Before Arnold was Arnold, there was Reg Park. And even though Steve Reeves was the one to gain fame by playing Hercules in the movies, it was Reg Park who was the embodiment of the mythical character. Any kid who picked up a set of weights in the Fifties and Sixties was influenced by Reg Park.

Reg Park, who won the Mr. Universe body-building title three times and served as a mentor to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a five-time winner of the title, died Thursday in Johannesburg of advanced skin cancer, South African news media reported. Park was 79.

“Reg was a dear friend, an extraordinary mentor and a personal hero,” Schwarzenegger said in a statement. “Other than my parents, there may be no single person who had more to do with me becoming the person I am today than Reg. He was like a second father to me.”

Park became a strong influence on Schwarzenegger when the future politician trained with him in South Africa.

“It was Reg who impressed upon me how hard I would have to work if I wanted to achieve my dreams,” Schwarzenegger said. “I’ll always remember him making me do calf-raises with 1,000 pounds at 5 o’clock in the morning.”

According to Schwarzenegger biographer Laurence Leamer writing in the book “Fantastic: The Life of Arnold Schwarzenegger,” the body-builder’s time in South Africa with Parks and his wife, Mareon, provided him a “model of what he wanted his own life and family to be.”

“We would sit down to dinner in a very civilized way, and we would discuss the day,” Park told Leamer.

Schwarzenegger “wasn’t accustomed to that. His relationship with his father was not of that caliber.”

Schwarzenegger went on to compete against Park in a body-building contest in 1970 and defeated his mentor in a closely fought contest, according to the Reg Park Legacy Foundation’s website.

A native of Yorkshire, England, Park was born June 7, 1928. According to his website, he played soccer with Leeds United before turning to body-building in 1946.

He won the Mr. Britain title in 1949 and was the runner-up to American Steve Reeves for the Mr. Universe title in 1950. He rebounded to capture the titles in 1951, 1958 and 1965.

He met South African native Mareon Isaacs while on a body-building tour of Africa in 1952. The couple married and took up residence in Johannesburg, where Park ran a chain of fitness studios.

Park’s striking figure — he was 6 feet tall and in his younger days weighed up to 250 pounds — caught the eye of film producers, and he starred in five Italian “sword and sandal” movies in the 1960s, according to the website.

In addition to his wife, Park is survived by his son, Jon Jon, who runs a personal training business in West Los Angeles, and his daughter, Jeunesse.

A memorial service is scheduled to be held Sunday in Johannesburg.