Manohar Aich, the 1952 Mr. Universe, is tiny, toothless and proudly ripped. And as of Sunday, he is 100 years old, the Indian Express reported.
Aich said the key to longevity, for him, has been a simple diet of milk, fruits and vegetables, along with rice, lentils and fish, the Associated Press reported. He refuses alcohol and tobacco.
He told the Indian Express that times have changed since his weightlifting heyday.
“These youngsters want the easy way out these days,” Aich said. “They don’t have the time and energy to go through the drills in an old-style gymnasium. They don’t worship their body.”
Aich vied for the Mr. Universe title in 1951 but lost. At the time, he had to travel the city, raising money to compete. The next year, at 4-feet-11-inches, he snagged the title.
As a physical education instructor in Indian Air Force,Aich was jailed for slapping a British officer for making an offensive remark, the Indian Express reported.
"In jail I used to practice on my own, without any equipment, sometimes for 12 hours in a day," he told the AP.
A friendly jailor started calling him India’s “Pocket Hercules.” He continued lifting weights until 2011, when he suffered a stroke, the Indian Express reported.
He told the AP that among his regrets in life was that he never met another Mr. Universe winner – Arnold Schwarzenegger, the movie star turned California governor.
"I like the incredible stunts he does in the movies," Aich said.
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