On this episode of The Sofa King Podcast, we get pumped and talk about one of the all-time greats of cinema, athletics, action, cigars, and politics: Arnold Schwarzenegger. This icon was born in 1947 (yes, he’s that old now!) in Austria, and his father was a drunken, abusive police chief who was once a paramilitary Nazi who was wounded in the Battle of Stalingrad. Let that sit with you for a minute. Living in a poor, broken home, Arnold turned to the cinema as an escape and fell in love with Hercules movies. This lead to him starting to body build as a teen, and by the time he was 18 and in the army, he was already winning big body building competitions.

He took second place at his first Mr. Universe, and in doing so, he met some key people in the weight lifting game and was able to move out of his house and in with a family in London. Training here, he became the youngest winner of Mr. Universe and ultimately was able to move to California, where he trained with the legendary Joe Weider at Gold’s Gym and went on to win competition after competition.

This was just a stepping stone in his career path, however, since he also decided to conquer movies. He starred in a truly horrible movie called Hercules in New York. (Surprisingly, it’s about the ancient Greek demigod. In New York. Go figure.) From there, he landed a Golden Globe for a roll opposite Sally Field, and he did a string of small roles leading up to his time as Conan the Barbarian in 1982. Just two years later, he starred in The Terminator, and the rest was history. He went on to make some of the most beloved action films of the 80s and 90s, and Arnold Schwarzenegger became a global household name.

So what led to Arnold Schwarzenegger entering politics? What was his relationship to the famous political Kennedy family? Why do some people think he murdered a prominent British politician named Lord Lucan in the 1970s? Did he really beat people up for the mob with a lead pipe covered in plastic wrap? How did he end up running the notoriously Democratic state of California while he is a Republican? What was the story with his affair and illegitimate child? What does this have to do with Bakersfield (home of the Fight Club Studios)? Listen, laugh, learn.

Conspiracy Theory of Murder: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/xdvvmn/arnold-schwarzenegger-murder-conspiracy

Hercules in New York Scene. So bad it's good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMUZect_pgY