Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gold's Gym Taught Me Everything

Roy training a client at Dix30

What was the sport of bodybuilding like in the early 70’s when you started to win titles?

It was for the uneducated and the musclehead, it was not yet appreciated for its athleticism. But that didn’t scare me off, at that age you’re proud to walk around with your big arms to impress the girls and I got hooked on winning.

How did you meet Arnold Schwarzenegger?

In 1977, Caruso, my trainer here Montreal, asked me to compete in Mr Canada and told me I could win. So I went and I won Mr Canada then went off to Paris to represent Canada at Mr Universe. A lot of people doubted me but I won it and when I came back, bodybuilding took off in Canada. After that, gyms started springing up and a magazine wanted to send me to Califormia to train with Arnold for as long as I needed to become a professional champion and we were always training at Gold’s Gym on Wilshire.

I stayed with Arnold at his house for two years in California and he trained me and that’s where I learned all my stuff. He was generous and kind. I actually met him in Munich years before, and another time in Florida. He was a big star there and we shared a hotel room in Florida and let’s just say that Arnold is no different today then he was then. When I came back from training with him, I won some professional titles and I finally got to compete against him in 1980 at Mr Olympia in Australia where he won! It was his big comeback. He is a very charismatic, very charming guy.

What was your greatest accomplishment?

Well sharing the stage with Arnold was one of my greatest achievements. I learned everything from him.

What was your greatest challenge?

I had to develop my calves and sometimes I cried working them, trying to shape them the right way. But you have to work with what you have. I had lemons and I made lemonade.

How has the bodybuilding culture changed?

It’s like night and day. Back in the day, gyms were dirty and guys didn’t care that much. Just like I said before, it used to be a sport for the working class guy but I knew it was changing when I was invited to the Gold’s Gym Classic in California and the building was as big as Gold’s Gym Dix30’s first floor and there were a lot of guys training there but not the big stars yet cause it was still middle class. That gym really changed my mentality about gyms.

And when Arnold came over and hooked up with the right people, everybody joined him and he capitalized on that. Arnold destroyed that image of the musclehead and completely changed the scene. Gold’s Gym was really in the centre of that movement.

Interview with Bodybuilding Hall of Famer Roy Callender (Part One)

 
Our first interview with Roy Callender. Why do you speak French and English? Because I know you are bilingual and I’m curious how you learned.

That is very interesting that you say I’m bilingual. I've only lived in Quebec in Canada. I've had offers to live in many other provinces, B.C., Ontario, but I just love Quebec and if I want to live and work here. I have learned it mostly from my clients at Gold's Gym Prestige Dix30 because a lot of them would hide the fact that they are bilingual or I never asked them and just started speaking their language. It came along like that.

Great. So how many years have you been here?

Oh you wanna know how old I am! I'm not telling you that! No, I came here in 1972 as a youngster where I competed and won Mr Canada and Mr Universe and then went back to Barbados in 1982. I opened a gym there which kept me busy but I was getting requests to give seminars all over North America, so in 1991 I moved back to Canada to be closer to my market. I met a guy from Newfoundland who came to be trained by me and stayed in Newfoundland for about four years but yearned for Quebec and so I came back.

And you're called a Master Trainer. What does that mean?

If you have won a world title in any sport; swimming, boxing, hockey, and you've trained yourself in this domain for 5 or 6 years and have been called to do seminars and train people, the Bodybuilding Federation will give you that title. And it stuck with me. I only know one other master trainer in Quebec, a champion diver.

It must draw a lot of people to train with you.

Yes, it's merit. I charge more and I can show the client that it's worth it. It also draws a lot of people to our gym (Gold's Gym Prestige Dix30), so I'm happy about that. (We will talk more about Gold’s Gym and more specifically why Roy chose Gold’s Gym DIX30 later in our interview.)

Could you tell me about your background. What drew you to bodybuilding and what titles have you won?

Well one lead to the other. As a youngster growing up in Barbados, everybody goes to the beach. And people started getting magazines there. I saw my brother and his friends posing in the mirror and talking about their chest, their pecks, their arms and all that and they wanted to do this bodybuilding thing. But they would never let me close to the bar; they all shared just one bar and some weights and by seeing him and his friends, I was encouraged to look the same way, so I used to sneak away and use their bar. They did everything on that one bar, only one between the lot of them.

 As I grew up, I trained with some of my friends who were the same age. Cause you know, we're weren't allowed to train with the older guys, but we started looking in the mirrors ourselves and getting big heads. We stuck with it until I left for England.

In England, my mother wanted me to study law but I used to go to the YMCA all the time and got hooked up with some guys there who liked training, started missing a lot of school, and deceived my mother, bless her soul. I started to bodybuild and there was more knowledge there in England and the food was better. A few months later, at 18, they asked me to compete. And so I went to compete and believe it or not, I won and my head got big and I wanted to keep competing. And I moved on from there: Mr London, Mr Southeast Britain, and Mr United Kingdom.




Stay tuned for the rest of the interview with Roy when he tells us about living and training with his mentor, Arnold Schwarzenegger!