An 88-year-old grandfather who turned to weightlifting following the death of his wife has received some unexpected encouragement from one of the biggest names in bodybuilding history.
Mick Wadge, from Laneshaw Bridge in Lancashire, began exercising at home after his wife, Margaret, died, initially making do with a broom handle and milk containers rather than a fully-equipped gym.
What started as a way of staying active has since developed into regular training sessions and, more recently, attracted the attention of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Wadge has been working with strength and conditioning coach Ross Starkie for around three years. Starkie, from Burnley, has spent a decade working as a personal trainer and believes recent coverage of his client helped put him on Schwarzenegger’s radar.
After the BBC shared footage of Wadge training, Starkie explained: “it’s blown up, so that must be the main reason Arnie’s found us”.
The former bodybuilding champion, movie star and California governor then personally reached out on TikTok.
Schwarzenegger, himself a 79-year-old grandfather, wrote: “Love what you are doing! Keep pumping!”
But the message didn’t end there.
Schwarzenegger also said he would “love to introduce” Wadge “to two of my coaches in the US”, adding that they could be “a great resource”.
It’s an extraordinary turn of events for Wadge, who had been active throughout his life but had never previously trained regularly in a gym.
He earned a brown belt in judo when he was younger, but it was only later in life that consistent strength training became part of his routine.
Wadge said exercising has given him “a purpose”.
His journey has also started building an audience online.
Starkie created a TikTok account, and it has already grown to more than 5,900 followers and accumulated 69,000 likes.
Even so, being noticed by Schwarzenegger was something neither man expected.
Starkie described being contacted by “an icon of the fitness industry” as “absolutely wild”, per the BBC.
And Wadge wasn’t immediately convinced the message was genuine.
Starkie said his client “initially thought it was a scam,” before adding: “I said it’s not and he couldn’t believe it.”
The pair even took a few extra steps to make sure.
“We checked his blue tick and even got AI to check it was real.”
There was another detail that made Schwarzenegger’s interest particularly remarkable.
“Out of the six-and-a-half million followers Arnold Schwarzenegger’s got, he follows 14 and one of them is Old Man Mick’s account,” Starkie said.
“He’s absolutely loving it.
“They’ve asked for our email address and then we’ll be sorting out what happens next.
“He’ll probably be wanting him to be one of his doubles in his next movie,” he joked.
Featured image credit: Old Man Mick / TikTok
