U.S. Bodybuilding Photographs
I sat down with Joe Weider, the kingmaker of bodybuilding, on a hotel patio in Miami, hoping to pump him for training advice; I could hardly believe it when he started interviewing me instead. Jimmy Caruso / Courtesy of Weider Health and Fitness
California’s Venice Beach was an amazing scene where gymnasts, circus performers, and bodybuilders loved to show off. Here we put on an impromptu acrobatics show. Art Zeller
My training partners (from top) Franco Columbu, Frank Zane, and Pete Caputo at Gold’s Gym piled on as I did donkey raises to build up my calves. Art Zeller
Joe Weider’s wife Betty and I often posed for ads in his magazines. The pitch was simple: if you get muscles, you can go to the beach and pick up girls. Art Zeller
Franco Columbu and I billed ourselves as European experts in construction and hired other bodybuilders to help in our first business doing masonry and repairs. Art Zeller
Joe Weider and I pore over photographs, working on magazine layouts. Albert Busek
Doing my homework at the Santa Monica City College library. Schwarzenegger Archive
On my way to rehab after major knee surgery in 1972, as my girlfriend Barbara Outland and Joe Weider supervise. The bodybuilding championships were just a few months away and I knew I had to bounce back fast. Art Zeller
I tried to convince my mother to move to America after my father and brother died. Schwarzenegger Archive
Believe it or not, chess, the brainiest game, has always been part of the scene at Muscle Beach. Here Franco and I square off. Art Zeller
I’m squatting 500 pounds in preparation for the 1971 Mr. Olympia competition as Franco and Ken Waller stand by to help in case I lose balance or get stuck. Art Zeller
Going onstage at Madison Square Garden’s Felt Forum to defend my Mr. Olympia crown in 1974. Those are Franco and Frank Zane behind me, and Lou Ferrigno, the wunderkind, in front keeping a close eye. Art Zeller
Hundreds of fans followed me to my hotel after my Mr. Olympia victory at Madison Square Garden. Albert Busek
I was getting to know lots of people in Hollywood. Here, drinks on my patio with directors Roman Polanski and Bob Rafelson and friends. Art Zeller
An advertising photo shoot for a Joe Weider product—the spring-loaded exercise bar I’m holding—gets filmed for the Pumping Iron documentary. George Butler / Contact Press Images © 1975
Pumping Iron creators Charles Gaines and George Butler relax with me in South Africa in 1975. George Butler / Contact Press Images © 1975
I work with a New York City ballet teacher to perfect my posing. George Butler / Contact Press Images © 1977
On Muscle Beach, Franco and I lived the life we’d dreamed about as adolescents. George Butler / Contact Press Images © 1973
Fooling around in the pool with Nastassja Kinski and others at the home of Frances Schoenberger of the Hollywood Foreign Press. Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images
I went to visit Andy Warhol at The Factory, his famous studio in Midtown Manhattan. Fred W. McDarrah / Getty Images
I posed for a standing-room-only crowd at the Whitney Museum in New York. That’s Candice Bergen at the foot of the podium, taking photos for the Today show. Schwarzenegger Archive
With my idol Muhammad Ali in New Orleans 1978, after he beat Leon Spinks for his third world heavyweight title. Schwarzenegger Archive
Meeting Senator Teddy Kennedy the night before the 7th Annual RFK Pro Celebrity Tennis Tournament. (Ethel Kennedy, Bobby’s widow, is on Teddy’s right.) A few minutes later, Tom Brokaw introduced me to Maria. Ron Galella / Getty Images
After my turn on the courts, I sat with Maria and her mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, at the RFK Pro Celebrity Tennis Tournament. Ron Galella / Getty Images
Maria, Franco, and I added to the local color on a Venice, California, sidewalk. Albert Busek
I was so lovestruck that I let Maria and her friend Bonnie Reiss commandeer my Jeep during the 1980 Teddy for President campaign. Schwarzenegger Archive
Joe Gold ran the best gym in America for bodybuilders. Albert Busek
Peter Brenner
When production of Conan the Barbarian got delayed, I trained all-out and shocked the bodybuilding world by coming out of retirement to win a record sixth Mr. Olympia title at the Sydney Opera House. Neal Nordlinger