It’s not every day you wake up to a DM from the GOAT himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger. But that’s exactly what happened to 88-year-old Mick Wadge from Lancashire, whose incredible weightlifting journey we’ve previously featured in Men’s Health.
Wadge took up strength training following the death of his wife, Margaret, initially working out in his garden with a stick and two milk bottles filled with water. Years later, he’s still lifting three times a week – and his efforts have now caught the attention of the seven-time Mr Olympia himself.
Speaking to the BBC, Wadge said that training has given him ‘a purpose’. While he’d always been active, and even earned a brown belt in judo when he was younger, he’d never previously trained consistently in a gym.
How Mick Wadge Caught Arnold’s Attention
More recently, his coach Ross Starkie began sharing Wadge’s training on TikTok under the name Old Man Mick.
After the BBC featured footage of his workouts, Starkie believes the coverage helped put Wadge on Schwarzenegger’s radar.
Schwarzenegger then contacted Wadge on TikTok, writing: ‘Love what you are doing! Keep pumping!’ He also offered to introduce Wadge to two of his coaches in the US, who he said could be ‘a great resource’.
Starkie initially suspected the message might be a scam. After checking Schwarzenegger’s verified account, however, they realised the bodybuilding legend really had been in touch.
Schwarzenegger has also followed Wadge’s TikTok account. According to Starkie, Schwarzenegger follows just 14 accounts despite having 6.5 million followers, with Old Man Mick now among them.
For Starkie, being noticed by one of bodybuilding’s most recognisable figures was ‘absolutely wild’. He said Schwarzenegger’s team had since asked for their email address, with further contact potentially to come.
When Men’s Health previously spoke to Wadge, he was deadlifting 100kg, bench pressing 60kg and squatting 60kg while training three times a week.
His ambitions were refreshingly straightforward.
‘My only real plan is to push myself as far as I can, for as long as I can,’ he told us.
Now he has one of bodybuilding’s greatest-ever champions cheering him on.
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