Lurich's family believed members of the German congregation had better opportunities to educate their children in town schools.

[1] Although they changed their surname, Georg suffered physical and mental persecution from his mostly Baltic German fellow schoolmates.

[citation needed] After graduating from Peter's Modern School in Tallinn (today, Tallinn Secondary School of Science) in 1894, he travelled to St. Petersburg, Russia where he practised weightlifting and wrestling under the supervision of Polish athletics coach Dr. Władysław Krajewski.

Lurich performed in St. Petersburg's summer gardens, competed with local wrestlers and made various lifting demonstrations together with fellow strongman Gustav Boesberg.

In 1896, Lurich befriended an 18-year-old fellow countryman by the name of George Hackenschmidt and began to train the young man.

[4] Prior to World War I, Lurich, along with friend and fellow Estonian wrestler Aleksander Aberg travelled to the United States to perform for American audiences.

They participated in a wrestling tournament in the capital city of Tallinn that remained unfinished due to the approach of German troops.

The following excerpt is an example of a Georg Lurich folk tale that has become popular amongst residents of Väike-Maarja, Estonia and was transcribed by Estonian author Kalle Voolaid:[8] "One hot and sunny summer day Lurich had been sitting on a hill slope in Väike-Maarja and when the heat was becoming too much for him, he ran down into the valley to freshen himself up with cool spring water.

"In 1912, Estonian sculptor Amandus Adamson cast a bronze statue of Lurich titled "Champion" which won the 1912 Paris Olympic artist contest.

Large tour groups now visit Lurich's memorial stone in Väike-Maarja on Aia Street.