Post-war period
Alfred Gerstl was also concerned with the promotion of sport in Austria, and he was particularly fond of weight training. He made both bodybuilding and karate very popular in Austria in the 1960s and 1970s. Through his son Karl, Gerstl met a young, still largely unknown bodybuilder named Arnold Schwarzenegger. Alfred Gerstl, in whose basement Arnold was allowed to train, is considered a mentor of the later actor and politician Schwarzenegger, as Gerstl helped him finance his trips to England and the USA from 1966 onwards in order to win the title of Mr. Universe there. In return, Schwarzenegger, aware of Alfred Gerstl's Jewish roots, still supports the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles today.
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