You know you’re big when the director and producers of a three-part Netflix documentary on your life think your first name is recognizable enough to be the title. “Arnold’’ is the story of Arnold Schwarzenegger, and “big’’ is the theme.
Part 1 is “Athlete,’’ in which we see how a boy in Austria grew into a ridiculously muscled bodybuilder. Part 2, “Actor,’’ deals with Schwarzenegger’s box-office domination as an action hero. Part 3, “American,’’ tells the story of his rise to governor of California.
Everything is big about Arnold, and you don’t have to be very perceptive to grasp an unspoken message of the documentary: You, too, could be big at something if you work hard enough at it. Much like the telling and retelling of Michael Jordan’s life journey, it’s the great American success story, though with some umlauts thrown in.
It’s also unreachable for 99.999% of us.
Now, I don’t want to be a downer for the kids who, after watching Part 1 of “Arnold,’’ talked their parents into buying them their first weightlifting sets. There are all sorts of benefits to working out. The discipline learned in sports and physical training can carry over into other parts of life. Friendship, teamwork, sacrifice — all good things.
But you can’t be whatever you want in life, no matter how many graduation speakers tell you otherwise and no matter how many Ayn Rand books you read. Arnold got to be Arnold because he was born with a body that would eventually ripple and bulge in ways that fascinated and disturbed us. All the success he had in life was the outcome of the gift he was given.
Schwarzenegger said he had a single-minded focus of becoming a bodybuilding champion, getting out of Austria and becoming an actor like his boyhood idol, Reg Park. Great. Wonderful. Hard work and ambition can take you places. But, again, that body. Watch the doc and behold the other bodybuilders who were competing against him in the 1960s and 1970s. He was bigger, taller and more defined than everyone else. There was nobody like him, even with many of the competitors, including Schwarzenegger, using steroids. This was apparent well before he won a Mr. Universe title at 20. He would go on to win seven Mr. Olympia titles.
Odds are, you can’t be like Arnold, in the same way almost the entire planet couldn’t “Be Like Mike,’’ as the old Gatorade/Jordan ad campaign told us we could be. That goal is beyond unrealistic. It’s borderline impossible.
That doesn’t mean you should give up. But for most of us, all the guitar lessons in the world won’t make us Jimmy Page. The danger is the delusion that they will. Not everybody gets to be the best. Almost nobody gets to be the best. Trying to be the best is a very good thing. Being told it’s in reach if you just work hard is a lie that potentially derails us from what we’re supposed to be doing on earth.
For some reason, we find perseverance and a strong will much more worthy of praise than being blessed with natural gifts, in the same way we praise successful people who aren’t born into wealth over those who are.
During an archived interview in “Arnold,’’ Schwarzenegger states that about 5% of his strength and size comes from steroids. Whether that percentage is truthful or not is debatable, but his dominance over other roided-up bodybuilders during that time isn’t.
Arnold’s steroid use complicates the hagiography. There are lots of impressionable kids out there. What do you think their takeaway from the documentary might be? If it’s that “steroids are your friend,’’ no one would be surprised. Schwarzenegger is worth an estimated $450 million.
In 1990, President George H.W. Bush named Schwarzenegger chairman of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. At the time, no mention was made of Arnold’s steroid use because who wants to spoil a good Hollywood story?
I’m sure determination played a big role in his success. But I’m also sure we Americans worship that trait above all. We saw it in the NBA playoffs. Writers and broadcasters attributed the Heat’s success to Jimmy Butler’s indomitable will. I have no doubt that Butler is a very determined player, but I also know that, even at 33, he still has a lot of talent. And just as important, 12 years of pro experience tells him how to get his shot off.
Larry Bird was born with a body that was going to grow to 6-foot-9, and he was born with whatever ingredients are necessary to become a great shooter. He worked and worked and worked at his jump shot, but so did countless other NBA players who couldn’t come close to his accuracy. Genetics matter.
Here’s some unsolicited advice for the kids out there. Better to look at Schwarzenegger as an action hero — much of what you see is unobtainable in real life but worth watching on screen. Better advice: Work hard at school. And if all else fails: Ever thought of being a sportswriter? No heavy lifting involved.
