My face-to-face w/ Schwarzenegger

[Valley Oak]

When I was 15 (circa 1976) I went with my mom to see the promotion of a movie, 'Pumping Iron' in Mill Valley, California (where there are many valley oaks by the way, or at least used to be). The promotion was being spearheaded by the speaker of this local event, Arnold Schwarzenegger, because the movie (which later became what is called a 'sleeper') had a lackluster debut in theaters.

When we entered the room, which was well attended, we searched and found a couple of seats to sit in. The event begins with Schwarzenegger walking in through the same door as everyone else had, all the way to the front to address the audience. He speaks for a while and people asked him questions like what his last name means in German, to which he responds 'black plow puller.' And so on.

Eventually, the film is shown, which I had found very entertaining. After the film, there is more Q & A. Schwarzenegger explains that since his retirement from bodybuilding, he had lost 20 pounds of muscle from lack of training and diet. There is more interaction with the fans and the event ends. Arnold hangs around afterwards schmoozing extensively with the crowd. Everyone wants to speak with him, including my mother and I.

I was an active high school athlete (wrestling, football, weightlifting, etc) and Schwarzenegger was an idol at that time (he no longer is, now that I'm older, have better judgment, and voted against him in the recall and governor's race). And, of course, universal knowledge of his use of steroids was undeniable (this was decades before he got into politics). Now our turn had come and we could both speak with the bodybuilding champion, whose acting career was in its infancy and no one yet knew that he would also be so successful in cinema.

My mother interrupts me in a panic and tells Schwarzenegger that I'm only 15, that I want to take steroids, and to please tell me not to do so! Geeez. So Schwarzenegger humors my mom and tells me how many inches in width his arms were without steroids. Now, I finally get to speak.

I casually and confidently point out to Mr. Schwarzenegger that he had used steroids and asked him why. To my surprise, he hypocritically justifies himself by saying, 'I didn't have any choice. I was number one.'

Interesting. I guess back then he already had exactly what it takes to be a Republican politician.

Edward

[tonyc]

I didn't know Arnold retired already in body building in 1976. Anyways, good story.

[Valley Oak]

I just finished reading that he came out of retirement briefly to compete one last time in the 1980 Mr. Olympia contest. Here is a quote from Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Schwarzenegger

In 1975, Schwarzenegger was once again in top form, and won the title for the sixth consecutive time,[13] beating Franco Columbu. After the 1975 Mr. Olympia contest, Schwarzenegger announced his retirement from professional bodybuilding.[13]
Months before the 1975 Mr. Olympia contest, filmmakers George Butler and Robert Fiore persuaded Schwarzenegger to compete, in order to film his training in the bodybuilding documentary called Pumping Iron. Schwarzenegger had only three months to prepare for the competition, after losing significant weight to appear in the film Stay Hungry with Jeff Bridges. Lou Ferrigno proved not to be a threat, and a lighter-than-usual Schwarzenegger convincingly won the 1975 Mr. Olympia. After being declared Mr. Olympia for a sixth consecutive time, Schwarzenegger retired from competition.
Schwarzenegger came out of retirement, however, to compete in the 1980 Mr. Olympia.[5] Schwarzenegger was training for his role in Conan, and he got into such good shape because of the running, horseback riding, and sword training, that he decided he wanted to win the Mr. Olympia contest one last time. He kept this plan a secret, in the event that a training accident would prevent his entry and cause him to lose face. Schwarzenegger had been hired to provide color commentary for network television, when he announced at the eleventh hour that while he was there: "Why not compete?" Schwarzenegger ended up winning the event with only seven weeks of preparation. After being declared Mr. Olympia for a seventh time, Schwarzenegger officially retired from competition.
Steroid use
Schwarzenegger has admitted to using performance-enhancing anabolic steroids while they were legal, writing in 1967 that "steroids were helpful to me in maintaining muscle size while on a strict diet in preparation for a contest. I did not use them for muscle growth, but rather for muscle maintenance when cutting up." He has called the drugs "tissue building."[29]
In 1999, Schwarzenegger sued Dr. Willi Heepe, a German doctor who publicly predicted an early death for the bodybuilder, based on a link between steroid use and later heart problems. Because the doctor had never examined him personally, Schwarzenegger collected a DM20,000 ($12,000 USD) libel judgment against him in a German court. In 1999, Schwarzenegger also sued and settled with The Globe, a U.S. tabloid which had made similar predictions about the bodybuilder's future health. As late as 1996, a year before open heart surgery to replace an aortic valve with a human homograft valve,[30] Schwarzenegger publicly defended his use of anabolic steroids during his bodybuilding career.[31]

I didn't know Arnold retired already in body building in 1976. Anyways, good story.