Despite Being an Outsider, Gold’s Gym Owner’s Special Treatment Towards Arnold Schwarzenegger Left “Even His Closest Friends Freaked Out”

Arnold Schwarzenegger changed bodybuilding. His techniques and insights at a time when fitness science was perhaps not keenly explored, gave new life to the sport, made it healthier, and generated the mass appeal it has today. But the former Mr. Olympia didn’t do it by himself. Everybody needs help. And while most people have a familial support system, Arnie’s closest ally was the Gold’s gym!

He was an outsider. And yet the treatment he received at Gold’s gym even left his closest friends freaked out. You will be surprised to know how much they went out of their way to accommodate The Austrian Oak and it undoubtedly left a mark on the champion, because even after so many decades, he not only remembers it but also credits them for a lot of his success in the bodybuilding circuit.

An incident with Arnold Schwarzenegger at the Gold’s Gym

Elex Michaelson recently took to his official YouTube account and shared the full interview he had with the bodybuilding legend, Arnold Schwarzenegger. In the video, Arnie was seen talking about how he got into this direction and what exactly motivated him. Talking about all these, he suddenly recalled an incident at the beginning of his career in the Gold’s Gym.

He said, “So I came to G gym and Joe G, who built the place, it was  1968, and he said to me, he says you know you’re a foreigner, you’re over there from Germany, from Austria. He says you don’t have to pay.” Joe God, the owner of the Gold’s Gym almost never lets anyone pay for the first time in his life. This obviously came as a shock to a lot of people.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger added, “So then I became the first member that didn’t have to pay, and everyone, even his closest friends freaked out.  They said Joe, said you don’t have to pay, he made me pay. I’m his closest friend. So Joe had everyone pay because it’s the only way he could support the gym.” He once again repeated that bodybuilding was never on the list, it just happened.

What brought Arnold Schwarzenegger into Bodybuilding?

Arnold Schwarzenegger had always been very average when it came to academics in school, however, everyone still loved him because of his exuberating nature. He even had problems reading as he was dyslexic. But, he had always been extremely into sports ever since he was a kid. His father was an athlete and wanted his children to become the champions at the Bavarian Curling. 

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It was after being influenced by his father, that he started indulging himself in various sports. He began his weightlifting journey in 1960 after his football coach took them to a local gym. At the age of 14, he decided to pursue Bodybuilding as a career. He said, “I actually started weight training when I was 15, but I’d been participating in sports, like soccer, for years, so I felt that although I was slim, I was well-developed, at least enough so that I could start going to the gym and start Olympic lifting.” And well, once he began, there was no looking back, and the rest as you know it, is history.