He changed the game of Bodybuilding forever. Not only that, but he proved to the world that
if you're determined enough, you can be whatever you want, and your dreams are not impossible to
achieve. But Arnold Schwarzenegger's journey to success was not an easy one, and his determination
came from a place of pain and struggle due to his harsh upbringing as a child. He had a very
troubled relationship with his father, who had been a Nazi in the Second World War, and along
with constantly being overshadowed by his older brother, Arnold had to fight hard in order to
be seen by those around him. He knew he wanted a different life. However, he faced obstacles
almost every step of the way, and he made some mistakes that would come back to haunt him.
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Arnold Schwarzenegger was born in Austria, during the Post World War Two era.
The family lived in poverty, suffering from the aftershock that the war had left behind.
He grew up so poor that one of the highlights of his childhood
was when his family had finally been able to afford a refrigerator for their food.
His father, Gustav, was a chief police officer, and had also been part of the Nazi party. Gustav
was a violent man, and young Arnold was often beaten, bullied and belittled by him.
Arnold's older brother, Meinhard, had always been his father's favorite,
which constantly left him feeling unloved and a disappointment to his father.
Growing up, he was a skinny boy and wasn't as athletic in comparison to his older brother.
As a way to torment young Arnold, his father would often mock him for his size and force.
He encouraged the brothers to physically fight one another to prove to Arnold that
he wasn't as strong as Meinhard. It was those moments, being pitted up against his own brother
and shamed for his own size, that woke something up in young Arnold. He wanted to be stronger,
he wanted to be able to stand up for himself and for others who aren't able to defend themselves.
He decided he wanted to become a bodybuilder.
"My hair was pulled, I was hit with belts. Every time someone said,
'You can't do this,' I said, 'This is not going to be for much longer
because I'm going to move out of here. I want to be rich. I want to be somebody.'"
When he told his father about what he wanted to do, his dad laughed at him
and told him that he would never be able to accomplish anything.
Arnold was determined to prove him wrong, and he wasn't going to let anything stop him.
"My own plan formed when I was 14 years old. My father had wanted me
to be a police officer like he was. My mother wanted me to go to trade school."
Bodybuilding wasn't the popular sport that it is today. When Arnold started going to the gym,
and his body started to change, his mother began to worry about him. She even called
a doctor because she was so concerned about her son, thinking… he might have been gay.
"She asked the doctor, 'Can you help me?
I don't know if there's something wrong with my son because his wall is full of naked men.
All of Arnold's friends have pictures of girls above their bed. And Arnold has no girls.'"
When he was 18, Arnold started his compulsory,
one-year service in the Austrian Army as a tank driver. However, not even the responsibility
of being an army man would stop him from competing in Bodybuilding competitions.
He went AWOL to participate in the Junior Mr. Europe competition, which
he won. But the abandonment of his post didn't go unpunished. Arnold was put in a military prison.
Years later after all his success, he purchased the same tank he drove in during his army service.
Schwarzenegger also turned to the movies as a way to escape from his life at home. He was inspired
by Reg Park's Hercules films. Not only did he want to be as strong as Park's, but he wanted
to live the American Dream too! So Arnold had two new obsessions, Bodybuilding and America. He knew
that if he could move to the USA, that his need to become a world-famous bodybuilder would be even
easier for him to achieve. Finally, after years of hard work, training at the gym harder than anyone,
he was spotted by a bodybuilding scout and sponsored to attend competitions in America.
"It would make me sick to miss a workout… I knew I
couldn't look at myself in the mirror the next morning if I didn't do it."
Schwarzenegger was charming, funny and was kind to all those around him that it was
virtually impossible not to fall in love with him. His Bodybuilding career soared,
he was winning competition after competition and eventually went on to win an unprecedented five
Mr. Universe titles and six Mr. Olympia crowns. He was the youngest person to ever win the Mr.
Universe title, hitting the world record. He was a champion, and he was proud of himself
for not only everything he had achieved but for having proven all those who doubted him wrong.
"The Mr. Universe title was my ticket to America — the land of opportunity,
where I could become a star and get rich."
While the bodybuilding champion was making a name for himself all over the world,
tragedy struck his family in Austria. His brother,
Meinhard, had been driving under the influence of alcohol and was killed in a traffic accident.
Even though his brother had always been the family favorite, Arnold had still been able to
have a good relationship with him. The news of his brother's death was heartbreaking, but he decided
not to fly back home for the funeral because he did not want to have to face his father.
Just a year and a half later, his father passed away from a stroke, and he chose not to attend
that funeral either. He didn't feel like he needed to attend the funeral of the man who
had tormented him for so much of his life, even if it was his own flesh and blood. Arnold was focused
on his career, which would soon be moving to the silver screen and make him an action hero legend.
Following in the footsteps of his acting idol, Reg Parks, Arnold was cast as Hercules in the
1969 film. It seems as though he was ticking off all of his goals. He quickly became world renowned
for his impossibly strong physique, and now he was making a name for himself as a talented actor.
Arnold was proving to everyone there was nothing he couldn't do,
his determination was unshakable, and he was only just getting started.
Unfortunately, the upcoming actor soon had to learn that there was a downside to fame,
which was the loss of anonymity. Now that the world knew who he was,
there was no way for him to keep his private life away from the tabloids, and soon there
would be a scandal so big that it would shake his family and test the strength of his marriage.
One of his ex-girlfriends Barbara Outland, would later discover that Arnold had been unfaithful
during their relationship. With his newfound fame came an abundance of women who surrounded Arnold.
He was attractive, he was a rising star and suddenly overwhelmed by other beautiful women who
were attracted to him for his physique. During this time, Schwarzenegger found it difficult
to remain faithful to Barbara. However when he was asked to comment on his infidelity, he said
"sometimes Barbara's recollection of events differs from my own,"
Unfortunately, this would not be the last time that infidelity would come back to haunt
him in his life and the whole world would be there to watch. He eventually married
Maria Shriver in 1986, who was a member of the famous Kennedy family. For a while,
it seemed as though Arnold had everything a man could ever dream of: a booming career that was
churning out blockbuster films left right and center, a beautiful wife and children,
and more money than he could have ever imagined. He was no longer the small,
bullied boy from Austria who was being beaten by the hands of his father and couldn't afford
food. He was a Hollywood action hero turned politician, there was nothing he couldn’t do.
In 2011, the world was shocked to find out that Maria and Arnold had separated.
His wife had found out that her husband had an affair with none other
than their family housekeeper, Mildred Baena. Not only had they had an affair,
but he had also gotten her pregnant. Even more shocking was that Mildred gave birth to their son,
Joseph, just a few days after his wife gave birth to their second son, Christopher.
However, Arnold adamantly denied that Joseph was his son, and he did so for almost 8 years.
Schwarzenegger admitted it only when Joseph, quote, "started looking like me,
that's when I kind of got it. I put things together." Shriver described his admission to
the affair and illegitimate child as "painful and heartbreaking." She knew Arnold had been
unfaithful with his previous girlfriends but never thought he would have done it to her. Sadly,
their marriage did not survive the scandal, and the couple split in 2011 with Maria
moving into a nearby home so their children could easily go between the two parents.
Arnold took financial responsibility for his illegitimate son, Joseph,
as soon as he knew that he was his real son. Things seemed amicable between him
and his ex-wife, and Schwarzenegger took full responsibility for what he had done,
admitting that he had done wrong, adding that this was his least proud moment.
"I'm least proud of the mistakes I made that caused my family pain and split us up." Although
he was on top of the world, his infidelity came back to haunt him. As inspirational as he is for
his accomplishments, his mistakes should also serve others as a lesson. He had been put on a
pedestal as a bodybuilder, actor and politician, but he was also a human, and humans make mistakes.
Though he and Maria were never able to rekindle their romance,
he has done everything he can do to put his family first and be the best father that he
can to his children. "it all has worked out. It's a very tough situation for [Joseph].
It's a very tough situation for my kids, very tough situation for my family. It was
tough for everybody. But it has happened, and now we have to figure it out, right?"
Arnold has remained humble over the years, inspiring millions of fans all over the world
with his journey and speaking openly about his mistakes. If there's anything that people can
learn from the action star is that anything is possible if you're determined enough to fight
for your dreams, but also that Hollywood heroes are just as human as everyone else.