Arnold - started steroids at what age?

[Nutrient-Nut]

Arnold told his parents this at age 13..."I want to be the best-built man in the world!" So his parents started to look for a psychiatrist for the young boy. But Arnold was serious. In 1961, at age 14, he started an intensive training program with Kurt Marnul, the former Mr. Austria. At 17, he officially started his competitive career. At age 21, Arnold moved to the USA. He was 6'2" and 250 pounds!

I have heard that Arnold started taking Dianabol tablets at age 13 and some old timers told me that this was true. What do the good bros of Elite think of this?

NN

 

[mike1107]

even if I think he began very young, I don't think he began at the age of 13...maybe when he was 17-18 but not 13.
just my .02. , I don't have any proof on it but I'd be curious to see the moron source who accepted to sell him d-bol at 13

 

[jesus 2]

i thought it was at age 15. either way, i do know he had older guys who he would train with, one of which was a physician who i believed supervised his use when he first started.


j2da2

 

[liftsiron]

I doudt that Arnie would be as tall as he is if he started d-bol at 13, because d-bol closes the growth plates, resulting in stunted height. Look at that other bodybuilding great Gary Colman who started taking d-bol at two years of age.

 

[Nutrient-Nut]

I don't have any proof on it but I'd be curious to see the moron source who accepted to sell him d-bol at 13

Hey, Mike, back in the early 60's, D-bol was so cheap that people would just give it to each other freely. And there wasn't any negative stuff going around about steroids. I'm sure that if Arnold was told by some bigger older bodybuilders that these little tablets could help him get bigger faster, then he would have gladly took them, especially if he knew that the biggest guys around in the gym were experimenting with these.

Also, in the book "Arnold: An Unauthorized Biography" by Wendy Leigh, it is said that Arnold started taking steroids at age 13. Wendy went back to Arnold's hometown and talked to the people close to Arnold in his early years and obtained legit info on this topic. Believe it or not!

It's not hard for me to believe that Arnold started at such an early age, and in regard to the growth plate thing.....I've seen real life examples of where this didn't happen. I've personally known guys that started taking steroids at age 15 that have grown 3-4 inches more after their cycles. So, is it possible to grow a little more in height after a steroid cycle at a very early age, I guess so, maybe not on paper in theory, but in reality it has happened. I'm the kind of guy that believes more of what he actually sees that what is written down by physicians.

NN

 

[Lift Chief]

I heard he was 14 when he started. It does seem like it would have stunted his growth though... curious...

 

[liquidmuscle]

arnold has never really discussed his gear phase....and he probably never will this along with other threads about arnold are for speculation only...all rumors and little truth

 

[Nutrient-Nut]

arnold has never really discussed his gear phase....and he probably never will this along with other threads about arnold are for speculation only...all rumors and little truth

Did you read his biography by Wendy Leigh? It tells you the things that Arnold doesn't want to disclose to the public. Hell, Arnold is going to run for Governor-CA in the very near future and he's in the Kennedy family, do you think that he would ever want to talk about his gear use of the past? This would not be too wise of a move for his future career. Also, I've seen Arnold in interviews in the past and every time that they bring steroids up, he gets mad. He's the kind of guy that has to be in control of the interview and he gets mad when things don't go his way. He doesn't like to talk about this stuff at all and I understand why he wouldn't. Other than people like us, the general public looks at steroid use like other illegal drug use, they don't understand and think very negatively of people who use steroids.

Dont' take me the wrong way, I think that Arnold is the greatest, but it's interesting to learn the truth about a legend's life.

NN

 

[bbkingpin]

Also, in the book "Arnold: An Unauthorized Biography" by Wendy Leigh, it is said that Arnold started taking steroids at age 13. Wendy went back to Arnold's hometown and talked to the people close to Arnold in his early years and obtained legit info on this topic. Believe it or not!

NN

I read most of that book 10 years ago and I thought she said his first steroid was Primobolan. I don't have he book with me anymore so can you verify this?

 

[Nutrient-Nut]

I read most of that book 10 years ago and I thought she said his first steroid was Primobolan. I don't have he book with me anymore so can you verify this?

I read it 7 years ago and I'm just recalling what I remember. I'm pretty sure that his first steroid was Dianabol and that would make sense b/c it was readily available in Germany at that time. This is a little off track, but did you know that Hitler experimented with steroids on his Nazi troops to help them become more aggressive? Yes, the German scientist were ahead of their time in the 30's and 40's.

NN

 

[bbkingpin]

I did hear that about Nazi Germany.

 

[Tim_Bass]

I can't imagine someone his height taking DBol at 13... would a low or moderate dose close the growth plates?

 

[Nutrient-Nut]

I can't imagine someone his height taking DBol at 13... would a low or moderate dose close the growth plates?

See, that's the question, maybe if the dose was low enough the growth plates wouldn't close. I think that this is very possible, but nobody seems to have a good answer on this. Then again, how many studies do you think are out there regarding this issue with steroids and 13 year old males? None. I'm sure that they ran experiments and tests on animals, but not young men around the age of 13.

NN

 

[CytoMel]

I have the book right here "Arnold" by Wendy Leigh 1990.


Kurt Marnul was Arnold first bodybuilding mentor and helped Arnold get into bodybuilding.

Page 27 direct quote:

"Marnul had learned about steroids and their dosages from Steve Reeves, whom he had first met in France during a 1952 vacation, and was willing to give Arnold the necessary injections of the steriod Primobolin, the champagne of steroids, two or three times a week. The injections began almost immediately after Arnold started training as a bodybuilder. So did the steriod tablets, namely Dianabol."

 

[bbkingpin]

Thanks CytoMel

 

[Nutrient-Nut]

Way to go Cyto! Thanks. I knew that someone on Elite had to have this book handy.

So, it didn't say the year that the steroids started? I thought that it did.

NN

 

[Super Halo Man]

The sad thing is that I actually know people who are 16 or so who are on shit...

If I had a million Halos... I'd be rich.

 

[CytoMel]

Thanks fellas.

Here is another quote from page 27

An Austrian bodybulder who trained with him remembers, "Arnold took steroids in doses that terrified the other bodybuilders. I saw him swallow eight or nine Dianabols at a time. Then he would take a gulp of milk, a handful of protein tablets, and while he was still swallowing and could hardly talk, say, 'Right now I'm ready!' and start training. According to fellow bodybuilder Rick Wayne, steroids were still a part of Arnold's life in 1966, when he offered Wayne a month's supply of Dianabol. Wayne also says Arnold confided to him that he had been taking steroids since the age of thirteen.

 

[Nutrient-Nut]

OK, my memory is correct. The book says that Arnold began taking steroids at age 13. Yep!

NN

Thanks again for Cyto and his Arnold Biography.

 

[Nelson Montana]

All speculation, heresay, rumor and exageration.

Back in 65' 20mgs would have terrified other athletes.

Rick Wayne is infamous for concocting stories.

Yet it's true, Arnold was one of the first guys to push the envelope with higher doses, but if they were as high as everyone says, he would have been a bloated blob and he was rock hard. (Actually, that's Primo for ya)

I saw him on the Letterman show about 10 years ago where he very blase' in admitting to taking steroids.

The Nazis were working on finding the testosterone molecule. Luckily, while they had great scientists in the field of avaition, the medical community were mostly a bunch of quacks. The Russians beat them to it but it was right at the end of the war. (See other post about the medical use of Dianabol)

 

[manny78]

Me too I always thought the SS were using Testosterone suspension on some of their soldiers....