'I'm not a self-made man': Arnold Schwarzenegger remembers Charles Gaines

Picture Courtesy/Arnold Schwarzenegger`s Instagram account

Hollywood icon Arnold Schwarzenegger has paid a tribute to author-filmmaker Charles Gaines following his death, remembering him as the man who helped introduce bodybuilding to the world and played a pivotal role in shaping his career.

Schwarzenegger shared a throwback picture with Gaines, whose writing concerned the outdoor sports of fishing in general and fly fishing in particular, as well as upland bird hunting and mountaineering.

Schwarzenegger wrote in the caption: "There was no adventure too big for Charles Gaines. He climbed mountains, trekked across ice, fished, and hunted on almost every continent, writing about every adventure in a way that captured people's hearts and minds. He was interested in everything - and his interest was contagious."

"I'm lucky that he was always looking for new frontiers, because that's how he found me and our niche sport of bodybuilding. That's how the book and the movie Pumping Iron launched me into the mainstream - he wrote that book and then worked relentlessly on the documentary and introduced bodybuilding to millions and millions of people."

"It's how I broke into Hollywood with my first big role in Stay Hungry - a movie Charles also wrote. Most importantly, it's how I became lifelong friends with Charles. You hear me say it over and over: I'm not a self-made man."

He said that today, he honours the "amazing life of one of the people who helped make me who I am."

"Charles left us today, but he's not gone. I can still hear his voice. ‘Hey Oak!' - always followed by some unbelievable insight or philosophy, always giving us the greatest gift: making us think. No, he isn't gone. He lives on in his unbelievable family, and in all of the lives he touched. He's just off on his next adventure," Schwarzenegger said.

Schwarzenegger began lifting weights at the age of 15 and won the Mr. Universe bodybuilding championship at the age of 20. He won the Mr. Olympia title seven times, tying with Phil Heath for the second-highest number of wins. Nicknamed the "Austrian Oak" in his bodybuilding days, he is regarded as one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time.

He has written books and articles about bodybuilding, including the autobiographical Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder and The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding.

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