gustav frištenský was born in kamhajek (now part of the village of křečhoř). he had 3 brothers and 2 sisters. when he was child, he was small so nobody thought he could become famous sportsman. as teenager he started to lift weights and wrestle. he was learning to be a blacksmith but after suffering serious burns on his hand by a horseshoe, he left his craft. frištenský went to brno and he became a butcher in the butchery of moritz soffer. he trained in the gymnasium of the hellas sports club. soon, he left his job in butchery and started to focus on wrestling. in 1900, frištenský participated in an international competition in prague. there he won in weightlifting, wrestling and the discus throw. in 1901 he became the moravia champion in wrestling and discus throw. in 1902, he became the austria-hungary champion. the following year he was the european champion.