...I think his "well developed forearms" may give clues to what he was doing previously in his life.
It is very hard to develop muscles on your lower arm, my brother used to be body building and he was jealous of me, being small and all, getting muscles on these parts where he couldn't.
We read up on it and found out the only way to develop your lower arms is by GRIPPING. With your hands. You can bend, stretch, lift, but if you do not grip, with your hands, that part of your arm will not develop.
But I think it should be looked into what other kind of work there is, that involves gripping.
The only restaurant related I could think of that would develop your underarms is whisking... but somehow I can't see this guy whisking every day for twenty years.