My Encounter with Arnold
A daughter of immigrants meets her idol.
This weekend, I touched down at John Glenn Columbus International Airport to take in the Arnold Classic, a mecca for bodybuilders and those who admire them.
I stayed in a group house a couple blocks from The Ohio State University’s campus, where I met Heather, a night-shift nurse, and her 16-year-old son, Quentin. Last night, Quentin and his mom stood in line for two hours to get a picture with Sam Sulek, the 23-year-old fitness influencer and native Ohioan who won the amateur competition. Others hung around the Greater Columbus Convention Center to catch a glimpse of Vania Auguste, the new bikini champion, or Samson Dauda, winner of the Most Muscular award.
I, however, was there to see the man himself. The entire reason I flew to Columbus was to meet Arnold Schwarzenegger, shake his hand, and thank him for writing a blurb for my book.
To me, he is the embodiment of the American Dream. The bodybuilder turned movie star turned two-time California governor was a hero to my father who, like Schwarzenegger, never quite “fixed” his funny English. Instead, Arnold turned it into an asset (How could “I’ll be back” sound any other way?). As one of his staffers told me, Arnold is “one of one.”
On Saturday, I had the opportunity to meet some of his fanbase—and Schwarzenegger himself. After passing through police security, I entered a room at the Columbus Convention Center labeled “Arnold’s Pump Club,” which housed several dozen fitness enthusiasts who subscribe to his newsletter. Inside, I could hear The Terminator’s unmistakable voice quietly telling stories to a group of enraptured superfans; the room was hushed as he spoke about his love for military trucks and his friendships with luminaries from Jay Leno to Colin Powell.
What struck me most was how at home he seemed in this environment. This was his world, where he reigns. He co-founded the Arnold bodybuilding competition in 1989, which has since grown into a multi-sport festival encompassing men’s and women’s powerlifting, arm wrestling, and mixed martial arts, cementing this former steel town as a global hub for sports and fitness. Just over a decade ago, the town erected an eight-foot tall bronze statue of him outside the Convention Center, where he strikes his iconic twisted double-biceps pose. When I walked by, two spray-tanned girls in Reeboks posed next to it for a photo.
The evening earlier, I got to see Arnold speak on stage, alongside retired Navy SEAL Jocko Willink and former football star Rob Gronkowski—who, while taller in stature, managed to look minuscule in comparison to the Terminator.
Willink kicked things off with a rather silly question: Which is harder, preparing for a bodybuilding competition or for a movie shoot?
There were so many questions I would have asked instead. How has America changed since you arrived in 1968? Why does the competition effectively allow performance-enhancing drugs by not testing? Would it be a better show without them? What do you think about the direction the country is heading today?
Here are some of his pearls from the event…
The Rise of Strength Training
“I came to America in 1968,” Arnold began, recalling a time when athletes not only didn’t focus on strength, but were advised against it. “Football players like Joe Namath didn’t lift weights. Coaches always told them that if they worked out with weights, they would become ‘muscle-bound’ and it would hurt their performance.”
Now, he pointed out, strength training has become integral to virtually all sports, as evidenced by the incredible feats we see on fields and beyond. “Now, everyone believes in resistance training. This, to me, is such a wonderful development.” And it’s not just for elite athletes: strength training has become a way for the wider public to live longer, healthier lives.
“Not everyone wants to be a bodybuilding champion,” Arnold said. “Some people just want to get strong and fit.”
How to Find Greatness
“One of the most common questions I get is, ‘How can I become great? How can I become successful?’” Arnold turned to the audience and asked: “What is your goal?”
“So many people don’t have a clearly defined goal,” he continued. “It’s like a pilot who takes off in an airplane but has no destination.”
“When I was 10 years old, I wanted to come to America. It didn’t matter what it took—I would do it. I will come to America.” He looked up to Steve Reeves, the former Mr. Universe who played Hercules in films of the late 1950s.
“That’s what I have to do,” Schwarzenegger thought. “I trained three hours a day, four hours a day. Every set that I did, every rep I did brought joy because it brought me one step closer to my goal.”
On Having a Vision
“If you can see it, and believe it, you can achieve anything,” he said. He talked about the importance of having a vision. “I was told, ‘You can never be in the movies with this body!’ And I responded, ‘Reg Park did it!’ They said, ‘That was the 50s. This is the 70s! The new idol is Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino, Woody Allen—little guys. These are the sex symbols of the 70s.’”
“But I had a vision to be Clint Eastwood, Charles Bronson. So, I went to work. I took accent removal lessons. They didn’t work. I took stunt lessons, speech lessons. And eventually, I worked my way up to become Conan the Barbarian.”
Then, he deadpanned the iconic line: “Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of the women.” The crowd roared with delight.
“Have a vision and don’t listen to the naysayers. Teach your kids to get off the machines. Off the iPads, off the computers, and start thinking about their vision. Not someone else’s vision. It takes time, and you have to let it brew. In Austria, there was no television, no iPhone. I had time to think. To visualize. Teach our kids to develop a vision first. Everything else falls into place. OK?”
On the Presidency
“As you know, I always aim for the top,” Arnold said. “So, I would have run for president. I have the talent to do that, the personality, the vision, the determination, and the love for America. I would give anything to serve this country. So yes, I would have run for president.”
“But let me add something. You will never hear me complain about it. Everything I’ve accomplished in my life is because of America. The only thing I can’t accomplish is becoming president. So why would I complain about this one thing? I love the American people, and I will always be there to serve this country.”
On Whether He Would Have Done Anything Differently?
“Absolutely nothing. I am so happy with the qualities I have. My determination. My willingness to work my ass off and make sacrifices. I’m not a self-made man. I’ve had teammates, sponsors, my wife—the greatest mother in the world. This has enriched me. Yes, I’ve made mistakes, but I can’t go back…”
An immigrant, teacher to immigrants, the terminator is a role model. I simply love Arnold. Thanks Annie!
You met The Arnold?!?? Omg