Arnold Schwarzenegger Shares the Story Behind His First Bodybuilding Contests at 16

Arnie was just 15 when he entered a local weightlifting gym, and the aspirations of competing were a very quick thought in his mind. The gym’s environment made him obsessed with competing.

“Somehow, I mean, I was just a beginner, but I was kind of like asked to go into this competition, which I did.”

And what happened in his first competition is what carved his entire path. 

“I think I placed third in a Mr. Austria competition,” Schwarzenegger told host John Hansen.

The results alone were enough to turn heads,  but what followed them is what he still remembers most clearly.

Schwarzenegger Talks About Getting Fame at 16

Schwarzenegger obviously drew press attention, being the youngest competitor on the stage. Placing well in those early Austrian contests was one thing. Getting press attention at 16 was another entirely.

“Because I was the youngest competing there, the press paid attention to me,” he said on the same podcast appearance. “So they asked me to come out into a hall and pose with these two girls, who were performers at a nightclub. They were singers. Asians.”

The photo of a 16-year-old Schwarzenegger ran in the newspapers the next morning. 

“So here I was, 16 years old, and already was getting publicity in, you know, I mean, in a newspaper.”

The newspaper photo was the first proof that the 16-year-old didn’t come to compete; he came to conquer! Schwarzenegger’s maturity was well beyond belief for that age. And he went on to conquer the bodybuilding world.

What inspiration would you take from the 16-year-old Schwarzenegger, if you could? Let us know in the comments!