In January of 1990, then President George Bush, appointed Arnold Schwarzenegger as Chairman of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports and challenged him to raise the consciousness of all Americans on the importance of good health through physical fitness.
Building on his experience with the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and his passion for youth fitness, Mr. Schwarzenegger teams up with Danny Hernandez in 1993 and founded a non-profit called the Inner-City Games Foundation (ICG), bringing sports to at-risk youth nationwide. ICG provided health and fitness programs as a way to build self-confidence, self-reliance, and camaraderie among inner-city youth. From 1995-2001, ICG expands its after-school program into 8 cities across the country, including Columbus, OH (2000). In 2003, Inner City Games converts its model to comprehensive afterschool programs and it changes its name to After-School All-Stars.
The Ohio Governor’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives provides funding to ASAS Columbus allowing it to expand its programming into other Ohio cities, making it the first ASAS chapter to go statewide. In 2012, ASAS Columbus officially changes its name to ASAS Ohio.