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“Der steirische Eiche” - “The Styrian Oak”
 n 1953, as a young boy, Arnold's father took him to Graz to attend the dedication of a public swimming pool, featuring none other than the former Olympic swimming champ and Tarzan movie star Johnny Weissmuller. Could this have been one of the first inspirations for Schwarzenegger's later bodybuilding and film careers?
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What exactly did motivate the young man from Thal to embark on his mission to become the world's top bodybuiler? Schwarzenegger himself has mentioned at least three different events, each of which was supposedly the one that inspired him to start bulking up his physique. But there can be no doubt that something caused Arnold to be fanatically driven to become a top bodybuilder while he was still a young man growing up in Austria. Since that time, and throughout his life, Schwarzenegger has been known for setting specific goals for himself—and achieving them.
Around the age of 13 or 14 Arnold decided to start working out in order to develop a more impressive body. One version of the story goes that he was inspired by watching a series of Italian-made Hercules movies, starring bodybuilders Reg Park and Steve Reeves, at a Graz cinema that only charged six schillings (about 30 cents) admission. Whatever the reason, Arnold was soon working out on a daily basis at the only weight-training gymnasium in Graz.
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It was Kurt Marnul, a former Mr. Austria and owner of the Athletik-Union gym in Graz, who became Arnold's first trainer. Arnold's fanatic dedication to his new hobby soon became a source of concern for his parents. So enthusiastic was the young athlete, that he even broke into the gym on weekends, when the gym was closed. (Marnul's gym, crude by today's standards, was located at the Graz soccer stadium now named for Schwarzenegger, and was an unpleasant, cold place in the winter.) Although his older brother joined Arnold for his workouts at first, Meinhard soon proved to be far less determined than the future Mr. Universe. In 1963 Arnold entered his first bodybuilding contest, held at the Steirerhof hotel in Graz. He came in second, but that only spurred him on in his newfound career. Soon Schwarzenegger would be known as “der steirische Eiche” (“the Styrian Oak”).
Austrian law would cause only a very brief delay in Arnold's bodybuilding career when he had to go into the army at age 18 for a one-year tour of duty. On 1 October 1965, thanks to his father's influence, Arnold became a tank driver in the Austrian army, a post usually reserved for older, more experienced soldiers. Before the month was out, Arnold traveled to Stuttgart, Germany to compete in the Junior Mr. Europe contest. To do so, he had to go AWOL, but after winning the competition he was able to return to Graz and Thal as a hero and his punishment was mild.
Soon Schwarzenegger would take his leave of Austria for good. Next stop, Munich.
To be continued...
PHOTOS > Arnold's Hometown - Thal bei Graz
C O M I N G S O O N
Schwarzenegger had barely been in the U.S. for two years when he appeared in his first feature film. In the first two movies Schwarzenegger made in Hollywood he was credited as Arnold Strong. For his role in Hercules in New York (1970), the Austrian bodybuilder's accented English was dubbed over.
N E X T > More About Arnold (Soon!)
B A C K > Arnold - Part 1
W E B > Arnold Schwarzenegger Chronology (About.com)
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