Arnold Schwarzenegger was born in Thal, an Austrian village, in 1947 when the country was trying to cope with post-World War II devastations. Growing up in an underprivileged family, Arnie aspired to become a bodybuilder. He soon started to lift weights and won the Mr. Universe competition at 20. But Arnie’s parents weren’t aware of the magnitude of their son’s success as they weren’t much involved in Schwarzenegger’s career.

The 76-year-old, whose latest self-help book Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life is out, had a candid talk on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast. In the episode, the Austrian Oak revealed how his parents weren’t much aware of his bodybuilding career.

Arnold Schwarzenegger spills beans on parents’ involvement in his success

The Terminator icon was influenced by Reg Park’s physique in a bodybuilding magazine and got into lifting weights at the gym. However, Schwarzenegger’s parents had different dreams for him. While his father, Gustav Schwarzenegger, wanted Arnie to follow him and be a police officer, his mother Aurelia wanted his youngest son to attend trade school. But the Austrian Oak was determined to become the best bodybuilder in the world and traveled to America at 21 to compete in the prestigious Mr. Olympia championships. 

But his parents were unaware of their son’s growing name in the bodybuilding sphere for most of the time. However, Schwarzenegger’s mother used to claim that she had constantly pushed her son towards success. The Terminator icon, however, now disclosed the truth behind his mother’s claims. Arnie, while recounting how he went to his kids’ recitals and games, stated, “That’s when I started thinking about, it’s funny my parents never went to one single event.”

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While spilling beans on his mother’s claim behind his bodybuilding success, the 76-year-old asserted, “My mother didn’t get me into bodybuilding, bogus, right? Because this is what she said, ‘It was me, I give him the discipline, I remember getting him the honey, I scrambled the eggs for him and mixed it with the oatmeal, and then I gave him the food to get him very strong.’” Despite not giving full credit to his mom, Schwarzenegger agrees with how his mother made him posing trunks.

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The Austrian Oak’s mom’s real contributions

Despite the family’s poor economic state, Aurelia managed to help his son in his bodybuilding quest to a certain extent. She sewed posing trunks for him because Schwarzenegger didn’t like the ones in the market. Aurelia also helped her bodybuilding son to get his daily protein intake. The family used to have meat once a week due to economic shortcomings.

So, Arnie unraveled a unique version of a protein shake with his mother’s help. The family’s relation in the U.S.A. sent them skim milk powder cans. “My mother stored all the cans, and so I used those cans at like 40% protein mixed with milk and raw eggs and all those things,” Schwarzenegger once confessed.

So, Aurelia Schwarzenegger did have her share of input in her son’s bodybuilding quest. But as Schwarzenegger reaffirms, he was the one who believed in himself and wrote an unparalleled legacy in the sport’s history. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!

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