A Harsh Beginning
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger was born to Aurelia and Gustav on July 30, 1947, in Thal, Austria. Schwarzenegger grew up with no money, and one of the most memorable aspects of his childhood was when the family got something as essential as a refrigerator. Post World War II, Austrian society was also a rather dark existence and harsh and strict.
He’s opened up about his childhood explaining how he felt that growing up in Austria was a “different world.” He continued, “If we did something bad or we disobeyed our parents, the rod was not spared.” Times were tough growing up in the 50s!
Trouble at Home
Schwarzenegger’s father, Gustav, harbored a dark (and unfounded) suspicion that Arnold wasn’t indeed his biological son. Schwarzenegger recalls that he “had no patience for listening or understanding your problems.” Gustav treated him abusively but favored the older son, Meinhard. “My hair was pulled,” Arnold said.
Remarkably, the abuse drove Arnold to focus on the dreams inside of him. “Every time someone said, ‘You can’t do this,’ I said, ‘This is not going to be for much longer because I’m going to move out of here. I want to be rich. I want to be somebody.” He was certainly right about becoming somebody, somebody rich!
How It Started
Schwarzenegger got into sports from a young age. He was intrigued by weightlifting and bodybuilding, which grew to be his passionate pursuit. Though his father wanted him to be a police officer and his mother wanted him to go to trade school, Schwarzenegger had formed his own plan when he was 14 years old.
He was nearly obsessive in his routine, “It would make me sick to miss a workout… I knew I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror the next morning if I didn’t do it.” Lucky for Arnie, all of his hard work toward those tireless workouts paid off.
An Uncommon Path
It may be difficult to imagine a world in which bodybuilding was not very popular. Nowadays there are a lot of gym fanatics out there that are very religious when it comes to their gym schedules and the way their bodies look.
But in Arnie’s early days bodybuilding and fitness were not the popular trend at the time and, when Schwarzenegger began pursuing it with all of his might, his mother grew concerned. On 60 Minutes, Arnold shared how concerned she was about his newfound hobby. Thankfully, his mother eventually understood more about her son’s passion and even condoned them.
Military Time
Seems like everyone was part of the military back in the good ol’ days, and that includes good ol’ Arnold. Upon turning 18, Arnold served one year in the Austrian Army as a tank driver. He shared that this time “appealed to the part of me that has always been moved by any show of strength and force.” Perhaps his time in the military only further fueled his fire for pushing his physical limits.
Schwarzenegger gave his all (including breaking his military service) to participate in the Junior Mr. Europe competition. His hard work paid off when he came out number one! However, as punishment for insubordination, Arnold also served time in military prison.