PHOTO: Arnold Schwarzenegger Bodybuilding at 18 Years Old

Arnold Schwarzenegger has achieved a great deal in his life, but one of his earliest claims to fame was in the world of bodybuilding. He began his bodybuilding journey as a teenager and won the Junior Mr. Europe title at the age of 18. 

It is a fascinating story because Schwarzenegger went AWOL from the Austrian army to be able to compete. This is what he looked like at the age of 18. 

Arnold Schwarzenegger Impresses With Bodybuilding as a Teen

Schwarzenegger discussed going AWOL and winning the Junior Mr. Europe title in an interview with Men’s Health in October 2018. He was asked if he went to jail after returning to the army. “It wasn’t really jail. I was there for one night so they could say, ‘We punished him.’ But they were proud,” he recalled. “Then I went back to tank-driving school.”

This photo shows the start of his bodybuilding career in 1965. You can see he is holding up a woman with great ease. 

However, he had been interested in fitness even before this.

The “Terminator” actor was always incredibly disciplined and dedicated to achieving excellence. Growing up, Schwarzenegger’s father was a strict disciplinarian.

“My upbringing was tough. My father made me do pushups before I was allowed to have breakfast. To earn breakfast, as he said, you have to do pushups and knee bends,” Schwarzenegger told Men’s Health. “And carry water from the well 200 yards away in the deep snow. I grew up with that. My desire, therefore, was really great. It was like, that or nothing. There was no plan B. I had the will, but I still needed all the inspiration and all the people to open up the doors of opportunity.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger Wins Mr. Universe 

In 1966, after completing his military training in Austria, Schwarzenegger began competing in bodybuilding competitions more regularly. In 1967, he won the Mr. Universe competition, an event that would ultimately change his life forever. He was 20, and the youngest competitor to ever win the title.

Schwarzenegger reflected on his career as a professional bodybuilder with a Facebook post on August 25, 2025. “60 years ago, in 1965, I was beginning my bodybuilding career, winning the European championships in Germany,” he wrote. “At the same time, a visionary named Joe Gold opened the doors of his gym in Venice – not a basement dungeon like the gyms back then, but right there on Ocean Avenue. As big as his vision was for fitness, his heart was even bigger.”

He continued, “The rest is history. Our paths met just 3 years later and Gold’s became my second home. Joe and I were both obsessed with the same goal: making fitness mainstream. Looking back 60 years later today as I biked by the original Gold’s, I think we succeeded. Leave a legacy. Make history.”

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