“They Made Up Sh*t”: Arnold Schwarzenegger Took It Upon Himself to Dispel All the Myths Fabricated by Media About Bodybuilding

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ByPritha Halder

Mar 7, 2024 | 12:19 PM EST

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Arnold Schwarzenegger was one of the bodybuilding legends who helped shape the sport back when it was mostly considered to be a questionable sport. Back in the 70s, both Schwarzenegger and his contemporary bodybuilders had to struggle in society because of their profession and passion as bodybuilders. Years later, The Austrian Oak again speaks about it.

Schwarzenegger revealed how back in the days when bodybuilding was just rising in the sports canon, he had to deal with several snarky comments from the press and other people. But he declared how he tries his best to eradicate any concerning notions about the sport.

Arnold Schwarzenegger thought people were jealous

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In one of the podcast episodes of Jocko Podcast, Schwarzenegger was featured, and he chose to talk about the initial reaction bodybuilding received from the society. He stated, “I just couldn’t stand it anymore. The stupid stuff that people would say about bodybuilding, the Press. Not because they were just mean-spirited there was maybe a little bit there jealousy and feeling inadequate around the body.”

He also proceeded to comment on how they had a good body and abs and were more muscular, so people often made up rumors because they were insecure about themselves. But Arnie suggested, “They also kind of didn’t understand it so they made up sh*t, you know. They are all gay you know this is a substitute for some other shortcomings they’re stupid and they’re narcissists and you’re going to die early if you work on all this kind of stupid stuff.”

Thus, Schwarzenegger found it his job to correct these people about their understanding of the sport. He further commented, “So there’s so much to work with to kind of dispel some of those stereotypical things. So that was my job then you know I got full hard.”

Being a bodybuilder has always been considered the most superior form of masculinity because of their build. And the stereotypes of masculinity then add to it. One of the most popular of them is a portrayal of emotions.

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Breaking past stereotypes: Arnold Schwarzenegger

Once when Schwarzenegger was asked whether he feels “mushy” or shed tears at all or not. The bodybuilder then replied to him without any hesitations that he often tears up during movies. He remembered ‘ET’ to be one such movie. Then the bodybuilder went ahead to say, “Look when you’re as ballsy as I am and as much of a man as I am, I don’t have to hide any of the feminine sides.,”

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Breaking past any stereotyped notion of society is extremely hard, but if one does not take the initiative to make a change, the society is unlikely to develop from its initial biased mindset. Because Schwarzenegger, along with others, could work on eradicating such notions, bodybuilding has seen new heights.