Arnold Schwarzenegger, also Known as the “Austrian Oak”, is one of the greatest action heroes to ever grace the silver screen. Here are 10 amazing facts you may not be aware of. As far as the ones you already know about, I’ll be providing some extra information to help you appreciate them even more. In addition to that, I’ll provide key takeaways that correlate to these Arnold facts, and they’ll be things we can actually use to help us make a positive impact in our own lives.

10) He’s actually a lot bigger than you think, but he’s also a lot smaller than you think. This may sound contradictory on its surface, but let me explain.

When you conjure up an image of Arnold Schwarzenegger in your head, it’ll likely be an image from the 80’s or 90s, from one of his action masterpieces, which is how most people first seen him and will remember him by. The Terminator, Predator, Commando, or even Conan.

And while he sported a very impressive and muscular physique in those films, he was actually much bigger onstage when he was competing in bodybuilder.

So he was actually a lot bigger than most people think or remember.

As far as him being a lot smaller than you think, there are 2 things going on; first, we have to put things in perspective. I’m sure a lot of you first seen him when you were kids growing up in the 80’s and 90s. He was larger than life, we probably compared him to our own fathers and other male adults in our lives, who most likely looked puny in comparison. So, we’ve seen him as a very large man, but look at this picture of Arnold next to real big men while shooting Conan The Destroyer, Andre the Giant and Wilt Chamberlin, they make him look like a little doll.

Also, as far as his actual height goes, its reported that he’s 6’2”, but I’m not sure this is actually accurate. He’s likely closer to 6 foot In my opinion. Let’s be honest, most of us probably round up when someone asks us how tall we are. For example, I’m 5’9” but have claimed 5’10 . Also, as far as people who have actually seen him in person, they’ll usually say he’s not quite as tall as you’d think. Case in point, one my ex’s father, who’s 6’5” btw, claimed that Arnold was barely taller than me. I’d say realistically Arnold’s probably 2-3 inches taller than me. But regardless of height or size, he’s certainly larger than life! 

Key takeaway here is to just to put things in perspective. As bad as any of you think you may have it right now in your own life, I guarantee there are millions of people that would trade shoes with you in a heartbeat. I mean literally, 1 in 3 people globally do not have access to safe drinking water!

9) He’s actually way Richer than you think.

He’s realistically probably worth ½ a billion dollars, that’s 500 Million Dollars!

Let’s put that in perspective. Let’s say somebody made $50,000 a year. It would literally take them 20 years to get up to a million dollars, and that’s if they didn’t get taxed on it and they didn’t spend a single dollar for living expenses. It would take them 20 years, just to hit the million-dollar mark. If you’re 30 years old and just had a kid, they’d be well on their way to graduating not only high school, but college in that amount of time!

So, $500 million dollars, that’s working that same job for 10,000 years! Now, I think that gives you a realistic picture of just how much money that actually is. But here’s the cool thing. You don’t have to be an international movie star to make that kind of money, though it certainly helps, but that’s not how Arnold amassed such wealth.

He actually started a bricklaying business in the late 1960’s with Franco Columbo, who was also a workout partner of his at the time. He then managed to parlay that into a mail order business selling exercise equipment and instructional videos. Then, he became the champion bodybuilder we all know, and transitioned in the movie star we all love. And then parlayed that money into real estate investments and other business ventures.

Despite being from Austria, he is the human embodiment of the American Dream!

Arnold grew up in a small village, in a house that had no phone, no fridge and no toilet.

In fact, he says one of the biggest highlights of his youth was when his family could afford to buy a refrigerator.

Here’s the takeaway on this one:

It doesn’t really matter where you come from. And Arnold’s great success is not nearly as unique as you’d think. Now don’t get me wrong, he’s extremely successful and wealthy and obviously among what would be considered the ultra-wealthy, which by definition is usually considered wealth in excess of $30 Million.  But here’s where I’m going with this. His success is not unattainable. He had very humble beginnings. In fact, the majority of Ultra Wealthy individuals are actually self-made, just shy of 70% of them in fact. Let that sink in. And think about this. Picture the self-made guy with kind of F.U. Money who flies around in his own Lear jet. Let’s say he was wiped out in a day, all his wealth. Gone.  Do you think he could ever get it back?  Of course he can! Now picture the average guy or girl. Could they ever get that kind of F.U. money and their own Lear Jet?  Well, they most likely won’t, but they’re essentially starting at the same level as the self-made individual who did. So why couldn’t they?  Something to think about. Key takeaway is don’t set limits for yourself in other words, just like Arnold never did.

8) His father never liked him and instead had a clear preference for Arnold’s older brother Meinhard.

Sad but true. The reason for this was that it apparently stemmed from his father’s unfounded suspicion that Arnold was not his biological son. Now, whether or not that was true, the fact of the matter is Arnold did not have a great childhood as a result of this and did not even get along with his own brother. Though, he was at least close to his mother.

Key takeaway here is that at the end of the day some people have it easier than others. Although we can consider them lucky, what we really need to focus on, is a great quote by Bruce Lee, “Don’t pray for an easy life. Pray for the strength to endure a difficult one”.

7) He was Way Stronger than you Think.

They don’t just cast anybody as Hercules afterall!

While he may not exactly be able to shoulder press a Mini-Cooper, during his early years in bodybuilding he also competed in Olympic Weightlifting and powerlifting contests. He won 2 weightlifting contests in 1964 and 65 as well as two powerlifting contests in 1966 and 68.

In 1967, He even won the Munich stone-lifting contest, lifting a 560-pound stone between his legs while standing on two footrests.

As far as his Olympic lifts go, his personal records for those were

• Clean and press – 264 lb (120 kg)
• Snatch – 243 lb (110 kg)
• Clean and jerk – 298 lb (135 kg)

As far as the big 3 lifts for Powerlifting goes, his personal records for those were

• Squat – 545 lb (247 kg)
• Bench press – 520 lb (240 kg)
• Deadlift – 710 lb (320 kg)

Those big 3 lifts would add up to a total of 1775 pounds, very impressive and very solid numbers for anyone.

Key takeaway here is to not just look the part, but be the part. Especially in this day and age where everyone seems to put up a front, primarily on social media. But for you lifters out there, don’t just pile on the weight and risk injury; instead, I think most gym rats should focus on being more athletic and agile.

6) He was way more dominant in Bodybuilding than you think!

In fact, the Guinness Book of World Records called him, “the most perfectly developed man in the history of the world.”

I’m sure plenty of you are aware that he’s won the Mr. Universe title as well as numerous Mr. Olympia titles; but let’s get a little more specific here and break down what he actually achieved.

He became the youngest Mr. Universe in History, winning that first title at the age of 20 and then winning it several other times as well.

But the biggest competition in bodybuilding is actually the Mr. Olympia, which was the brainchild of Joe Weider, who created it as a way to enable winners of the Mr. Universe title to compete against one another. Arnold’s first Olympia appearance was in 1969 and he took 2^nd place to Sergio Oliva. The following year, in 1970, Arnold would win the highly coveted title and continue a dominant reign until 1975, when he would retire from the sport. The 1975 Olympia was the subject of the documentary Pumping Iron by the way, which really helped the sport of bodybuilding gain some much-needed popularity.

Arnold would then make a comeback in the 1980 Mr. Olympia and be the subject of yet another documentary, this one appropriately titled “The Comeback”. After an absence of five years, six times Mr Olympia winner Arnold Schwarzenegger makes a comeback and attempts to take the World Body Building Championship for the 7th time. And he did! This win however was considered controversial, as some people believe he wasn’t deserving of the title. His most outspoken critic at the time was the late Mike Mentzer, who came in 5^th place that year. Arnold’s win and the overall politics within bodybuilding as a whole left such a bad taste in Mike Mentzer’s mouth, he wound up retiring his posing trunks and decided to never compete again.

Nevertheless, whether Arnold Schwarzenegger was deserving of that 1980 Mr. Olympia win or not, that contest would gain him his 7^th overall title and he still remains the face of bodybuilding to this day and an overall great ambassador for the sport.

Key takeaway here is, and we’re going to go with Mike Mentzer’s perspective, “life’s not fair”! It never was, for anyone, it never will be. But you know what, Get over it. Mike Mentzer never got over 1980 Mr. Olympia, he felt like he gave that contest his all but was the victim of politics and conspiracy. I could clearly see why he might be frustrated, but let the anger and frustration subside, don’t let it consume you, don’t let it turn you into a victim. So what if you were passed up on that job promotion by another colleague who was less-deserving of it. If you really feel that way, and you’re honest with yourself, and you know your value, then find another company that will pay you for what you’re worth. It’s too easy for us to get complacent, I’ve been there myself.

5) His dedication to training was Insane, he was Obssessed!

Although Arnold Schwarzenegger was always athletic, he wasn’t immediately drawn to weightlifting; instead, he got his start in Soccer, mostly as a way to try and impress his father.

He would soon get catch iron bug however, at around the age of 14 or 15 after his soccer coach took him and his team to do some weight training at a local gym. From that moment on, Arnold was hooked. He gave up soccer and began pursuing a career as a professional bodybuilder and strongman.

After he had started lifting weights as a teenager, he noticed that his body was becoming disproportionate. His arms and chest were developing nicely, but his calves and lower legs weren’t quite getting the same type of development. To motivate himself to work harder on his calves, he cut off all of his pants (trousers) at the knee. Walking around like that, people would look at (and sometimes snicker at) the big man with ‘chicken’ legs.

He was actually so dedicated as a teenager, that when the local gym was closed on the weekend, he would break in to work out. Arnold said “it would make me sick to miss a workout,” he said. “I knew I couldn’t look at myself in a mirror the next morning if I didn’t do it.”

Schwarzenegger served in the Austrian Army for a year as part of the mandatory service requirement for all 18-year old Austrian males. He went AWOL during basic training so he could compete in the Junior Mr. Europe contest and spent a week in military prison as a result.

Arnold was also known as a volume trainer. For example, when training for the 1975 Mr. Olympia title, his schedule consisted training 6 days a week. Twice a day on Mon/Wed/Fri and once a day on Tues/Thurs/Sat.

It’s not the type of volume that anyone would really advise these days and was actually pretty similar to what Stallone did throughout the 80’s when training for a new Rocky or Rambo film. Even Stallone admits that what he did at the time was just overkill and no one really needs to train that long to get great results.

The key takeaway here is that to become Great at something, you have to become obsessed. Now, realistically, what most of us should take away from this is to just to be more efficient and smarter with our time. It’s not like any of us really have 6 hours to spare a day to workout, but we’re not exactly trying to be Mr. Olympia either. Still, there’s no reason we can’t put in a solid efficient hour in the gym several times a week. Just get off your phone if you’re gonna do that and cut the rest time down and you’ll still get great results. Remember to take advantage of the time you have while there.

4) The man has his own statue!

The statue of Arnold Schwarzenegger is an 8 foot tall bronze sculpture erected in 2012 that commemorates his 1970 Mr. World title at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium. It was at that auditorium where the 1970 Mr. World competition was actually held. At that time, the young bodybuilding star had just arrived in the city, fresh from a Mr. Universe victory in London.

Andrew Ginther, president of Columbus City Council, said the statue not only memorializes the partnership between Schwarzenegger and the city, but also the former governor’s accomplishments in the state of California, as well as his promotion of leadership and healthy lifestyles throughout the world.

The Veterans Memorial auditorium was bulldozed in 2014 by the way, so obviously that statue could not remain there.   The statue was moved downtown near the Columbus Convention Center, where the annual Arnold Sports Festival is held.

Arnold Schwarzenegger has gotten another statue – this time one carved out of a black oak tree trunk, which is very fitting since his nickname is The Austrian Oak.

Master sculptor James O’Neal’s “Austrian Oak” measures 6′ 2″ in height, weighs 350 pounds and features Arnold in his signature bodybuilding pose. The black oak statue took James O’Neal more than six months to complete. The wooden statue of Arnold ended up being a big hit at the 2019 Arnold Sports Festival and James O’Neal has since gathered quite the following on Instagram under his username Jamesonealwoodart and currently has over 42,000 followers.

Key Takeaway here is to make a positive impact. While most of us will never have a statue fashioned after us, we can still positively impact lives. Whether it’s with your own children, or volunteering to help out the less fortunate, do something that helps in some way to make this world a better place when you

3) Arnold Schwarzenegger actually did Ballet.

Despite the tutus, ballet is way manlier than you may think.

Ballet is all about grace and confidence, body posture, and creating visual symmetry with the body. These elements are what let Schwarzenegger become such a good poser. So with bodybuilding you obviously need a good amount of muscle and a well-defined physique, but with that, you need to know how to properly show it off. 

And Arnold certainly knew this. I don’t think a lot of bodybuilders spend nearly enough time developing this skill; in fact, there was an amazing bodybuilder in the 90s who was truly lacking in this area named Paul Dillet.

Arnold’s not the only one who practiced ballet in order to better their own craft btw.  Jean-Claude Van Damme also implemented ballet in his own training to help increase his balance and flexibility, which is one reason he looks so incredibly graceful with his karate.

So you might think the takeaway here is that ballet’s awesome, which it certainly is, but the real takeaway is to think about something you can include in your life to make you better at your craft. Even if it’s something more broad like Meditation for example, that practice will make someone more focused and calm in all aspects of life. Speaking of Meditation, Arnold Schwarzenegger says a year of practicing Transcendental Meditation in the 1970’s squashed his anxiety and fundamentally changed the way he approached life.

2) Despite all odds, he became one of the most successful actors in the world!

Before becoming one of the most successful actors in the world, he really had everything going against him, yet his films ended up grossing over $4 Billion worldwide

When he started his acting career, he was told his body was too muscular, his accent was too heavy, and his name was too confusing for him to ever become a success.

In a very early film, Hercules in New York, for example, Schwarzenegger was actually credited as “Arnold Strong.” But he would soon drop the cheesy pseudonym and insisted upon using his real name, which has since become synonymous with some of the greatest action films of all time. Going back to Hercules in New York, the studio ended up dubbing his voice due to his strong accent. Now his accent has since become part of his appeal. In fact, he’s stated that he could speak unaccented English if he needed to, but added: ‘The very things that they said would make it impossible for me to be successful in acting were the things that became my assets,’ referring to his name, his voice and his physique.

The key takeaway here is that all of us are unique individuals, we shouldn’t try to become something we’re not, it’s not authentic. What we should do however, is become the best versions of ourselves that we can. Arnold has clearly done this.

1) Speaking of Movies, Number 1 on the list is that Arnold Schwarzenegger actually directed a movie.

Now, this wouldn’t be on the same Caliber of what Sylvester Stallone did. That man directed Rocky 2, 3, 4 and Rocky Balboa as well as 2008’s Rambo and 2010’s The Expendables!

Arnold gave us a remake of a film from 1945. Something you’d probably never guess. For example, it was a romantic comedy. 1992s made for Television movie, Christmas in Connecticut. The story sees the star of a successful cooking show set to do a live show on Christmas, where she’ll cook Christmas dinner, but what no one knows is that she can’t cook! I’m not sure why he did this movie, but he probably wanted to try something new, and needed a break from all the action after 1991s Terminator 2 Judgement Day smashed box-office records.

Now the key takeaway here is to Try new things. You never know what’ll happen. While Christmas in Connecticut didn’t exactly make Arnold a prominent film director, and that was likely never his intention, it is a good idea to stretch yourself.  I mean, what if Arnold just stuck to soccer and never tried out weightlifting as a teenager. Well, I’m pretty sure no one would’ve ever heard of him.