Action movie star, environmental activist, exercise instructor, kindergarten teacher, governor of the largest state in the union. Arnold Schwarzenegger has been many things. But it all started with bodybuilding.
While digging through a trove of historical news footage recently released by the Associated Press, we came across this gem of Arnold competing in the 1969 Mr. Universe competition at the tender age of 22:
“The choice was an American as amateur Mr. Universe and an Austrian as the professional,” the announcer says. The Austrian? Yep, that’s Arnold. He would go on to win five Mr. Universe titles and seven Mr. Olympia titles, before gracing the silver screen with his manly muscles and Austrian accent.
