintaining discipline in the family.

Meanwhile, Arnold‘s career continued to be full of victories until 1975, when he unexpectedly decided to take a break. Even more unexpected was his return in 1980 – after a five-year hiatus, this bodybuilder easily took first place on Mr. Olympia 1980. But despite the victory, in his interview the winner noted that during his absence in bodybuilding competition has increased significantly, and if at competitions in 1975 to the level of Arnold was approaching only a few athletes, then in the 80th there were already several dozens. In addition, for 33-year-old athlete was difficult to regain his competitive form after such a break, and after “Mr. Olympia” – 1980 Arnold finally left his sports career. But this did not mean that the athlete completely forgot about bodybuilding. He began to share his experience with younger athletes in magazines and books, and in 1988 organized his competition – Arnold Classic.

Simultaneously with bodybuilding in 1970, Arnold Schwarzenegger begins the career of a film actor, with whom problems arose much more than with sports. The young athlete was hampered by too much muscle mass (unnatural for a movie), a strong accent that did not allow him to participate in long dialogues, but Arnold fanatically got down to business. According to the director of “Predator”, to work with Arnold required only 3-4 takes, he quickly learned. The main success came to Schwarzenegger after the film “Conan the Barbarian”. The most vivid films with Arnold are “Terminator” (1984), “Predator” (1987), “Running Man” (1987), “Remember All” (1990), “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” (1991), “True Lies” (1994), “Terminator 3: The Rise of Machines” (2003). Interestingly, in 2002, they wanted to erect a monument to the Terminator in Arnold’s hometown, but the actor himself closed the project.

By the age of 30, Arnold Schwarzenegger became a millionaire due to successful investments in construction and real estate (obviously, the athlete had a direct nose for profit). In 2003 he was elected the 38th governor of California. In 2006, he was re-elected. Now his powers expire in 2011, and Arnold himself owns assets worth $ 200 million.

Arnold Schwarzenegger Photo Gallery