Many Hollywood stars are huge fans of tattoos, and they transformed their bodies into works of art with an impressive collection of ink, but is Arnold Schwarzenegger one of them?
Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn’t have any tattoos. The Terminator actor used to be a bodybuilding superstar in his youth, and having tattoos could’ve stopped him rising through the ranks back in the ‘70s when he won multiple Mr. Olympia titles.
Keep on reading to learn more about the link between bodybuilding and tattoos, and why Schwarzenegger decided to never commit to permanent ink.
Not a Fan
Getting tattoos is one of the best ways to transform your look, and many Hollywood stars welcomed this practice with open arms. Arnold Schwarzenegger isn’t one of them, and he prefers other forms of altering one’s look.
“I’ve changed my looks by developing my body, training my muscles. Someone else does that with tattoos and a great thing about those temporary tattoos is that you can get rid of them any time you want,” explained the former Governor of California.
Schwarzenegger left his fans wondering if he decided to get tattoos while filming 2014 action thriller Sabotage. The David Ayer-directed movie followed members of an elite DEA team, who are forced to fight for their lives after robbing a drug cartel safe house.
Schwarzenegger got a new haircut and a temporary neck tattoo for the role of his war veteran character. He wasn’t a huge fan of the haircut, and said it looked like “someone put a pot on [his] head and just cut around it”, but he didn’t mind the tattoo because his kids thought it was cool.
Bodybuilding and Tattoos
Before finding success in Hollywood, Arnold Schwarzenegger managed to become one of the most recognizable bodybuilders in the world. He was only 20 when he won the Mr. Universe title, and went on to be crowned as the Mr. Olympia seven times.
Bodybuilding and tattoos aren’t exactly a match made in heaven, and that’s probably one of the main reasons why the action superstar never felt the need to give body art a shot. Seeing bodybuilders with tattoos isn’t so shocking in 2020, but it wasn’t common during Schwarzenegger’s bodybuilding heyday in the ‘70s.
As Arnie himself explained, he committed himself to sculpting his body through rigorous training routine, and getting tattoos felt unnecessary. Many of his fellow bodybuilders feel the same way, and prefer putting focus on their natural physique, not body art.
Amateur bodybuilders may look at this issue differently, but those taking part in professional contests usually don’t feel like risking their victory for tattoos. They have to do everything in their power to get the judges on their side, and massive, eye-catching tattoos wouldn’t help their case. They would distract from their natural physique, and that’s why many bodybuilding pros avoid them at all costs.
Tattoo-Free Celebrities
Arnold Schwarzenegger isn’t the only celebrity who spoke against getting tattoos. Many other stars never felt the need to decorate their body with ink, and they have all sorts of different reasons to avoid getting tattooed.
Will Smith famously refused to get inked by Margot Robbie while filming Suicide Squad. After she appeared on the set with a tattoo gun and suggested they should all get tatted, Smith simply replied with “No, we’re not” and later explained he didn’t feel like taking part because he’s “a grown-a– man”.
Taylor Swift also said she’ll probably never get tattoos, because she can’t see herself committing to something permanent. She doesn’t seem to mind temporary body art, and appeared with a massive butterfly tattoo on the cover of her single “You Need to Calm Down”. St. Vincent, who co-wrote Swift’s song “Cruel Summer”, feels the same way, and so do Zendaya and Madelaine Petsch, who aren’t planning to get tattoos in the near future.