[4] In 1990, he won the International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness (IFBB) Mr. Universe contest (over 90 kilograms category) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Albrecht competed on the bodybuilding circuit and authored articles on nutrition and body training for the magazines Flex and Muscle & Fitness.
[6] In mid-1992, Albrecht sustained a torn biceps while performing a barbell preacher curl that prevented him from competing in the 1992 Mr. Olympia contest.
[1] He was trained as a professional wrestler by Tom Prichard and Bret Hart alongside Mark Henry and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
[2][9][12][13] Albrecht made his professional wrestling debut on 30 November 1996, under the ring name "Argo", defeating Dr. X at a house show in Lowell, Massachusetts.
[9] On 2 December 1996, he was renamed "Brakkus" (also spelled "Brakus", the same name as the antagonist of the 1993 martial arts film Best of the Best 2 portrayed by the German actor and bodybuilder Ralf Möller).
[16][17][18] At November to Remember 1997, Albrecht, Furnas and Lafon interfered in a "WWF versus ECW" flag match between Rob Van Dam and Tommy Dreamer.
Vega later claimed that Albrecht was originally not aware that the Brawl for All was a shootfighting tournament and had initially believed it would be worked.
While on the independent circuit, Albrecht formed a short-lived tag team with the English wrestler Davey Boy Smith called "The European Alliance".