Arnold Schwarzenegger

Schwarzenegger served in the Austrian army in 1965, to fulfill the one year of service required at the time of all 18-year-old Austrian males.He won the Junior Mr. Europe contest in 1965. Schwarzenegger went AWOL during basic training so that he could take part in the competition, and spent a week in an army jail: “Participating in the competition meant so much to me that I didn’t carefully think through the consequences. When I got to Stuttgart, I was all confused. I forgot my posing routine, I had to borrow posing trunks, but still I won!” Contrary to popular belief, it was not Schwarzenegger’s bodybuilding debut, which had occurred two years earlier at a minor contest in Graz, at Steirer Hof Hotel (where he had placed second). He was voted best built man of Europe, which made him famous.

“The Mr. Universe title was my ticket to America — the land of opportunity, where I could become a star and get rich.”Schwarzenegger made his first plane trip in 1966, attending the NABBA Mr. Universe competition in London. He would come in second in the Mr. Universe competition, not having the muscle “definition” of American winner Chester Yorton.He would win the title for the first time in 1967 (he invented new exercises to separate and define his muscle groups), becoming the youngest ever Mr. Universe at the age of 20. He would go on to win the title a further four times.^[13] Schwarzenegger then flew back to Munich, training for four to six hours daily, attending business school and working in a health club (Rolf Putzinger’s gym where he worked and trained from 1966-1968), returning in 1968 to London to win his next Mr. Universe title.He frequently told Roger Field, a friend in Munich at that time “I’m going to become the greatest actor!”