Ralph Moeller is famous for his close friendship with Arnold Schwarzenegger. No wonder both share a penchant for good wine, cigars, and heavy training. A lot of German Youtubers interviewed him, and he appeared in many TV Shows. Ralph is quite an interesting personality.
Moeller was born in Recklinghausen on January 12, 1959. He was 56cm tall and weighed 6kg, and he was the biggest newborn in the ward. (1) His father taught him how to swim, and he had been a swimmer since he was seven years old.
In Germany, we have a pyramid scheme of the school system, and Ralph visited the school called “Hauptschule.” It has a terrible reputation; the kids attending it are trademarked as “dumb.” Ralph never tried to attend higher scholars, so he left school at the age of 17 and started working in the real world.
He worked as a swimming instructor and later joined the German army for three years. He always trained and competed as a bodybuilder and made a career as an action movie star. He made the best out of his situation, still not having a AAA Degree.
“At 16, I swam, at 17, I was a boxer in Ricklinghausen”.
In Yugoslavia, Ralf was on vacation with his parents, and he swam from the beach to an island, which was 500 meters away. He was always swimming back and forth. There, Ralf met somebody who was quite muscular; Dietmar was his name. They talked about sport; then, he decided to switch to bodybuilding.
“I trained in a Gym in Herne, Germany. It was “a la rocky” equipped; very rusty and old… They had no showers. Back in the day, I was motivated by Bruce Lee, and he had a great body.”
Ralf Moeller and Steroids
Ralf never trained for strength, but according to him, at the age of 27, he could bench-press 240kg/530lb for 2-3 repetitions. Further, he won numerous competitions and passed the doping controls. Ralf was tested by a doctor named Donike.
Doctor Manfred Donike was a German pioneer of doping analysis. He doped and switched sides himself and became the most feared doping hunter of all time. He was in Augsburg and Japan, where Ralph competed. He controlled the athletes properly, especially Ralf.
He was never tested positive. Fascinating is the fact that Ralf committed to using steroids in the German interview entitled “Ralf Moeller – Was kann man nicht trainieren?”
Ralf said: “I’ve tried anabolic steroids; it only gets you ahead around 5 %. The rest of it, 95%, is a matter of genetics. To match up with French cyclists who ride up the big mountains, I could take pills and injections, and I would never get up 5km like them.
Doping is harmful to health; I have only tried it for a short period of time. Steroids don’t give you muscle; it gives you power and strength.”
After winning the title of Mr. Germany in 1983, he tried to capitalize his body. He called Dieter Kürten from the German broadcast ZDF. Ralf knew him well, and according to him, he is likeable. But unfortunately, Dieter threw away the idea and said, “Ralf, bodybuilding is nothing for me, sorry. “
Ralf didn’t give up, and he called another German sports reporter named “Rauschenbach” from the TV SHOW “Sport Shau.”
He said: “Yes, for the region Hessen, we would make something with bodybuilding. “
Ralf wasn’t still satisfied with that and said: “No, I won the Championship under strict rules; Donike tested me. That’s a miracle. You should broadcast it through the whole state.”
Rauschenbach did some research and decided to make a show with Ralf and broadcast it throughout the whole state. He interviewed Ralf, and it was great publicity. It was in 1986, and the TV Show reached 10 million Germans! (2)
Since then, Ralf was sponsored by German Fitness Companies like All-Stars and Alex Athletics. According to him, he could buy a house in Recklinghausen (Germany) at the end of his 20’s. Today he has a penthouse in Los Angeles, and his parents are living in the house.
First TV APPEARANCE (1)
In Germany, he made his first TV appearance in the cult crime series ‘Tatort.’ There is a scene on YouTube viewed 100,000 times.
Ralf basically doesn’t speak; he uses his strength and lifts a man into the air, then he’s slapping him, that’s it. The scene is 10 seconds long, but it helped him to get publicity.
His first American film was with the director Menahem Golan. Ralf decided to fly to America to get a film job. He tried for a week to call the director Golan, but with no success, so he had to switch his strategy. He located Golan’s office and just went straight to it.
“Getting to know Menahem Golan took me a week. I said to the front desk, “I flew 12 hours from Germany to the USA, and I just want to talk with your boss for 5 minutes.”
He convinced the receptionist and was allowed to take the elevator to the top of Golan’s office. Ralf entered the office, and Golan asked him, “What do you want to do?”
At that time, Ralf’s English was quite bad, but Golan saw potential in him and gave him English and Acting Lessons. Later he was allowed to play a role in the movie Cyborg, directed by Golan.
Stallone, Eastwood, “The Rock” and Schwarzenegger
He made friends with American Action Movie Stars and shared great stories on all German podcasts. He knows Clint Eastwood very well und they used to ride with a motorcycle called Harley Davidson along Venice Beach. Even Sylvester Stallone knows him, and Ralph made the statement that Stallone cares a lot about his looks and fans. Stallone is quite active on Instagram and reads all comments. (3)
Some Anecdotes (1)
As a Teenager, Ralf always saw Arnold in the magazines. Then he met Arnold in person through a friend named Albert Busek. On my website, I already published an article about Mr. Busek. He’s a Fitness Pioneer and Talent Scout in Germany, with a great network in bodybuilding. [Albert Busek – A Longtime Friend of Arnold]
“Busek introduced me to Arnold at the premiere of Conan in Essen, Germany. Then we kept meeting each other on occasions,” said Ralf
In the 70’s he saw Arnold in the gyms quite often, but he became real friends with him when he moved to the USA in 1992/93.
“I’ve been friends with Arnold for 36 years, and I always learn new things from him. You have a lot of friends you know pretty well. But Arnold always surprises you with new things.
Arnold is amazing, no matter where he goes, no matter if he’s Jet lagged, he always tries to find a gym and starts training immediately even at the age of 70. (7) Arnold will never speak badly about anyone. With him, there is still a chance to improve yourself. From a human point of view, giving has satisfied Arnold more than taking.”
There’s a great YouTube Clip from the German TV SHOW “Tv Total.” Ralph Möller tried to call Schwarzenegger via Facetime to prove their close friendship. Of course, Arnold accepted that telephone call immediately. As Arnold appeared on the Smartphone, the crowd went wild.
At that time, Arnold was in China and said to Ralph in German, “Viel Spaß” (Have fun). It was a short conversation, and then Ralph jokingly said, “Next, I will call Barack Obama.”
Further, Ralf was interviewed by Marc Hujer from the German Newspaper “Spiegel.” He revealed that Arnold’s favorite cigar is “Montecristo, “and they are members of a club called Grand Havana Room. They are quite often there, and becoming a member isn’t easy and cheap. It is based on an invitation system. So, you have to know a member, to get an invitation. Ralf said that Schwarzenegger and his friends are there to discuss political topics. They are sitting at a table, and if Schwarzenegger smokes, all of his friends start smoking too. (4)
In a podcast (5), Ralf told the following story: “My daughter Laura was born, and I got a call from Schwarzenegger the next day. He said to me, today, I became a father; it’s a girl.”
Ralf jokingly said in the podcast: “That was the only thing I managed to do faster before Arnold.”
Ralf said that he’s friends with The Rock, too, and he’s amazed at the number of Instagram followers he has achieved. He said that the Rock is working hard and uploading pictures every day. He met him for the first time during the filming of the movie “The Scorpion King.” (6)
Further, there’s a short and old footage of Ralf and The Rock standing on a pedestal, promoting the movie in Hamburg, Germany. The Rock came straight from London, and Ralf said in German, ‘The Rock knows the City Hamburg very well, and he knows Reeperbahn very well’ (Note by Site owner: Reeperbahn is a party street with a lot of party, alcohol, and pimps).
The crowd started to laugh, and the interviewer asked them about training. The rock answered he’s training an hour a day, and Ralf tried to ‘overbid’ him and said, ‘I train 3 -4 hours a day.’
Acting Stories (7)
Ralf Möller starred in the movie ‘Batman and Robin’ as the Prison Guard. Through the film, he was able to get to know Geroge Clooney.
Arnold was Mr. Freeze, and Ralf Möller was Prison Guard and George Clooney was Bruce Wayne. Clooney told Ralf that he didn’t get the film role for Thelma & Louise and is a little disappointed about that.
Clooney said: “I would have liked to be in the film Thelma & Louise, which Ridley Scott directed in 1991. Brad Pitt was taken. I watched the movie years later, and I have to say that Brad was the right actor.”
Ralf met up with Clin Eastwood and Arnold on the ski slopes in 2017 and told the following story “I was there at 8 am and Clint drives down to me, I asked him ‘what’s going on,’ and he said he’s been skiing for an hour.
That’s unbelievable. He’s 87 years old, and the zest for life is there. People wonder why he is doing it. He has money, and he can rest. Many people I know need work or meaningful activity. Just living in the day is not my thing too.”
Ralf’s Career In the German Army
Ralph Möller: “In 1979, I was junior champion. I weighed 128kg at the height of 196. I was not suitable as a paratrooper at the physical examination because of my height and weight. “
I had to get used to getting up so early. At home, I was awakened by my mother and later by my girlfriend, which was pleasant. In the Bundeswehr, everything was stricter, and they made a ruckus in the morning. I learned a lot of respect there.”
Ralf left the German Army to move to America, but he never lost track of his roots. Ralf was astonished by Arnold’s encouragement to travel to Afghanistan in 2007.
Ralf and Schwarzenegger are meeting quite often, and one day in 2008, Ralf started a conversation about being in Afghanistan.
Schwarzenegger realized fast about his intention. He gave him the advice that all soldiers like jokes, especially those related to women.
In 2008 Ralph Möller travelled to Afghanistan and was one of the first German actors who traveled to such a dangerous area. He talked with the German Soldiers and lived with them for some weeks at the camps. Further, he imported German Fitness Equipment.
‘Our German Soldiers should keep healthy’ were Ralf’s words.
Ralf’s experience in Afghanistan
The German website Benjamin-weinkauf.de provides excellent pictures of Ralph Möller’s staying. The Image Gallery consists of Ralf holding a Weapon, driving big military vehicles, arm wrestling with soldiers, etc.
According to the website owner, Ralph visited the “Camp Warehouse” and “Camp Marmal.” Those camps are stationed nearby the city of Kabul. On YouTube, there’s a great German documentary called “Living and Dying for Kabul.”
The narrator said that the soldiers were earning 292 bucks a day. In 2007, 3 soldiers died due to a suicide bombing. In 2003 a bus exploded, and four soldiers died.
Ralf said it was a permanent tension. He patrolled with a group quite often, and then one day, they got warned. “High risk of a terrorist attack” was the warning message. They just changed their route to avoid attacks.
Ralf made the military experience in 2008, and years later, he’s keeping himself up to date. Ralph Möller, on 5th May 2013, made a social media post. He wrote, “I visited the German Soldiers in Afghanistan called ISAF. I imported German Fitness equipment for men and women who are serving our country proudly. My condolences to the family of the German soldier, who was killed today.”
Ralf Möller and America (1)
Ralf Möller got to know the country of America better during guest appearances. Ralf said, “I brought my Harley Davidson from Düsseldorf, Germany, to Los Angeles. With the delivery service LTU. I was standing at a traffic light, and the people of America were excited and gave me the thumbs up. A stranger also approached me, and he said to me, ‘Hey, your jacket is great.’
Ralph was not familiar with that situation. In Germany, people are reserved and cold. ” In America, people build themselves up, give compliments. THAT’S WHY I LIKE AMERICA. People give each other encouragement.” Ralf said.
“In German supermarkets, cashiers work very fast and under pressure; otherwise, Germans get impatient. In America, it’s more relaxed, and people take their time. People ask, ‘Hey, how are you doing. “
-Article will be continued
source:
3. Late Night Berlin, Youtube
4. Spiegel.de, Der Lehrling
5. Silvia am Sonntag – Der Talk: Ralf Möller bei FFH, Youtube
6. Ralf Moeller – Was kann man nicht trainieren?, Youtube
7. Ralf Moeller: über das Scheitern Folge #3 Scheitern für Anfänger, Youtube