We thought we knew everything there was to know about our fitness idol and Executive Editor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, but the Oak always has a way of surprising us. Whether he’s revealing candid stories about getting the runs on the set of Predator or offering a day of smoking cigars and riding tanks to charitable fans, Schwarzenegger’s not one to shy away from thinking outside the box.

He proved that that was the case even before he became the biggest action movie icon of our generation, before he became the Governor of California, before he decided to become a climate change activist.

Who knew that before all that, when Arnold was just a bodybuilder with a burgeoning movie career, he was big in Japan?

Very big in Japan, as evidenced by this complete compilation of the many surreal commercials he starred in there hawking everything from Cup Noodle to beer.

Sit back, relax, and hold on to your sanity: