Zarb was born into a large family consisting of eight siblings in total.

[1] Zarb started his performing strongman career during the late 1920s.

At the beginning of his career Zarb began performing at a number of venues around Malta, including at festivals, fairs and at the Blue Arena in Zabbar, Malta.

Zarb would then bend the iron rod further with his own hands until it formed a circle, at which point he applied further pressure on his thigh to cause the ends of each side to protrude straight from the circle.

Zarb continued performing into his later years eventually retiring in the 1970s.