Arnold Schwarzenegger is one of the most well-recognized names in Hollywood. Growing up in Austria, he had dreams of making it big, just like every other kid on the block. But when he was just 10 years old, in a classroom in Graz, something shifted.

The bodybuilding legend and former California governor opened up on Theo Von's podcast about the moment that changed his life's direction. 

“So I saw a documentary, a black and white documentary in the school. They always showed those films with this eight millimeters, whatever, films on the little screen…But they showed the film, and I saw a documentary about America.” 

The legendary bodybuilder revealed his awe when witnessing the architecture of the USA, saying:

“Now I see the Empire State Building. I say, wait a minute, this building is like, you know, 100 times taller than any of the buildings in Graz, where I grew up, right?  And then I saw the Golden Gate Bridge.”

It was at this moment that a switch flipped in his mind, and he made a decision to one day go to America. 

“At some point, I gotta go to America. Austria isn't the place…I just wanted to leave and go do something different.”

Arnie desired something bigger and better, and he could see it clearly in that flickering school projection.

How Schwarzenegger Went From Newcomer to California Governor

The first step Arnold Schwarzenegger took towards realizing his dreams was getting into bodybuilding at the age of 15.

"All of my waking hours were consumed by this physical fitness world of pumping iron in contests and dreaming of Hollywood movie stardom," said Schwarzenegger.

At the next turn in his journey, he won the title of amateur Mr. Universe in 1967, aged 20 years. This happened in London. He then went on to train in Munich and get his first professional Mr. Universe title.

Bodybuilder and businessman Joe Weider noticed Schwarzenegger and invited him to Los Angeles, where he lived for some time in Venice. 

The Austrian bodybuilder won two Mr. Universe titles in the years 1969 and 1970. This enabled him to enter into his dream career of acting.

He was declared to be an official U.S. citizen in the year 1983. The actor emerged as a winner in a special recall election held to replace the Democratic Governor Gray Davis, being sworn in as the 38th governor of California in the year 2003. He won a second term by participating in the 2007 gubernatorial elections. 

For a boy once mesmerized by the flickering images projected at school, the journey from Graz had been an especially memorable one. And he precisely where he knew he belonged all along.

Do you think Schwarzenegger represents the ultimate American dream?

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Written by

Proma Chatterjee

Edited by

Zaid Quraishi