text: Prior to his role as Vader, Prowse had established himself as a super-hero figure in the United Kingdom as the Green Cross Man in Green Cross Code media aimed at teaching children and young people road safety.
  Early life
  David Charles Prowse was born on 1 July 1935 in Bristol. He was the son of Gladys (née Burt) and Charles Prowse. He was brought up on the Southmead housing estate in Bristol, gaining a scholarship to Bristol Grammar School. Prowse was tall, standing , and developed an interest in bodybuilding. His early jobs included a bouncer at a dance hall, where he met his future wife, at Henleaze Swimming Pool. Following his successes from 1961 in the British heavyweight weightlifting championship, he left Bristol in 1963 to work for a London weightlifting company.
  Career
  Weightlifting and training
  Prowse won the British heavyweight weightlifting championship in 1962 and the following two years. He represented England in the weightlifting event at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Perth, Western Australia. During his bodybuilding course, Prowse became friends with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno.
  Prowse could deadlift as much as  and was notable for being the first person to lift the Dinnie Stones. During his prime, Prowse weighed around .
  During the 1970s, Prowse developed a minor interest with wrestling and trained many British wrestlers of the time.