BILL Pettis was an eighties legend, blessed with biceps bigger than Arnie’s and the face of an iconic poster for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
But while Schwarzenegger became a Hollywood and political heavyweight, the bodybuilder who beat him to the title of “world’s largest arms” wound up broke and homeless in Venice Beach.
Bill, now 68, was even banned from a bodybuilding contest on an LA beach a few years ago for being drunk and disorderly. He now survives on benefits and begging, LA magazine reported.
In his day, Bill was a very different figure. He was obsessed with building up his gigantic arms, starting out with weights he made from cinder blocks, and eventually spending six hours a day working his biceps and triceps.
While Schwarzenegger’s guns only ever reached a circumference of 22 inches (56cm), Bill hit a whopping 23.25 (59cm).
Everyone wanted his autograph, and he was surrounded by women. “We were like kings,” he said. He was at the centre of LA’s burgeoning bodybuilding scene, training at the famous Gold’s Gym and World Gym with Schwarzenegger, who gave him money, clothes and even a job on the film Last Action Hero.
Bill was known for his astonishing workouts, which included
tricep curls with 180-kilogram barbells, 3000 push-ups and
bicep curls with 100kg weights. He ate 20 eggs in the morning and 20 in the evening.
But the muscle man was broke, sleeping in his car and training for free at his gym, taking work as a nightclub bouncer and piano mover.
Despite a remarkable physical presence, he struggled to turn his hero status into the lasting legacy his compatriots did.
He refused to take steroids, he wouldn’t practise posing and he never successfully made the typical career moves into personal training or opening a gym.
After Joe Gold, his mentor and founder of the well-known gym, died in 2004, Bill lost his way completely. He started drinking, and didn’t stop. Now he lives at a boarding house and hangs out in Venice wearing fluorescent Speedos and posing shakily for photos.
A local store owner said on a bodybuilding forum that Bill regularly came into the shop asking for copies of his photo to hand out. When a YouTube video of the former strongman in his current toothless and semi-incoherent state went viral in 2010, fans called it “disturbing” and said it “killed them” to see what had happened to this star of bodybuilding’s golden era.
An article from Eric’s Gym in 1975, when Bill was 28, illustrates their idol’s immense promise and just how far he has fallen short of the hype. “
Bill’s development is heartening to those who refuse to take steroids,” read the story. “He has preferred to be cautious, and has proved you can get ultimate muscle mass and cuts without it.
“One could easily foresee records falling if he cared to convert his great potential for muscle building into powerlifting ... He wouldn’t mind winning Mr. America.
“He’s due to find his niche in the world of muscle. He’s got the look of a legend. It’s a timeless quality. After all, how many guys got arms that big?”
http://www.news.com.au/sport/sports-life/how-the-man-with-the-worlds-largest-arms-wound-up-homeless-and-broke/story-fno61i58-1227354785309 
