Today Tom Elliott spoke to his childhood hero, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is in Melbourne for the Arnold Sports Festival this weekend.

When Tom was 12-years-old he was given a book about Arnie which changed his life.

“The very next day I went to a gym and started training and haven’t stopped since,” Tom said.

“You had a massive impact on my life as a very young man,” he told the bodybuilder.

“Thank you. That’s the idea… Reg Park had a tremendous impact on me….he created my vision,” Arnie said.

Arnie said he is on a mission “to inspire others… and do the same thing for them as Reg Park has done for me.”

Tom asked Arnie if he would have run for president if he’d been born in the United States.

“I definitely would’ve jumped into the race if I had of been born in America. Absolutely,” he said.