I trained with Arnold a few times over the years, first when Reg Park brought out Arnold to guest tour in South Africa in 1967. I would work in with them sometimes in our earl morning training sessions, though my regular training partner was Mr South Africa, Eddie Silva. Eddie also won his height class in the NABBA Universe. Eddie was a great guy, very humble about his achievements, honest and straightforward. He was short like me and very strong and in some exercises we could beat the giants in the gym, Reg included.
I remember doing set upon set of calf raises on the seated and standing machines Reg had specially made, they were just by the fire escape door that led up to the back stairs to the other floors of Reg's gym. Sometimes Reg would get guys to sit on top of the seated calf machine when you could get no more 45lb plates on the weight holder.
What I was curious about was the two small identical scars at the back of Arnold's calves, they were in exactly the same place on each calf. A year prior to this I had seen Arnold very close up at the judging of the NABBA Universe the first time he had visited the UK. In fact I was about to go down the stairs to the changing rooms after being judged in the Junior Mr Britain final, as Arnold was coming up the stairs to begin the judging process of his Amateur Mr Universe contest.Those days the Junior Mr Britain and the Universe were judged on the same day, this really encouraged us young lads, seeing all the stars close up.
We could not believe the size of Arnold, nearly all the lads said he would win the amateurs, but I had seen Chester Yorton and he was finished, complete, tanned, cut and he had everything, including the most amazing calves, which at that time Arnold did not have. I just knew Yorton would win and he did.
But now just a year later Arnold had calves, not, in my estimation, normal looking calves. To me his calves always looked knotty and to high up on his lower leg. I guess we all have our own ideas about how people look and our own personal preferences colour our judgement.
My family, Mum, Dad, brother and sister had flown out to South Africa that year for a holiday and as I was waiting with them at the airport for their flight home, Arnold flew in, but their was no one to meet him, so I sat him down with my family to chat while I fixed up for him to be taken to Reg's home. My mum thought he was "such a nice boy," and for years afterwards she would ask me how "that nice boy, Arnold, was doing?"