A big name finds a place in Iraq

With the downfall of Saddam Hussein and his ubiquitous name brand, other big names, even Western ones, are now allowed up on the country's marquees and signs.

There is, for example, the recently renamed Arnold Classic Gym, a shrine to - yes - the bodybuilder, action hero, and California governor.

It is run by Sabah Talib Mehdi, 44.

"This was my dream from the beginning, to name this for Arnold," said Mehdi - or "Mr. Sabah," as he is known to his Western friends - about the opportunity to run a gym named after his lifelong idol. Under Hussein, this former Mr. Iraq was forbidden to use Arnold Schwarzenegger's name.

All the ethnic and religious tensions that roil Iraq are left at the door of the faintly shabby gym in Baghdad's old Jewish Quarter. Sunnis, Shiites, Westerners, men and women, all pump and sweat together.

But this peaceful meeting ground for the body-conscious could end this month. Mehdi says he faces a huge rent increase, from less than $300 a month to $1,500, that he cannot afford. The landlord has threatened to evict him.

Desperate for help, he is hoping for a movie-climax rescue from the "Governator" himself.

Mehdi, a short, stocky man who doesn't work out anymore for health reasons, has been writing to his hero, describing his gym and explaining some of his needs.

Most recently he wrote about his plans to organize a bodybuilding competition in Baghdad on Schwarzenegger's birthday, July 30.

The governor wrote back that he was "quite touched by the honor."

"It is my sincere hope that your own enthusiasm and perseverance in pursuing your passion is a sign of favorable changes in Iraq," Schwarzenegger added.

For its sheer quirkiness, Arnold Classic Gym has attracted occasional attention from Western news organizations.

Unhappily for Mehdi, reporters came calling again in May after the videotaped beheading of West Chester businessman Nicholas Berg. When Berg stayed in Baghdad, he worked out at the gym and befriended Mehdi, who called him "Mr. Nick."

The gym is on a side street that is heavily guarded because of its proximity to the French Embassy.

The building itself was once a stately home. It more recently had been an upscale restaurant before being converted into a gym.

Under Hussein, it was named Elegant Bodies House because the regime would not allow the gym to be named after an American.

Mehdi renamed it last year after Hussein was toppled.

Today, a freestanding sign featuring Schwarzenegger in his muscular heyday beckons from the street.

Then there is the nearby mural of California's governor and the photograph of him above the entrance of the gym. The dilapidated walls inside are plastered with poster-size enlargements of him flexing this or that muscle in various poses.

"I've been hiding these pictures for 30 years," Mehdi said.

Mehdi was 13 when he began to collect pictures of Schwarzenegger from bodybuilding magazines, which were secretly passed along to him by a cousin living in England.

Inspired, Mehdi trained as a bodybuilder and won the title of Mr. Iraq from 1977 to 1990. He also won the Mr. Asia title.

As a top bodybuilder in Iraq, he trained the sons of high-ranking regime officials, including Hussein's son Odai, who ran the country's Olympic committee.

Mehdi fell out of favor and fled Iraq in 1994. He returned in 2001 and began managing the gym and training bodybuilders.

These days, the Arnold Classic is rundown and in need of new equipment, but the members appreciate it nonetheless, especially Westerners, who generally feel unsafe in Iraq.

"You're made to feel really welcome and at home," said John Clune, 31, a British security consultant who works out at the gym.

Though it appears Schwarzenegger won't be sending any money to Iraq, Mehdi is undeterred.

"I have great hopes about Arnold in Iraq," he said.