Arnold Schwarzenegger | This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von #587

Today's guest is a legendary actor, uh, bodybuilder, uh, taste maker really. in the world of bodybuilding. Um, he was. the governor of California. When you. think of the American dream, he is. pretty much it. Uh, the second season of. his Netflix show, Fubar, is dropping. soon. We're going to talk about that and. a lot more. I'm honored to sit down with. the one and only Mr. Arnold. Schwarzenegger.

on. me and I will find a song. I'll be. singing. [Applause]. [Music]. So, where do you you work out of? Where. do you work out of? No. I live in. Nashville, Tennessee now. Tennessee? Yeah. I lived here for about 12 years. That's a growing city now, isn't it? Yeah. It's growing fast because it's. safe. they have um you can have a weapon.

if you need to so you can you know I. think there's that semblance of you can. take care of yourself type of energy. right and so uh and it's a friendly. community and it's very safe you know. it's like a lot of cities some of them. get kind of dangerous it's known for it. country music right yeah did you ever. listen to country music growing up yeah. I mean that's not growing. up growing up. was kind of rock and roll in the 50s is. rock and roll. Did they have any uh cuz.

you grew up in Austria, right? Or till. what age? Austria. Yeah, I was in. Austria until I was 19. Ah, and um so we. were there was a. program that was called Hit. Parade and the Hit Parade, a television. show. No, no, we didn't have television. Um so we just had the radio at home. I. had then bought I was like 15 and I just. bought my first transistor radio. Yeah.

In a little plastic box, right? And. uh I paid off like uh 50 shilling a. month until it was paid off a year. later. But then that I always took down. to the lake where I grew up that we were. sitting around the boys from a village. and we were listening to this hit. parade. It was from 7:00 to 8 at night. on Wednesdays and there was like Little. Richard and Chuck Barry and all of those. guys that were, you know, big in the 50s.

and 60s. Exactly. And so I grew up with. that and that's why I have that station. in my radio 50s at all times. Oh, so you. still listen to it? I just listen to it. I just love it. Right. Then when I came. over here, I became aware of a little. bit of the country western kind of. music. Did you go to a concert in. Austria? Was there a concert you ever. went to before you came here? I could. never afford a concert. Are you kidding. me? I had no money. But I mean I when I. came over. here I I uh then became aware of the.

country western songs especially Johnny. Cash hit in a television show, a weekly. television show and uh was great great. music and and so I fell in love with. that. And then friends of mine here in. America then took me to concerts, you. know, it was like a jazz concert or a. country western concert and all of this. stuff. And so then that's when I started. really getting into it. But I mean I.

loved the music. But then when you grow. up in Austria, the most of the stuff. that you hear is really Austrian music. You know the delay and all this kind of. thing. Beautiful music. But I mean. that's what you hear on public radio and. public television also. That's what you. see and you see operas uh and you hear. concerts you know my father himself was. a musician. He played six instruments. Six instruments. Yeah. Six instrument. All kind of like a.

flean trumpet saxophone clarinet all of. the stuff like that. A lot of. traditional music he would play. Yeah. very tradition because he was the. conductor of the Shenttoarie music which. is the police the country police like. the sher Marie it's called shent Marie. is a French word. shandam and uh so he was he was a. shandam he was a police officer and so. he played in that shandarie music would.

he play at home or where would he play. at he he he practiced at home you know. he would while I was training I remember. I was doing my workouts and he would be. standing the window would be open up at. our house and he would be kind of. playing out to the window out the window. and there was a kid that was my. age that lived uh 150 yards away from. us. It was one of my best friends and he. also learned how to play the trumpet at.

the age of like 13 or 14. So he would. play over there and then my dad would. play over here and they were going back. and forth like that. So it was really. fun. Like a couple of birds almost. Yeah. But I never for some reason or the. other. My dad always wanted me to get. into music. Not as professional, but Did. you try it at all? Yeah, I tried it. It. just didn't work. What instrument? Well, he tried with trumpet obviously. Then he. thought that he going to seduce me kind. of into the music because I liked Elvis.

So he said, "Well, why don't you learn. how to play the guitar?" Yeah, I don't. play the guitar. He says, "But there's a. farmer that is 100 yards up the road. He. plays the guitar and he can teach you. He's also a teacher." And so I would go. to him, but it just, you know, I just. could see right away that that was not. meant for me. Was there a lot of like. when you were a child in Austria, was. there a lot of like individualism or was. it were things very like regimented?

Like in America, you could like you can. be an individual, right? But some. countries, it's a little bit harder to. kind of like, you know, be an individual. and have a voice. I'm just wondering. what was it like there when you were. young? Did it feel like things were. regimented or it was okay to be. rebellious? What was it like there? Well, I was rebellious in a way. because I mean, think about it. soccer. and track and field, they were kind of. like the in. sports. But when I was exposed to. weightlifting and to powerlifting and to.

bodybuilding, I fell in love with that. And also because my heroes like Re Park. and Steve Reef, they were doing Hercules. movies and I just started looking at. those movies, right? And so I said to. myself, I want to be like that. I don't. want to be a top soccer player. I want to be like that. I want to have. the muscles like that and I want to get. into movies like that, you know. So that. all of a sudden became my dream. So you. really wanted to be like this. Yeah. So. I was.

fixated. You was I was like kind of like. concentrating that I kind of put. visually my head on on Reg Park's body. and I said there was a picture famous. picture where he won the Mr. Universe. Contest in London in. 1951. And when I saw that picture, it. was like him holding the trophy and. flexing his bicep. Yeah. And then I said. to myself, can you imagine if this is.

me? I'm I'm going to make this me. And. so that's what I was training for. So my. parents thought that it was kind of what. is that all about? Where did that come. from? And uh the whole neighborhood was. kind of like. uh wondering what is this guy doing. training every day, two hours, three. hours a day. I came home and instead of. having lunch, I would put my situp board. up on the kitchen table and uh I would. be doing sit-ups, 500 sit-ups doing. lunch. So you were addicted to Totally.

totally addicted because I was driven by. my vision, you know. So it was always. there. Even when I was in school, I. would sometimes just wander off when the. teacher was teaching out there and. writing up something on the blackboard. and I would be looking at that and then. all of a sudden he could see that I was. just kind of. like staring off. Yeah. And then all of. a sudden he threw a chalk at my head and. I bang and I I looked back again. He. says he says, "Arnold, I'm up here. I.

mean, I know you're looking at the. beautiful trees out there. They're more. beautiful maybe than me, but you got to. listen what I'm saying here. So, so I. noticed I was always kind of drifting. off and uh visualizing visualizing my. dreams. Always visualizing my dreams. being on that stage, the Mr. Universe. contest, doing maybe Hercules movies, going to America and all of that. So, it. was very different. So, that was not the. norm. So I did step out of the norm and.

then because everyone else was talking. about oh I'm going to go and get a job. with the government because I want to. make sure that uh I collect my pension. when I was 65 and all this I had no. interest in any of that pension what are. we talking about now the age of 18 we. start talking about pensions I mean it's. crazy right but that's the European way. everyone looks for stability or mo. especially in those times where. government was really ruling you know so. then That's also I think an explanation. of why when I came over here to.

America in 1968 and I saw Hubert. Humphrey and Nixon campaign Humphrey who. was he was the vice president under. Johnson. Okay. And uh so he was. campaigning to become well Johnson was. after Kennedy and then he was Humphrey. was his vice president. So he was. running for president. Oh yeah. And then. looks like he eats gumdrops that guy. And so it was really interesting when I. listened to the debates and I didn't.

understand maybe three quarter of it. But I had a friend that spoke German and. he translated for me. And when I heard. of what Nixon said, it was so opposite. of what I grew up with, which I didn't. like where government was in kind of in. charge of everything in Austria. In. Austria. Yeah. Exactly. And so I was in. Germany and in all those countries over. there in Europe, socialism was the. system that I grew up in. So when when.

Nixon spoke, I felt like, wow, get. government off your back. Get the government off your back. Great. Wow. And lowering lowering the taxes, strong military, strong police force, strong this strong, you know, strong. economy. Let the people be free. let. them shop all around the world and blah. blah blah and I said to myself this is. like unbelievable and uh then when. Humphre spoke it was like I was back in.

Austria you know so then I said to. myself what what are the parties here. because I didn't understand really the. parties he had why what was it about. Humphre that made it feel like you were. back in Austria well I said government. is the solution oh I see so he was more. like the cage we all know that the. government is not the solution I mean. it's like the free enterprise the the. economy and I got to let people be free. and not be controlled by government. Government is good, but you have to find. kind of the middle ground of all this. stuff, you know. Yeah. You can't if you. rely solely on the government for your.

life, then you'll just be a you'll be a. part of the government basically. Well, and you become a vegetable. Yeah. Because you you create the safety net, then you don't have the will to really. kind of make it on your own. So, what. the big advantage of coming to America. was that there was no safety net. So, I. was on my own. Yeah. Yeah. So, I had to. get really creative. Okay. How can I go. and go to school and educate myself? How. can I go and get more English classes? How can I go to Santa Monica City. College and at the same time work and at.

the same time train five hours a day and. do all of those kind of things. So, this. is but it was up to me now to be. successful, not up to the government. I. like that. You know, government was. providing the opportunities in order, the structure, but that is what I. enjoyed. And so this is why I became. kind of like a Nixon Republican and. people always kind of like you know. especially in California which is a much. more liberal republic. Yeah. So so I I I. really enjoy that Nixon of course came. from California. Um question Arnold. Was.

it scary to tell your parents that to. leave Austria? Did people do that at the. time? I'm just a little bit curious on. what it was like to say I'm leaving here. and I'm gonna go to America. Was it even. a popular path for people to go? Well. remember I started saying this when I. was 10. Ah I see. So it had been your. parents knew it was in your head. Yeah, exactly. So I saw a documentary, a black. and white documentary in the school. They showed always those films with this. 8 millime whatever films on the little. screen. And like I said, television was.

not the common thing at that time in. Austria. So we didn't grow up with that. And uh but they showed the film and I. saw a documentary about America. Yeah. Now I see the Empire State Building. I said, "Wait a minute. This building is. like, you know, 100 times taller than. any of the buildings in Gratz where I. grew up, right, in Austria. And uh then. I saw the Golden Gordon Gate Bridge. Then I saw the Pacific Coast Highway. I. saw all of this kind of the, you know,

great great things. I saw the sixlane. highways. I saw the big Cadillacs, you. know, with the big fins sticking out, you know, and I said to myself, and then. we had all this little kind of cars and. muscle beach and all of this stuff that. the Hollywood. I said, I got to go to. America. I got to go to America. This. Austria is not the place. It was almost. kind of like that my gene was over here, you know. So, so it it kind of I. gravitated towards America. Not that.

they hated Austria, but they just wanted. to leave and go do something different. So, my parents always saw me as being. different. So, it was not a surprise to. them that I wanted to go as soon as I. was through with high school and trade. school, uh, that I want to go into the. military. So, I went in the military. because after you go and serve in the. military, then you can get your passport. and you can travel. So, you had you had. to go to the military to get your. passport in Austria. That's right. Yeah. Is it still that way? No, I don't think. it's different now. Everything is.

different because you know everything. has changed. Yeah. And you had a brother. as well, right? Was did he go in the. military? He was in the military. And uh. Was he older than or younger? He was a. year older. Oh, cool. What's his name? He was a minehut. Mine hut. Minehut. Yeah, exactly. So he was a year earlier, but he passed away as you know. I didn't. know. Yeah. At very young at the age of. 24. Oh, I didn't know that. Passed away. Yeah. It was like a drunk. That's him. right there. Yeah. No, this is dish. This is a France Dishinger. He was my. training partner in Munich. So when I.

went I went for so after after the army. the Austrian army I immediately left to. go to Munich because I got an offer. because now I at that meantime I became. the European champion in bodybuilding in. the junior division. Okay. So youary. So. yeah. So I became this while I was in. the military I won this title Mr. You. know the best build man of Europe junior. odd. You know I was 18 years old. So now. I got this offer in Munich at this. biggest gym to go and become a trainer. So I said to myself, okay, I'm going to.

serve out my term here, get out of here. a year later and then I go to Munich and. I become a trainer there. Now then I can. train anytime, 24 hours a day because I. actually lived in the gym. So I could. get up literally if I wake up at 3 in. the morning and you know I can't let's. say I can't fall back to sleep. I go out. to the gym. How did you live in there? Like where they just had a bed in the. side or something. Exactly. It was a. little room. There was from here to. there where you sit and a bed and just a.

little kind of a thing with cabinet with. drawers where I put my stuff in. That. was it. That was it. And then I walked. out of it. It used to be an office there. for the gym. And I just moved in there. because I had no money. And you were. like, "This is what I do all the time. anyway. This is like Yeah. So I I was in. heaven. Yeah. Are you kidding me?" I. mean, I went out there, turned on the. lights, and I was posing with the all. the overhead lights. Notice I was posing. in the mirror all the time. At night, I. would wake up and I would go out there. posing and stuff. So I was like, you.

know, very intense and very uh. passionate about bodybuilding and. perfecting my body and going to London. to that very same contest that Re Park. won the Mr. Universe. And then that that. very same year when I went now to to. Munich 1966 I became now Mr. Europe. literally two months later and then best. build of Europe and then I went to the. Mr. Universe contest with the age of 19. I was the youngest competitor and I came. second. And where was that held at? It.

was in London the same stage as as Re. Park. So you still hadn't made it to the. US yet? No. No. Not yet. No. And was. your brother also lifting weights? Was. he a weightlifter? No, he was not. interested in that. He was much more I. think academic I would say because he. read a lot and he studied a lot. He was. really good in school. I was not that. good in school. It was just so so you. guys get along pretty well. Is that him. or No, that's him. Yeah, that's Minehut. Oh, that's a cool What is Minehut? Yeah,

Minehut. Yeah. I just wonder what it. would be like cuz I have a brother, too. So, I'm just thinking sometimes like it. would be um Yeah, I just think about my. brother a lot. So, I guess I was just. curious what it was like um what your. brother was like. Well, he was different. than me, but we did hang out together. He did come to the gym every so often. and he worked out with me, but he was. not into it. He has naturally he had a. better body than I had, actually. Really? Yeah. He had a really v-shaped. body, had wide shoulders, a very, very. small waist. God, they always give it to. the person that doesn't want it. I know.

Yeah. Like that. But that's I think what. is interesting about it is that you. struggle much more in the beginning and. to catch up and then all of a sudden you. know you see your own potential. Yeah. You know we just you don't see it in the. beginning but then I mean I think it was. like going to the gym was my first time. where I got compliments. because my parents were not into that. It was the Austrian kind of upbringing. kind of everything they they correct.

everything. Yeah. Then that the grades. are no good and the soccer. Why did you. didn't Why didn't you kick the ball? You. were like 10 yards away from the goal. You didn't kick it in. You tripped over. the I mean what a come on out. It was. always some kind of a trying to correct. you. Exactly. That's right. Yeah. It was. always a complaint and then if you made. a mistake, you get smacked and stuff. like that. So it was that kind of. upbringing. But it was very helpful to. me because it actually gave me the. motivation to leave Austria and it gave. you control. I mean, if you're weight,

if you're bodybuilding, it's just you. against you. There's no, you don't have. to depend on anybody else. I mean, I. guess you have to depend on the judges. when you go to actually um compete, but. daytoday it is you against your own uh. emotions and mentality and ability. Yes. But also at the same time, even though. it is a sport that you are on your own, but in the end, you still rely on your. training partners. I was very fortunate. always that I had the mentality of of. being able to attract the best training.

partners. So I had guys that were as. hungry as I was because that's the. important thing. If you have someone. that is not as hungry then it doesn't. really mean anything. If you have. someone that competes with you, that. counts out the reps, then he wants to do. an extra two reps more than you do. And. you get up the weight in order of so. good training, but so I'm a big believer. in that we really can't and do anything. by ourselves, right? That's why we say. don't call me a self-made man. Uh. because I'm a product of a lot a lot of. help if it is in bodybuilding or just I.

mean think about Joe Weider after. winning two Mr. Universe titles in. London, the amateur Mr. Universe the. following year 1968 the professional Mr. Universe. So I was like the youngest Mr. Universe ever and that was the year. after you got second. That's right. Okay. 1966 second 1967 I was was 20 years old. Wow. And I want to become the youngest. Mr. Universe. So now I'm down that stage. exactly where Re Park was and win the.

Mr. Universe. And not only that, but the. regret park immediately sent me a a fax. and um to London. They said I want to. invite you to South Africa to give. posing exhibitions and do strongman act. down there. So I was invited by Re Park. which eventually then by end of the year. I went down to South Africa. And you. still hadn't gone to the US yet? I. haven't gone to the US. What brought me. to the US was which was kind of my. dream. Someone would notice me in. bodybuilding that they would take me to.

because bodybuilding was an American. sport. Oh, it was not a European sport. It was American sport really. And uh so. I all of a sudden get this invitation. from Joe Weider who was the publisher of. the muscle magazines. He published like. four big muscle magazines, flex and. strength and health and and uh Oh yeah, we used to get some of them I think when. I was a kid and uh fitness all of this. and he had also equipment company the. food supplement company because it's. weights right I've seen the weights.

before it's it's weights it's a food. supplements it's and his brother was the. head of the organization the. bodybuilding federation and this is when. you came to the US yes so he brought me. over in 1968 okay before we get there. Arnold And not to interrupt or anything, but you did a show. You went to like one. of the first interracial shows that was. in South Africa. That was late on. Oh, that was later on. Okay. So, it was. 1975. Got it. Okay. You're absolutely. correct. So, you get to the US. Very. good research. Do you remember your. first uh Thank you. Do you remember your.

first day in America? Oh, yes. It was in. Miami. I uh Oh, yeah. I went to Miami. and I was competing there in a. competition. And uh then after that I. came out to California and I was picked. up in California at the airport by a. bodybuilding photographer by the name of. Adriella and Dick Tyler who wrote for. the Muscle magazines. They picked me up. and took me to an apartment that Joe.

Weider rented for me and it was. fantastic. I mean I from then on I got. all the help in the world now because. that's when I really realized the. generosity of the American people. Wow. I mean they gave me I mean the. bodybuilders there was Thanksgiving came. up after that. Um because I came over. here in October, November was. Thanksgiving. So there was there was. like this whole thing about uh you know. giving me pillows and giving me blankets. and giving me dishes and silverware.

Where were you homeless or something? But again, what why were they giving you. all that make you feel welcome? When you. move into an apartment Oh, yeah. What do. you get? I mean, it was a furnished. apartment and you were living in LA at. that point. Yeah. Yeah. It was in it was. in the valley over there in in the. valley and then all this bodybuilders. came to me and they brought me all this. stuff. It was like unbelievable. So, I. could not even believe how generous they. were. And this were all this were a lot. of times people that didn't know me at. all. But just because bodybuilding and.

joining you a club, you know, you become. kind of part of that family and uh so. they were very very sweet and kind and I. would never forget that. That's actually. what made me then think about well when. I ever make it, I will give that back. I. will help other people myself, you know. What's it like finding a gym that really. fits you? Like what's that like at that. level of bodybuilding? Were there a. couple gyms you tried out and you're. like this isn't it? Or did you already. know where you wanted to be? I came over here. There was a gym called.

Vince's gym that had all the champions. training. Where was that located? It was over in. the valley in Vura Boulevard in North. Hollywood and a very very famous gym. This is where you know Larry Scott, Mr. Olympia trained and and Don Howard who. was Mr. America and Don Peterson, all. those guys were training there. And then. I ventured over here every so often for. powerlifting. There was a gym called. Gold's. Gym. Not many bodybuilders trained. there. Some, but the men not many. Most.

of them were like shot puddters and. powerlifters and lift weightlifters and. so on. And it was a much more rough gym. But somehow because of the Austrian gym. where I kind of started the first three. years in this weightlifting club. It. reminded me of that. So I started. getting more and more attracted to that. gym and then I moved from the valley. over here to Venice to Venice. And uh. was still part of Santa Monica actually. was you know Ashland one of the streets. not far away from here and uh then I.

went daily training there and then gorge. gym then other bodybuilders came from. all over the country to train there too. because you were there because well I. was there and I was Joe Weiden now. started writing in his magazines about. Arnold is training gorge gym and uh you. know if you want to go and train in a. great place this is the place to go. Was. it hard for you to train? I mean, were. people at that point just standing. around watching you train? No, because. there was a lot of, you know, I mean,

this place was filled with great. bodybuilders. Oh, I see. Yeah. Oh, yeah. So, then others came out here from. Florida and from Kentucky and from New. York and they all started joining Gorge. Gym instead of training there. So, this. was kind of like the place that had the. best bodybuilders in the world training. in Gorge. That's how go gym became. famous. Ah, you know, because it was a. little gym. It was not big. It was 3,000. square ft, I think it was. Well, I. remember when I first moved to uh Los. Angeles, we went to Firehouse. I don't. know if it's still there or not. Yeah. Yeah. Firehouse. Was that the place? It.

was a big protein place. It was like a. Was that I think Well, Firehouse now is. is is a is a restaurant down there. It. used to be like a place where you could. get literally like a bowl of chicken. Yeah. Yeah. You still can get you can. get great scrambled eggs. You get like. 30 eggs or whatever. Yeah. Exactly. It's. crazy. It was like Yeah. Yeah. I. remember I ate I ordered like a month. worth of food right there just for just. at lunch. Yeah. Yeah. It took me like 5. hours to get out of there just cuz I. didn't want to like Yeah. I was never a. big eater. So to me that meant nothing.

If I had a little steak and some two. scrambled eggs, I was perfectly fine. I. was full for the day. Not for the day. No, but let's say in the morning steak. and eggs uh or scrambled eggs or. something like this. I always had to. take protein drinks in between meals. because I could never eat enough to get. my 250 grams of protein because I weigh. 250 pounds. And the idea then was to. have every kind of pound of body weight. you have, you should have one gram of. protein. Yeah. When uh cuz I used to buy.

I don't know if I used to bodybuild. I. used to use steroids when I was like. growing up and just lift weights a lot. I loved it for years, you know. And I. think whenever I get like, you know, whenever I quit working as much, I'll. probably try to get back more into. weightlifting. Was steroids pretty. popular then or what was it like? Was. that part of the Because I'm sure it was. part of the culture. It Well, no, it was. not yet, but it was something that was. in the beginning very experimental. So, would you hear like would it be like on. the black market or it was just like. public? It was just like people would.

talk about it like as a supplement. It. might be in some places was on the black. market. I don't know. But all I know is. is that we always went to a doctor. because they want to make sure that they. measure your blood pressure and they. check your health and all of that stuff. because it has side effects and. especially if you take it beyond of what. they recommend. So if they recommend. let's say one shot a week and you start. taking one shot a day or something which. is of course the case a lot of today. that people are overdosing and that's.

why you see some bodybuilders actually. die because of the overdose of drugs and. all this stuff. Did you see friends go. down that road or people as other. bodybuilders go down that road where. they would get addicted to it? Not not. in my days it was the new but now it's I. think really somewhat I would say out of. control. Yeah. Is a sequel better than. the original? We're going to find out at. UFC. 316. It's a rematch nine months in the. making. You can get in on all the action.

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source of financial advice. Trade. responsibly. Whenever you start uh like. you've had such an interesting life and. career, you gotten to do so many things. Um, what do you think? Was there a time. period in your life that you wish you. would maybe done like a little bit. different, you know? No, I don't really. I there's no move that ever made. career-wise. I thought that I had a real. good nose when to make my moves forward. and when I should retire uh from.

bodybuilding, when I felt like, okay, I. don't have the joy anymore. After six. after five Mr. Universe competitions. that I won, Mr. World and and Mr. Olympia six times. I retired in. 1975 after that competition in South. Africa that you mentioned just earlier. So that was kind of the last. competition. I did come back in 1980. again for the Mr. Olympia but that was. really just after I mean really I. retired 1975.

and after the South African show. After. the South African show. Tell me a little. bit about that because I bet it was. really interesting just South Africa is. probably my favorite country. I mean it. is beautiful. It is a gorgeous country. and of course u at that time blacks and. whites and everyone was separated. I. mean by separated meaning they had. different rights. You know the whites. were the one that ruled the country. The. blacks were kind of kept down. Was. Desmond Tutu down there at the time? Do. you know if he was speaking? Yes, he. was. Of course he was. But I mean.

the the whites really were kind of in. control. They were the kind of the. leaders of it. Exactly. The Dutch and. the British. There was always a fight. between those two in the parliament and. all that. And uh so then I got to meet. and to know the minister of. immigration and he was also minister of. sports and minister of labor and blah. blah blah. So he was a very very. powerful guy in administration. And he. uh when I met him, he said to me,

"Arnold, when you come over here to. South Africa and you do posing. exhibitions and strongman acts, you. should also go to the townships to the. townships." Yeah. Yeah. So So I said, "The townships like the Sutoettos.". Yeah. So So was of course I did not. know. And so he then explained it to me. and then he would. organize with the Rege Park together uh. for me to go in because he was not what. we call the safest place in town. Not. that they wanted to do harm to you, but.

I mean for for someone like me to come. in there and do a demonstration there. Oh, I mean everyone everyone got lit. I. mean they were drunk. They were. celebrating that someone would come in. and give them the respect and do. something special for them. So very. appreciative, right? So I would go in. there and I was in the cage into the. Soetto. Is that what it's called? Can. you bring that up for me, Nick? Yeah, the township. So they're all over the. place in every every in every town in. South Africa. There's townships like. that. There's places where the blacks.

would live, right? Very very kind of. low. I think they're called the. Sutoettos. Are they? That's one of them. Yeah. Suettos. Yeah, I think so. So, so any in any case, so I would go in. there and do a demonstration and do my. posing and lift weights and all of this. kind of stuff in these in these the. small like town and there was like you. know thousands of them surrounding and. then just you know screaming loud and. having the greatest time and then we. would go out. Oh, they would put you on. the grill. I'm surp I bet they were so. hungry sometimes. They were like look at.

this welfare. It was it was fantastic. the reception and everything. So, but. the reason I mentioned that is because. it led to the. conversation with uh you know uh that. minister of sports. Um and. uh he said to me, he says we should have. an international competition here in. South Africa. He says we we should work. together on that. And I said okay we.

will. And uh his name was Dr. Kornhoff Dr. Don Dr. corn and he was an. extraordinary man, very very smart. But. it just shows you that there was people. like him that already wanted to do more. for the blacks and to elevate elevate. him. So so he so he then I set him up. with Ben Wider with Joe Wider's brother. who was the head of the in the National. Federation of Bodybuilding. They got. together and they hit it off really.

well. And so Joe Weider and Ben Weeder. worked with him to bring the Mr. Olympia. contest to South Africa to Pritoria to. the capital of South Africa. But the. conditions were that they that they were. able to have a mixed audience. Okay. So. black and white audience. Have they done. that ever? Never. Wow. So there was the. first time there was black was blacks. but there was not just black and white. in South Africa. There was a group that.

was called blacks. There was a group. that was called colored. There was a. group that was called Indians. There was. a group that was white. I mean there was. like five different Asians. So everyone. was was different. So everyone was kind. of like it was not considered we are all. equal there, right? And so what Ben. negotiated was that we have a mixed. audience that anyone no matter what. their nationality and what their kind of. color is uh or religious beliefs, anyone. should be able to come to this.

competition. And also not only that, but. to be a judge, we would have also half. black and half white judges, blah blah. blah. So was that scary to go before a. black judge? Did you think that they. would judge you fairly? I would be No, no, not at all. Because they were not. I. mean, I was competing in America at that. time already used it and I was used to. it. We were Leroy Cobbert who was was. the first guy with a 21 22 inch arms, big big bodybuilder from the 50s and 60s. and uh he was a judge in New York.

several times and uh he was a totally. honest judge. There was other black. judges that so there was that's the. great thing about bodybuilding. In. bodybuilding there was no prejudice. You. know, there were some people embodied. that were prejudiced, but in general, like especially under the weeders, the. weeders, I think because they were. Jewish, bringer, I think it had. something to do with the fact that they. were that kind of open-minded about it. Oh, yeah. A lot of times they're the. leaders. Exactly. They're like the.

leaders in promoting diversity, diversity. That's right. Yeah. So, there. was no prejudice. There was no there was. no prejudice there at all. And as a. matter of fact, there was a guy by the. name of Bob Hoffman. He always made sure. that when they had the AAU had the Mr. America competition and only whites. could win. No black could win there. Oh, really? Yeah. So, there was really. embarrassing. So, there were some. barriers within the There was guys like. Sergio Liver that would be competing in. 1966 or 1965 in a Mr. America and he.

would get beaten by white guys and it. was totally unfair. or Herold P got. beaten in 1963 by Bern Viva which I. thought was unfair. So it was there was. this so what they did then was because. there was now two federations. There was. the IFBB there was the AU in. Napa AU exactly American Athletic Union. Yeah. So they then went from that. federation over to the IFBB and their. Sergio Lever won immediately. Got it. He. became Mr. America. He became Mr. World.

and Mr. Universe then Mr. Olympia and he. actually in the first Mr. Olympia. competition Serge Liver beat me. Wow. 1969 fairly. I mean there was no. complaints there at all because he was. extraordinary. Right. And uh so then in. 1970 I came back and I beat him in the. Mr. World competition in Columbus, Ohio. and then two weeks later in a Mr. Olympia in New York. So so we we we were. big rivals and that was of course a big. admire of his and a big idol and he. treated me really well. We went to.

Chicago and trained together at the. Duncan YMCA and all that stuff. I wanted. to learn from him. I love the YMCA. Don't you? Oh, absolutely. It's great. I've always been a fan of the YMCA. It. just kind of like they're always a. little bit me like it's never perfect. there, but everything's kind of like a. little bit old enough where I like the. equipment, you know? It's never too. fancy. Yeah. But you can get the job. done. Right. So, to me, it's not about. the luxury. It's just m much more about. the will to succeed. And when I see.

pictures. online of bodybuilders that are training. in the sand in Africa right now, blacks. that are having cement weights on a bar. God, and a cheap. bench. And when they they do their bench. press Yeah. And the other day I I saw. one of those kind of videos and they get. up from the bench. I'm looking at say. this guy could win Mr. America or when. Mr. California or something like that,

he looks extraordinary. So, it's it's. really not the technology so much. Uh, it helps you, but I mean, and it is. really what you have to work in. It's. the will. The will was the best. There's. nothing better than just having like a. little weight bench outside in your. backyard or something and you go out. there or in your garage and it's just I. did my deadlifts right in front of the. house in in Gratz in in Tar where which. now is a museum at the house where I. grew up in. Your home is a museum where. you grow up. They the home. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. I'm going to go over there.

in two weeks. So, we have a our pump. club is meeting there with the the. European bodybuilders members from the. pump club. And then there's some. Americans that are also coming over. there. That audience in South Africa, what was did it have the the feeling. during the show of like this is like a. novel thing? This is like a like was. there that energy in the in the in the. event? so much energy in that auditorium. and it was not a big auditorium. It.

maybe held I would. say 1500 people I would guess. Mh. Um and it was the energy was fantastic. The joy of being together was fantastic. and I really think that had a tremendous. impact also on the future of South. Africa and uh it was just wonderful that. there were leaders there that believed. in that and wanted to organize that and. everyone the police and everyone was. really cooperative everyone worked. together so it was a fantastic show a. fantastic competition and of course I.

won so it's always a fantastic. competition you know when he went six. Mr. Olympia. But I what was interesting. about it was I got a $1,000 cash. prize and I was really upset about that. because I felt like wait a minute in. 1965 10 years ago Sergio I know Larry. Scott when he won Olympia got. $1,000 and now 10 years later we still.

get $1,000. So that's what made me. actually motivated to go then in front. of the IFBB, the International. Bodybuilding Congress and to ask them. for permission to organize the next. year's Mr. Olympia in Columbus, Ohio. And that's exactly what we did. I got. the permission and then we upped the. cash press to $5,000 then to $10,000 to. 20. We doubled it every year and now. this now we're giving over a million. dollars away for cash prizes for the. Arnold Classic. What's like one of the.

things right before you go on because I. I'm guessing you're backstage, right? You wait to go on and they call your. name out and then you go out and do your. poses. Is that how it goes? Well, it's in though in those days the way it. worked was the whole lineup of all the. competitors. Now you have to understand. Mr. Olympia means that you have to have. won a world championship title before. So Mr. World, Mr. International or Mr. Universe. So those guys are the top.

guys. So you have like six or seven guys. that are on the stage and uh so the. judges they ask you to order come out. you have a certain time at 1:00 be ready. for pre-judging and then you come out. and then you stand there and then the. judges will shuffle you around and it. says okay can number seven go over where. number one is and number one goes over. where number seven was. You know they. just see them next to each other. different people next to each other. There is a turn around, turn sideways. Uh then what's the scariest way to be.

turned? Like was there ever a part where. you're like this is I got to kind of. cheat this angle a little bit? No, I I mean for me it was basically. always a tremendous joy to be up on. stage because it's one of those things. where you where you feel like when. you're really ready. I always felt kind. of like in most cases that I was so. ready that no matter what angle it was, I was ready to go and I had always a. smile on my face and I flexed. everything. And you know the key thing.

is that you have practiced your posing. enough that you can stand there in a. flex. It looks relaxed. You stand there. like this, but you still flex. You keep. the stomach in and you keep the the abs. flexed and the calves flexed, the biceps. and the tricep flex. So that was the. idea and I was always having great joy. with that. So it's a lot of acting too. It's kind of some acting up there. It is. the one of the great forms of acting. Why? Because you cannot go and say to. the judge, "Look at me. I'm the most.

perfect up here. Look at my abs." No, you have to do all that without talking. You have to communicate with them and. also with the audience because remember. that the the sound of the audience is. very important because you want to get. big applause. So the judges say, "Oh, this guy got the most applause. I mean, he definitely, you know, has the best. body." So, but then you wait for the for. the individual posing. So, then you come. out one after the next, you do your. three minute posing routine. And what's.

the tricks there? Is there any trick of. the trade, a last minute thing you used? You would like pinch your pinch your. tits or just rub some just like molasses. into your limb? Like was there what what. was like a last minute thing people. would do? Put ice under your arms or. something? No, I I think the key thing. is just that you when you go there that. you're so ready that you don't shake. You get how many bodybuilders I'm sure. you've seen it. They hit a shot and then. they after after a few seconds they. start shaking. Oh, so that's bad. Well,

for that level, I mean it's natural when. you have a Mr. Venice Beach competition, Mr. Muscle Beast, Mr. Montgomery, Alabama. Yeah. You know, beginners, of. course, they make mistakes and they're. not as well trained, but when you get to. the Mr. the Olympia level, it's. unacceptable, you know. Oh, so you want. to make it look so that you want to hit. the shot. Yeah. And you smile. You look. at the judges and you and and you smile. and then you smoothly move into the next. shot. P, you know, and then it hands and.

you just the movement. It has to be all. very gracefully and no shaking. So that. again that you say to the judges, look, I am so ready for this. M unlike maybe. the others you know so that's that's. that's what it is so it's all about uh. the seven. Ps you know the seven Ps proper prior. planning prevents pissed poor. performance right in the Marines they.

have that proper prior planning prevents. pissed poor performance exactly so. that's what it's about it's the same. there you come prepared you make sure. that you worked everyone has weak points. So you have to make sure that you worked. as much on your weak points so that the. judges see that you're not blind that. you notice that last year you maybe had. not so defined legs. Mhm. Yes. Maybe you won but you the legs were. so so and then the next year when you.

come back you have to have ripped legs. Right. Right. So then the judge said. that guy got the message. So this is. what it's all about because in the end. you really. are a an. artist. You're a sculptor. You're not. just the athlete that is competing but. you're the. sculptor on your own body instead of a. chisel and a hammer that you kind of. sculpt a physique. You do it now with. machines and with the reps and the.

different exercises where you say I need. a little bit more of the rear deltoids. I need a little bit of more separation. in the front between the deltoid and the. pectoral muscle. I need a little bit. more cut on the lower abs. I need the. calves have to be balanced. They go not. big enough for the arms because it. should be the same size as your arms are. and all of those kind of things. So, you. become kind of like an artist in your. own body. That's that's what the idea. is. Did was there was it did you ever. like have to work out the top of your. feet or your hand? Were there things you. could do for your face even and stuff. like that? No. No. That's that I mean.

there are people that pay attention to. that. I didn't. Right. To me it's always. about the bottom line. Yeah. So but what. is it that we're doing here? What we're. doing here is we showing the most. perfect physique and who is the best in. actually displaying that physique. because it's all about you know. presentation presentation presentation. It's like a piece of art. You know, you. can have a painting that is maybe. amongst many other paintings and you.

wouldn't even notice it's a Picasso, but. then when you put it up there on a white. wall and with a beautiful gold frame. with a special lighting and then you. have someone talk about it, now you can. auction something off for a lot of. money, right? So, it's all about. presentation. And so, this is why I. think the same is also in bodybuilding. and the way you present your body and. the way you present your your muscles. And did at that point I mean I can see. now how even like lobbying for certain. things to be changing in um like in the.

prize money right I can almost see where. your direction comes to even end up in. politics right you can start to see it. like well this should be more this there. should be some adjustments you weren't. just like a competitor you were also. somebody who was examining how things. were run and how they could be better. especially when you were partnering with. guys like uh Ben Wider and stuff like. that and probably inspired by those guys. to probably get this larger vision of. things that were going on. Um, did you when you got into film, so. at that point you know how to act. You. know how to impress the front row. You.

know how to use probably every element. of your body to impress people. So that. kind of just leans leads kind of. perfectly into acting. Yeah. But remember that what is key and. all of this stuff is also personality. And I don't know if you can train a. personality or not. I mean I don't know. what you think about that. But I mean, I. think some people just don't have the. greatest personality. Some people don't. some people have a great personality, you know. And so I think that I. developed over the years, not that.

someone taught me that, but I developed. a personality because my joy for. whatever I did came through. So when. people talked to me about bodybuilding. in those days, I was not shy of the. press. Other bodybuilders for for. decades didn't talk to the press. So. when I came over here, people thought. that when they saw my body, they thought. it was a football player or I was a. wrestler or something like that. But the. last thing they guessed was a. bodybuilder. So they didn't know about. bodybuilding. So I in 1974 I hired I was.

the first bodybuilder to hire a. publicist. And so we went and did talk. shows, the Johnny Carson Show, Murf. Griffin Show, Mike Douglas Show, and all. of those shows. And were there football. teams that tried to get you to come and. play for them? Did you ever get an. offer? No, because I mean I think I made. it very clear in my interviews that my. vision is to be the greatest bodybuilder. of all times and to go then into acting. So even when people came to me because I. was always very good in business. I.

studied business. I got my degree in. business while I was over here doing the. training for bodybuilding at SMC. Second. Did you go to SMC? I went to. Santa Monica City College to UCLA and to. uh you know got my degree in business. and uh it was like business. administration and I was just naturally. always gifted for making deals and being. creative. Got it. You know and and and. and I always understood how it works. Right. And so in bodybuilding for.

instance, it's one thing to say, okay, I'm going to up the cash price to. 20,000. Let's say from like within a. three-year period, we we had we give. away $20,000 on the beginning. But then. you have to say, okay, where do we get. this money from? Ah, sponsors, right? So. now I have to go out and hustle the. sponsors. And so now, of course, we have. the biggest bodybuilding and fitness. convention in Columbus, Ohio in the. world. We have 200,000 people coming. through there in three days. We have.

every company displaying their products, their their machines, their food. supplements, clothing, the Arnold. Classic. Arnold Classic. It's always the. first week in in in March and it's three. days the whole thing. So, and now like I. said, now we're raising enough money. where we can give away over a million. dollars. As a matter of fact, this. coming year, we're going to go in up to. a million and a half dollars. So, it's. like so it's all kinds of great things. happening. But I was able to build it to. that because I have a business mind, right? And I know exactly know how that. works and how do we attract everyone and.

bring everyone together. Were there. women all weightlifting at that time or. No, he were the first Mr. Olympia comply. competition was a guy by the name of. Schneijider uh from. uh he was back east from Philadelphia. area and we did that together. Oh, you. guys started it? Yeah. Well, yes. because the women were all kind of. complaining why can we compete. So we. did a little show we call it Miss. Olympia and uh because the International.

Federation of Bodybuilding at that point. had no interest in women bodybuilding. Why was that you think? Was it just the. their view of women at the time? No, it's it's at the time it was they were. stuck in we created this federation for. the guys. Oh why we why are we getting. it's it's like gym owners like Joe Gold. He would not let women train. Why? Because not because it was against. women. No, we love women coming in. there. But he he figured I don't have. the room for another bathroom here. I.

have 3,000 square feet. I have only for. a man the shower and the bathroom. Some. of those girls are pissed standing up. I'll tell you that. Yeah. But I mean, we. had women coming in and they watch us. work out, but they couldn't train there. until they got in a bigger space and. then women were included in the whole. thing. And so the federation was a. little bit reluctant to do that. And when we did the Miss Olympia and all. of the girls really enjoyed that that. they were able to go on stage and to. also compete with the muscles and all. that stuff,

the federation then woke up and they. said, "Okay, we're going to get involved. in that and we're going to go get and. since then it has been booming, you. know, and they have been doing not only. uh bodybuilding competitions, but you. know, fitness competitions and beauty. competition." Does Arnold Classic have a. women's revision? Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Oh, that's great. I didn't know that. Sorry. Oh yeah. Oh wow. Look at these. chocolate babies right here. Huh? Yeah. Everybody kind of gets. chocolatier, huh? They're tanned. They. have to Now you have this tanning stuff.

Was it real tanning back then or was it. Well, no. Um, what was the key to the. best tan? The best tan. We got the best. tan that we could get. So, I would work. out a lot of times outside in the weight. lifting platform in Venice. Oh, yeah. I. love that. So, so you get kind of tanned. all over the place, you know, doing. chin-ups and doing a bench presses and. incline and dips and all this stuff. Then we would jump in the ocean again, come back and work out some more and all. this. But on the. end, we then added to that tan, tan in a.

minute by Helena Rubenstein. Oo. So, I. don't even know if this exists anymore. that bring it up. Tan in a minute. Huh? But 60second uh su suvet they call it. that was in in those days it was the big. trick. So you put it on with a sponge. you know you just poured it out on a. little plate and you put it on with a. sponge and you had a buddy of yours they. did your back and stuff in the back of. the thighs and all of that stuff. So.

this is what he did. That's why a lot of. guy today they spray it on. They have. actual experts come to the bodybuilding. show and backstage there's a people that. manufacture this tanning stuff and they. would then help bodybuilders and spray. it on and all of that. So it is much. more professional today. But at the time. so you would somebody they would put. that tan in a can basically. Yeah. They. would put it in a bottle. It was in a. bottle and you'd have a friend do your. back. Would anybody ever sabotage. somebody and not do their back really. good? No. But I mean there were some. people that were really stupid and then.

did not know how to put it on. They it. would show kind of like streaks of the. of the because they didn't have the. right little around the wrist. So we put. on just a light kind of layer. It was. all about just a little subtle thing. because it's not going to make you win. It just makes you the photos look a. little bit better when you have a little. bit of color. And what was it called if. somebody went too dark? Would you just. call them a little chocolate bunny or. something like what you do? It was up to. the individual. As a matter of fact, I. tell you that uh you can see in our.

Arnold Classic a lot of times when when. the guys turn around Yeah. you sometimes. don't even know who is black and who is. not. Oh yeah. Because because because. they're so dark now the tanning has gone. so sophisticated and so yeah. So he's a. perfect when he turns around you will. think it's a black guy standing there. for sure. And you a nutmeg fella. Yeah. That is just a little molasses baby. Um, that's so remarkable. In business,

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[Music]. Nope. Oh my god. Bad. Donnie. Bad. Donnie. Hello. Luke. [Music]. foreign East German spy disappear in. 1989.

Cool. Dad, your terrorist friend is. amazing. [Music]. Who the hell is that? Theodore Chips, former MI6 agent. He works for me. Together, we'll destroy the world. You're gorgeous. Serious dance. You spying on us.

Spying on you. [Music]. Well, Emma's pregnant. That got your tongue. Dance with. I hope not. I may need it in the future. Sex. She means sex. World War II is about to jump off. [Music]. Get out of there. Ready? No. No.

Hold on, old man. [Music]. I told you I'm back. [Music]. I I want to talk about your new show.

You do have some some stuff just so we. make sure we talk about it. Man, Fubar, I watched your first episode, so I guess. it's not out yet, right? No. Um, and. it's season two. It's kind of great. because it brings you through all this. like nostalgia of watching you over the. years, right? Like I feel like it's a. little bit of all like to me this is. perception and it could be judgment, but. a little bit of like all your roles into. one. Did it feel like that a little bit. when you're shooting it or? Well, the. idea of the show is uh of course when. you act out then you find those moments. where you can play all of the different.

roles, but the idea of the show is just. to do like what what we did with True. Lies, what Jim Cameron did with True. Lies, right? So it was like how do we go. and do a show where you pack it with. action and also with comedy with with. humor and also with kind of soap opera. where is relationships interesting. relationships and so on and so uh I. think that the writers did a really good. job because just like in True Lies I'm. the number one spy in this show and uh.

but when I when I come home so I kick. ass out there I take care of the job all. the time wipe out the enemy all the. terrorists know this. But when I come. home, I have to deal with the everyday. crap, right? Like like we all do, right? If you have to worry about the kids, the. wife the wife is the wife is mad at you. because you were gone for a week again. and you couldn't really explain. You. always I always because my wife does not. know that I'm a spy. So I always had to. lie and have this equipment company and.

there's a health convention there. They. have to go to this convention. I have to. then I come home and they have to make. up stories. They said the sales guys are. really interesting. He said I tried to. sell my equipment there and all they. talked about is life cycles all of a. sudden. They said I was so upset about. this whole and so you know you just make. up all these stories which is so but I'm. getting you know that there's a divorce. there then you know then my daughter all. of a sudden is in the CIA and then she's. also a spy and all of this. So, so. there's all these conflicts that are.

going on and it makes it a really. interesting show then to watch because. it's relationships, it's action, it's. it's funny and all that and uh so last. show did very well the last series and. now did the second season and so now we. see how that is doing. Yeah. I think. there's like a level of also nostalgia. just getting you getting to see you. still operate in these roles, you know, like you just you've continued to keep. your I mean you're you know you just. continue to want to work it because you. don't have to work anymore. Well, let.

let me tell you. something. I love to. work. Why? Because it makes you active. And I just think the most important. thing is as we get older, you don't have. to worry about any of that right now. But I mean eventually you will when you. get older you just you have a tendency. of sitting around. You have a tendency. of not moving as much and uh so it. forces you. So when you do a movie you. have to get up at 6:00 in the morning.

You have to get to the set. You have to. go and prep. You have to go and practice. the the action and all that stuff in the. fight scenes. You have to do the. rehearsals of the of the scenes and you. work until night, right? Then you go. home and you fall bed tired and then you. get up again in the morning. So, and. remember the most important thing for. your brain is to go and practice and to. kind of do challenging things with your. brain so you don't get Alzheimer's and. other kind of diseases like that. So, it. makes you memorize lines, long scenes,

and especially in TV, you do like six to. eight or 10 pages a day. always keeping. your brain active. You're bringing it. around and then I play chess on the side. when while I'm waiting for the scenes. and all this to just keep always going. So to me the important thing is because. I feel like if you rest you rust and so. it's all about movement. It's all about. keep moving and keep moving and keep. challenging yourself because as soon as. we retire, you know, things go south. Yeah. I mean that's just something that.

happens. Especially Alzheimer's. I mean, especially it's Alzheimer Schwarzenegger. Alzheimer's. They're almost seem like. they would be neighbor. You know what. I'm saying? Like no judgment or. anything, but it almost seems like that. would be the one to look for you because. of just your same letters, some of the. same letters even. I have enough with my. heart problem. So, I mean, I don't have. to worry about another problem. earned. for forever, you know, for the last 25. years. Had hard open heart mouth. surgery, you know, three times and all. that kind of stuff and valve. replacements and and all that stuff.

It's a congenital thing for my for my. mother. She had it from her mother and. all that stuff. And uh so I have to deal. with that all the time, but everything. is good because I train every day and I. I exercise and I watch what I eat, which. is I watch the food and then I eat it. Did you ever have a stroke and you just. kind of you're like, I've kind of had. that before. I I can get through the. rest of the day. No, none of that. You. know what I'm talking about though? Yeah. Like did you ever have like Cuz. sometimes you'll get a pain or something. and you're like I think I'm okay. Did. you ever have like I'm assuming if you.

had a life a lifetime of like having. heart issues that you would start to be. like ah that's No, it was never it was I. always was kind of in front of the. situation. So that means that I remember. when I took my mother to the hospital. here when she was here visiting uh she. always had an had an episode and I took. her to UCLA. That's when we found out. that she had a valve problem. And uh the. doctor then said to me, he says, "Make. sure that you also check yourself." He. says, "Because this is something's a. genetic thing." So it's almost like a. gift that she got to be here and you got.

to go through that with her. Yeah. Exactly. So, so I from that point on. always went to the doctor and the doctor. said to me, he says, "Well, you have, you know, at one point he said, "You. have a problem with your valve, with. your aortic valve." And uh you don't. have to do anything now. is is but as. soon as we see it going down we want to. catch it before it goes down because. otherwise it affects the order itself. and blah blah blah and all of that. So. the bottom line is I stayed on top of it. and always so when I got my surgery open. heart surgery I went in there because I.

made an appointment so there was no. episode there was no stroke there was no. heart attack or anything never had any. of those kind of things so I always was. ahead of the game. Was it scary when. they put you under? Like were you kind. of scared? Did you make sure it was the. best guy doing it Arnold? You got to. have course. Of course, it's it's. important. But you look him in the eyes. and take him off the side and say, "Hey, let's make sure we do it good." No, I. don't have to do that. No, I I think I. would do that for sure. I knew this. guy's history. Dr. Stons was his name. They did the first s first two surgeries.

and uh he was like the top of the top. So, there was no way about it. When you. you've you've had such a like you've had. a very blessed and interesting life, right? It's been, you know, and you've. had it. So, you know, um, at what point. you're probably I would say it's I think. it's fair to say you're probably in the. second half of your life. At what point. do you like does kind of like go like. goals turn into like legacy if if in. your mind at all if it does? And I don't. mean that to be a uncomfortable.

question. I'm just like does your brain. start to adjust where like these are my. goals and then like okay this is a. legacy that I want to leave. Does that. make any sense or no? Well, I think it is always important to. think. about, you know, the idea of that we. should leave the world a better place. than we inherited it. And so I my whole. life was always about, okay, how can I. make this a better world of the. knowledge that I have? So for instance,

in fitness, in bodybuilding, I went. around the world to promote the idea of. weightlifting and weight training and. resistance training. Oh yeah. And made. it then popular, right? Because we had. to figure out a way of penetrating. through the general public that thought. that bodybuilding is just, you know, flexing your your your muscles on stage. But they didn't realize that. bodybuilding is something that you just. get a healthier and stronger body for. whatever you do. You maybe need it for. tennis, you maybe need it for your. bicing, you maybe need it for your uh.

whatever sport, you know, like UFC. fighters are working. Oh, the first time. I heard of fitness was through you. That. was through you. So, but I mean that was. the idea is I wanted to not just lift. myself up, but I wanted to lift the rest. of the bodybuilding movement up. And so, it was always something. So, now of. course 50 years later, there's a. gymnasium in every hotel in the world. There is a gymnasium or weight room in. every kind of a military installation of. base. There's those guys we saw there. doing those curls with the cement.

There's everything. Exactly. So, people. are lifting weights everywhere. every. high school, every uh college, every. sports team, everyone has wait rooms. Yeah. So this is where we are now. So. this is why I felt really proud of that. that we were able with the help of Jane. Fonda and other kind of characters that. were you know helping women with the. fitness movement and so we really. elevated the the the fitness sport to. something really also a huge economic uh. uh you know contribution. Yeah. That it.

made. So to me that's important. When I. became governor, I wanted to make sure. that we have healthc care for everybody. I want to make sure that we have a. cleaner environment and that we fight. pollution uh and to pass laws to reduce. the pollution in in California by 25% in. order that so I continued on creating an. environmental organization and to have. our world summit in Vienna every year. where all the environmentalists come. together and talk about how do we go and. fight pollution and all this stuff. So. we have one coming up in 14 days now.

again. And so it's it's always after. school programs for instance when I. realized that our kids uh that that you. know 70% of the kids uh come from a home. where both of the parents are working so. there's no one they're picking them up. after 3:00 from the school. So there's. kids standing around after school and. not doing anything. So then I found out. where this is the danger zone for kids. between 3 and 6:00 because there's no. supervision. So they get involved with. drugs, with gangs, with violence, with.

alcohol, teenage pregnancy. They said. this cost the community a lot of money. Let's do something about it. Everyone. was complaining about it, but they were. not doing anything about it. So I. stepped out and I started the after. school programs and uh it has been a. huge hit. We've raised over the last 30. years. Are they still billion dollars? We raised how much all over the country. we have been to millions and millions of. kids. We have helped with after school. programs. with great success rates and. all of this stuff. So to me, it's all. about how how can I make this a better.

world. So I see what you're saying. So. you feel like a lot of your legacy has. kind of been lived along the way. Exactly. It's not like I want this is. should be my legacy. I don't think that. way, but I think about I want to improve. the world, especially now. But I mean, think about it. I'm an. immigrant. I'm an immigrant that came. over here and got every opportunity in. the world because of America, right? America gave me everything. They gave me. the money that I have made, the career. in bodybuilding, the career in acting,

uh the the wonderful family. All of that. stuff is because of America. So to me, it's a natural thing that they give. something back to America because you're. one of the most jacked immigrants too. that we've ever had probably. I think. for sure. I hope so. Yeah, you do. And. you you're competitive about it. I love. that. You know, I can feel how. competitive you are and and that's. great. you have to be competitive. because also America is a platform for. if you are competitive and if you choose. to apply yourself that you can uh reach.

um some of your dreams and goals and. aspirations. Do you think that it's. still possible? Like you've had this. you've gotten to live in America for a. while now and um have a good breath of. understanding here. You've gotten to. work in politics. Do you think it's the. American dream is still possible or or. do you think there's there's things. happening these days that are um where. we're not helping that along? Well, I. can tell you I didn't study this issue, right? So, I I couldn't really give you. facts and figures. But what I what I can. tell you is no matter where I go in the.

world. today, people come up to me and says, "Arnold, can you please help me get to. America?". So, that never has changed. It it. doesn't matter to immigrants, people. that want to come here, they don't know. what the political situation. They don't. care if the Democrat is in in power or a. Republican is in power, what the Senate. says, what the Congress says, what the. governor said, nothing. They just want. to come over here. They want to get a. shot, you know. So, this is what it is. And they have to do it the legal way,

you know. So, that is the key thing to. me is do it the legal way. So, anyway, the bottom line is I think the. opportunities are there. When I go down. to Gorge Gym, I see this guy from. Africa that was competing in my. bodybuilding shows in the Arnold Classic. and came was in one of the top three uh. and all that. Then he became a personal. trainer. He's charging $200 an hour. He's driving up one day with his blue uh.

Bentley, the next day he's driving up. with his red Ferrari. And I mean this. this is this is a a guy from Africa that. came over here with nothing. Yeah. So. this is a young kid is like maybe 35 or. 40 years old and look at what he does. So there's trainers down there that are. from different countries. There's people. if you're willing to work. That's why I. always say to people say work your ass. off. Don't ever come. This is my big. advice to to immigrants. I say don't. ever come over here to just use this.

country. M I said give something back. Think about that. You want to work your. ass off here. You want to educate. yourself here. You want to contribute to. America here. That's what you want to. do. Because the very fact that you're. allowed to come over here, you should go. and have that mentality of wanting to. give something back. That's the bottom. line. Amen, man. And I think that goes. to even as you're saying that on it's. making me think about like even a. relationships that I'm in or business. situations. I should think of most. things as that way. like let me give.

something to this, right? Whatever this. is, if this is a relationship with a. spouse or a girlfriend or a boyfriend or. a um if it's a team that I'm on or just. a commitment I've have, if I'm going to. spend an hour with my son or your or my. mom to do something, let me give. something to this, right? Let me not. just take even this moment for granted. Whatever it is, let me be here and be. present and apply myself, right? um to. so that we create something that um just. so I'm honoring the fact that I even. have this moment in time. Yes. And let.

me tell you something that as soon as. people realize that they're not. self-made that there were a lot of. people. involved in where you are. today. Lot of people you couldn't. operate without the engineer. You. couldn't operate without the deal that. you got to do this and blah blah blah. and all this kind of stuff. You have to recognize that because when. you recognize that you're not self-made. that people have helped you that is what. makes you then click and say I got to.

now help other people I have the. responsibility to help other people and. then you realize how much joy it brings. you when you see that you have an impact. and you can help other people that's why. we have the pump club and that's why we. do the Arnold Classic and the promotion. of bodybuilding and environmental stuff. and the after school programs I mean to. go to one of this after school program. conventions and to hear the kids'. stories, it just makes you feel so good. that you did that that you raised the.

money. We have poker tournaments at my. house where we raise like seven 8. million sometimes and then we put this. right into the after school programs. So. this is where the action is and you can. do all of that because as I always say. the day is 24 hours and I talk about lot. at great length in my book you know be. useful I talk about all those kind of. principles of giving back and having a. vision and don't listen to the naysayers. and all those kind of things. Who do you. go to for your like your inspiration? Do. you have like a coach or a mentor over.

the years? Have you had like like do you. go to Tony Robbins? Do you hire some of. these guys who are really good at this. type of stuff to help you in certain. speed bumps in your life? Well, I I. would say that I have always had mentors. like I you know the weeders uh that that. helped me and I looked up to them. Reg. Park is something then bodybuilding that. I looked up to. Then later on was like. Ronald Reagan when he was governor of. California then became president and. Nixon. People that I looked up to or. George Schulz who was secretary of state. under Reagan uh that then became my.

mentor when I became governor and taught. me about how to work together with. Democrats and Republicans and not just. my way or the highway. Did you get to. meet Reagan? Yeah. For many times. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. What was he like? I was at. the White House. I was invited to state. dinners there and everything like that. They have good food over there. Good. food over there, huh? Oh, yeah. They. Yeah. They know how to cook. Hell yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. God. But but there. and then also Nixon I mean I was down at. the Nixon Library. I remember in early.

90s and um uh that's when Nixon just. without telling me called me up on stage. and tell me wanted me to give a speech. you know, so I told him how I became a. Nixon fan and uh you know, when I came. over here to this country and all that. stuff, he loved it. He said to me, he. says, "Are you should become governor of. California, you know, so it was like it. was really great." So he was one of the. guys that always pushed about That's. awesome. That's Bob Hope right there. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. I just got back. I. just did a show in Qatar. Qatar Qatar.

Oh, you did? It was pretty cool. Yeah. I. happened to just be over there. Trump. was over there speaking too at the same. day, but we just did a show for the. troops. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Exactly. But. this is a great thing that you do. It. was awesome. I tell you, there's nothing. that they appreciate more than to go. there and do schmoo with them, take. photographs with them, or tell them some. jokes. Yes. I remember I did it with Jay. Leno. It was hit or miss. There we are. right there. Oh man, look at that. That's what Look at Look at that team. A. couple clu Sandsmen. That's the joke I.

made. Pretty good joke. I think it's good. Yeah. Um do when you look Do you do. that? Do you do that often? you do shows. for I did it for a long time and then. I've taken a break. Yeah. Yeah. I I did. it for a long time and then I've taken a. break recently, but um this really. reignited me on it. I was actually. texting uh a couple friends of mine and. saying, "Let's go do some just even. close bases that are close to us in. America just whatever we can, let's. start to do it a little bit more." And I. think we're going to um start to do it. more. So, I'm really excited about that.

I feel really lucky. I mean, my whole. job is freedom of speech, right? So it's. like if people aren't protecting that, you can't even be a comedian in some. countries, you know. No, of course not. Yeah. No, I I think it's a great idea. And of course, I remember that in when I. was in my height in my bodybuilding. days, I was invited to go on the. aircraft carrier Norfolk, Virginia and. to go and train with the sailors. Oh. And to show them how to exercise and all. that stuff. It was fantastic. A great. great event was up there on stage. Ever.

since then, I really found it really. enjoyable to go if it's down here near. San Diego to Pendleton or any of those. military bases or if I go to Soul, South. Korea or to Japan or anywhere I go. Middle East. I was in Kuwait and. visiting the Middle East over there. working out with them at like 3 4 in the. morning. Dude, when I work out with. them, they don't give a [ __ ] I'll tell. you that, dude. Well, I tell you that. there's some really serious lifters. there. Yeah, but they do not they do not.

want to see me do anything. I usually. stand on the side and just drink. I'll. have a little bit of a protein shake. But um when you What about like like was. it hard with your whole life? Was it. tough to be like was it ever tough to be. a good husband or be a good dad? Like if. if so much of your job takes like your. work side of you because I noticed for. me like I'm not married yet. I would. like to find a wife, but it's hard for. me to even find time, you know? Like, is. it t like were there moments where. because your life gets so big, right? And you've had a big life. I mean, there's like you Arnold and then the.

other guy. Hey, Arnold. He's a [ __ ]. drawing, I think, right? So, you're the. only you're like the name is yours. really, right? Like, is it ever get hard. to be a parent or something because of. how big your Let me tell you something. everything that you want to do that is. really good and you want to go all out. It's difficult, it's challenging, but I. was very fortunate because I married a. woman that. understood that I have to work and she. didn't complain about it, you know. So,

we got together and I understood that. right away because of the family she. came from, the Kennedy family, right? So, Maria Shriber was like she. understood that all of her Bobby. Kennedy, she related to Bobby Kennedy. Exactly. Yeah. So, so if if it is, you. know, John F. Kennedy, if it was Bobby. Kennedy, senior, you know, when he ran. for president, I mean, all her father. ran for president and for vice president. and all of this. So, so she was used to. that everyone has to go out and work. that they left the house in the morning. and they came back late at night and or.

like for instance then later on you know. was traveling around the world for. Special Olympics because and her mother. was also a workaholic and so she. understood that and so when when I was. going on location when we had kids, she. would go and she would stop her job in. in New York, the NBC job that she was. hosting the morning news and uh she. would stay home. She would stay home and. she would stay with the kids. And so. this is why we have four terrific kids. uh that we created together. And.

Patrick, of course, we're very proud of. him. Oh, yeah. I love his new show. The. show. So cool. He did a great job. We. did a fantastic job. And you know, Katherine is fantastic and writes books. and all this stuff. And And who are your. other two children? Just so we Christina. and Christopher. And Christopher. And. Christopher is also in show business. He's, you know, uh uh working for a. production company. He reads more. scripts than I ever read in my whole. life. But I mean, so it's it's really. great to see all the kids. Then I have. one son outside the marriage, which is. Joseph. And Joseph is also doing.

terrific in real estate. And so so it's. that they it's a key thing is to really. concentrate on being a participative. father when you have kids because you. got to go. They want to see you ski when. you go up and say, "Let's go skiing.". They don't want you to just send them up. in the mountains in the cold weather. where they freeze their butt off. They. want to see you sitting on a chairlift, go up with the skis and ski with them. So that's what they did. So they they of. course they hated it when they were.

kids. They said, "Oh, daddy, let's go. in. I want to get a hot chocolate." They. said, "There is no hot chocolate. There's skiing." I said, "This is ski. mountain, not a hot chocolate mountain.". Said, "What's the matter with you kids?". You know, and then they were crying on. the chair. And the people were going up. there on the chairlift and we were. skiing down and skiing down for three, four hours. And then we had the hot. chocolate and we had the lunch and all. this stuff. And now when they go up to. Sun Valley and go skiing, they stop me. and they said, "Dad, I just want you to. know how much I appreciate that you made.

us ski." Because now I ski. Fantastic. I. can go down on any run. And they love. you when they do it. So big. That's what. I always tell my friends. I said, "Don't. just go and take pictures of them. skiing." No, you put the skis on, you. put your ski boots on, and you go and do. it. It's the same with playing soccer. I. was playing soccer with my son, and was. you got to go and participate in all of. this stuff. And so, this is what I. believed in. I went to all the games. with my wife. Oh, damn. And uh brother,

well, any liver wits can make anyone. look good, I guess. Yeah. My gosh. Um, no, but you know what I just gather from. so many of your things is just the. application of self, right? Yeah. And. that you have to go get it. You have to. go do this, right? Um Yeah. Do you know. Bobby pretty good? Bobby Kennedy's a. friend of mine. Yeah. Yeah. Bobby, I. mean, is a Let me tell you something. about Bobby. I He's a great guy. Oh, he's one of my favorite He's one of my. favorite guys. Thank I know him from. recovery. We go to recovery meetings. together. But think about this for a. second. I'm running for governor.

in 2003 and then all of a sudden I get a. phone call from Bobby who I knew very. well. and Bobby and Joe Kennedy, his. brother, his older brother, and they. were always really kind of nice to me. and kind and inclusive and stuff like. that. Well, [ __ ] you. You're the damn. Terminator. They got to be at least No, no, but I mean, you know, some people. are kind of like, "Who is this new guy. coming into the family type of thing?". Oh, I see. Especially their family. because it's a prestigious thing. That's. right. Yeah. So, but they were really. nice. So, Bobby calls me and he says,

"Arnold, you're a. Republican. Republicans are not known. for their environmental record." He. says, "I'm an environmentalist." He. says, "Yes, you know, I'm the head of. the river keepers and all that stuff.". He says, "And uh I have a guy that you. should have on your team that can. educate you really about the. environment." I said, "Well, think about. it. That's really nice." I said, "Who is. it?" Terry Tamon. He says, "Let me send. him over to your office." He sent over. Terry Tamon. We hit it off right away. really well. And the next thing I know.

is is we're working together. He's part. of the team. And then when I became. governor and I think that contributed to. me becoming governor because I saw this. whole idea that I want to be. environmentally friendly. I want to. reduce greenhouse gases. I want to get. the envir that the renewable energy up. in California and all of this stuff. So I become governor. He becomes now. Terry Tamman becomes the head of the EPA. and all of this. But this all happened. in my knowledge about the environment.

All this happened because of Bobby. Kennedy. So that's the kind of a guy he. is. is I mean he's like didn't say, "Oh, you're Republican. I'm going to campaign. against you." No, he was 100% on board. He wanted to wish me good luck. And he. did wish me good luck. And he wanted me. to win. Not because I'm a Republican. that he just felt like, "Oh, I like. Arnold. I want I want the good guy to. win no matter what side he's on.". Exactly. So that's the kind of a guy. Bobby is, you know? So I'm I think the. world of him. Yeah. He's cool. We had. him on the podcast when everybody was.

thinking he was kind of crazy during the. pandemic and stuff and he was concerned. about just people's health and. well-being with vaccines and stuff. We. had him on and um but yeah, I've always. known him to be just a neat guy, you. know, he's my friend. Um yeah, I'm. excited for him. I I'm curious to see. what it's like once you get into office. How can you still keep your beliefs or. not? Or do things get heavily. compromised? Do you feel like Yeah, it. is compromised. You have to you have to. compromise because because the whole. world doesn't think exactly like you.

Remember what Eisenhower said. Eisenhower said that politics is like. the road. The left and the right is the. gutter and the center is drivable. And. that's exactly the way it is in. politics. You have to understand that. there's a sweet spot. You know like the. teacher in golf hit the sweet spot or in. tennis to hit the sweet spot. notice. there's a sweet spot to find exactly so. you can get a deal made and that you can. move things forward. It's not exactly. your way. I mean I remember with the. infrastructure I wanted to build hundred.

billion dollars worth of infrastructure. but they only agreed and I end around. $60 billion. So it didn't get my way uh. with the financial situation. I wanted. to wipe out you know the the deficit and. I was not able to do that uh with all. these Democrats around they love to. spend money. So, so, so I was I was. stuck with it. So, but the fact of them. is we could improve the situation and I. was able to work together with the. Democrats on environmental issues and. infrastructure issues and so many other. healthcare issues, so many other issues,

education and all of this stuff and we. we we did really fine and had a great. time up there being governor of the. state of California. But it's about. compromise. I mean, you said before that. you can't do everything. You can't do it. all by yourself, right? No, it's not a. dictatorship, you know. So, you have two. parties. you have ever in within your. own party they think differently. Uh so. that's you have to face reality. The. trick is just to be to not hate the. other side because they think. differently. Uh it's just kind of like. figuring out how can we work together.

and how can we do something that's. really good for the people. That that's. the bottom line. They just had do you. think we'll ever have a Republican. governor again in California? Well, you. know, if someone has a good program and. if uh someone is organic, um I mean with me it was possible. because I had a great mentor number one. which was uh Pete Wilson who was a. governor of California two terms and he. helped me Pety Wilson. Yeah. Pete.

Wilson. Yeah. and he helped me uh you. know with the race a lot and then I also. was organic because you know people saw. that I did not come out of nowhere where. I all of a sudden went from acting to. politics. I mean, I had was working with. Special Olympics for decades, going. around to the world to help Special. Olympics and to get recognition for them. and to be able to to get jobs and to. have, you know, be able to live. everywhere they anywhere they want and. to get into sports, special Olympics,

sports programs, nor powerlifting and. all. So, I want always fighting for. equality including in South Africa with. Nelson Mandela. We were there together. fighting for Special Olympics. So, the. people in California saw all of that, right? and also me starting the. afterchool programs and having an. initiative that I went to the people a. year before in 2002 and the people voted. 57% in favor of that initiative to have. after school programs. So I was already. in there and I was working with.

President Bush being the chairman of the. president's council on physical fitness. and sports. So I was already giving back. and giving back and giving back. So when. I said. now I'm not interested anymore in just. doing another movie. I'm more interested. in getting the state of California back. on its feet because we had blackouts. We. had huge deficits. You know the illegals. were getting driver's license. There was. all kinds of crazy stuff that was going. on here. And I said to myself, you know. that the the Indian gaming they didn't.

pay taxes and they did all the gaming. and made it billions of dollars and. their workers compensation costs were. high and people were moving out with. their businesses in California. I say I. will bring California back no matter how. many people were campaigning for great. Davis who was governor then. You know. Clinton came out and campaigned for him. Gore came out and you know John Kerry. came out Al Sharpton all of those guys. came out to campaign for him. I said to. Bush, I said, "No, no, don't come out. I. don't need that. It's between me and the. voters." Yeah. And so I convinced the.

California people and that's how I. became governor. That's why I got a huge. majority of votes and but it was. organic. So many of the guys come from. from real estate and they say, "Well, I. want to be governor. I have the money. now." And I it people don't buy in on. that stuff, right? You can't just buy. it. You can't just buy it. You had. Bloomberg tried to do it a few years. ago. It didn't work. Yeah. You have to. be real, you know, and you have to be. able to have a vision. Remember again it. goes back to the book, you know, uh be. useful. You have rule number one is you.

have to have a clear vision. You can't. just say I want to be governor. What is. your vision? If someone sits down and. say what is your vision of you're. California, right? You know remember. that Teddy Kennedy the problem he had. when they asked him Roger Mud asked him. when he announced to run for president. and Roger Mud asked him he says why do. you want to be president? Teddy couldn't answer it. You know what. I'm saying? So he was like, "Well, my. mother Rose, she uh always taught us to. give something back." You know, so it.

didn't work. People didn't buy. Even. though he was a great public servant and. did a great job, the senator, but he. couldn't sell it. So you have to come. out of the gate and really be very. forceful and know and let the people. know I know what they want to do and I'm. going to fight for you, not fight for. me. I'm not I don't want to be a. political hack. I don't want to be just. another Republican that wins thing. No, I want to fight for you. So, that was. the the whole theme of the campaign. They have like they just had where um.

they found like 20 something billion. dollars that was like it was supposed to. be earmarked for homeless help in in. California that went missing, right? How. does money go missing once you're in. these places, do you think? Is it just. like people What does it say? Newsome. confronted at press conference about 24. billion spent on tackling homelessness. Like how does how does stuff like that. and not it didn't have to be this. specifically, but once you're in office. and you see these huge amounts of money, how does how does stuff like that just. go by the wayside where it.

gets, you know, lost or missing. hypothetically, do you think? Well, first of all, let me just say none of. those. politicians I would want to run my. company. Yeah. None of those companies, none of those. politicians I would like to hand over my. checkbook, my bank account and say you. manage it now. Yeah. Right. So that's. where it starts. So they none they're. not uh that smart when it comes to.

solving problems. And so I can totally. understand how $24 billion is missing. because it's wasted. They cannot even. show it. They cannot even have any. accountability. But this has been going. on for 20 years now. We're not talking. about just for the last few years. This. has been going on and on. Everyone has. been complaining about the homeless. But. they don't create they don't really tell. you that this was created by the. politicians. The homelessness. Did. Reagan create it though? No. No. It was. it was created by having people go and.

say we don't want no growth in. California. So when you have 19 when I came over it. was 19 20 million people in California. Well they build six lane highways. So. now when you go to 40 million people you. would know mathematically now you need. 12 lane highways meaning six lanes and. then on top of it you build another. freeway. Right. So you don't have. traffic congestion. But that's not what. they did. Right. Then when you have the. you know when you go from 20 to 40.

million people then you need twice as. many houses. Yeah. You need twice as. many apartment buildings. You need twice. as much of everything, schools and. everything. And they didn't. They didn't. take care of them because the. environmentalists thought that if we say. no growth, then no one will come. But in. the meantime, no one's gives a [ __ ]. about that. They come anyway. And then. they somehow then live three people in. one apartment or five people in one. apartment or sometimes with with, you. know, uh uh workers that sometimes live.

10 people in. Oh yeah. There'll be lay. on each other's backs. Then what happens. now is when you have a limited amount of. housing, now the prices rise. So now when the prices go up, the value. of the apartment building goes up. So. the unit that used to cost $600 now cost. $3,000 a month, but the salaries, the. wages didn't go up accordingly. So now. you have people that are economically. homeless. They cannot afford paying for their rent. anymore. So this is created by the.

politicians and now. remember what Einstein said the people. that created the problem cannot solve. it. So they are doing the same thing over. which is another thing Einstein said. If. you try to do the same thing over and. over again and expect different results. that's the definition of insanity and it. feels like that's what we're living. So. this is what we're dealing with here. So. we have you know the city here is not. able to manage with this this whole.

thing on a state level we are not able. to manage this whole thing. So it's like. I had to go I mean we had the homeless. veterans camping out in front of the. veterans administration up there in. Westwood. Oh yeah. Right over there 405. in Santa Monica. In front right in front. of the the for years. They're camping. out there and no one is helping them. So I went and I started making a deal. and I said can we not put inside some.

houses, little. houses and they said yes and we started. I donated the money and we started. building houses and since then there's. now hundreds of houses inside the the. Veterans Administration and the homeless. are gone because they they wanted to. help the Veterans Administration but it. took a while and the city kept saying oh. it is too difficult to do and this is. really challenging to do. I said, "Watch. that." For within two months, we had.

this houses there and we created homes. for 25 people so they could move in just. to show to the city it can be done. Amen. Don't give me this. It can't be. done. Anything can be done if there's a. will to with the with the whole thing. Amen. Um I have two quick questions for. you just about people. Thank you so much. for your time today, Arnold. Thanks for. the inspiration. I feel like this has. been an inspirational conversation for. me. You never know what certain. conversations are going to be like. thanks to your contributions to. entertainment and to um just it's. evident that you you know you are the. American dream and you make me feel like. it is still possible which I don't know.

if I even felt like that when I started. this conversation. Um did you ever get. to meet Michael Landon before? No, you. didn't. I love him. He was one of my. favorites. And did you ever get to meet. Michael Jackson before? Yeah. What was. he like? Do you have any good like a. cool story about him? Really nice man. I. mean he was very nice. He came to my. trailer several times when there was. filming over there in Universal a lot, the studio and then we had also dinner. several times. Uh I remember one time. with Katsenberg. Uh maybe it was even.

Katsburg that organized it. I cannot. remember anymore. But I mean yeah I mean. he was a wonderful wonderful guy that. would he tell stories and stuff like. regular people because they always make. him seem so quiet. No no he is quiet and. it could be because he wanted to protect. his voice and he was odd. Yeah. No two. ways about that. But he was very very. nice and very interesting and fascinated. about different things and uh and he was. many times he also felt like you're.

talking to a child. Oh, I could see that. for sure. You know, he would shift into. this thing where things that that uh. children are really into, you know, kind. of like riots and Disney or stuff like. that that he would talk about that. really interested him. And so it was it. was kind of a an interesting thing but. you can see the way he grew up and with. the amount of fame that he had how. difficult it must have been for him to. handle all that. Oh I can't even.

imag and passed away. It was a huge loss. for the world because he was just such a. fantastic entertainer. Yeah. Yeah. I'll. see his children every now and then. I I. I cross paths with his daughter every. once in a while. Yeah. Um anything else. that you want to show on? I think it's. been a good conversation. Do you guys. feel like that? I think that the key. thing is is uh you know that we pump up.

um you know that while you're airing. this interview that you show every 10. minutes a trailer of uh Fubar Fubar. Okay. And then while I'm talking, you. show a little bit of clips again and. then a little bit of that. Let me help. you with the editing. Okay. Hey, I promise you this. I will uh. certainly support it and I'll watch some. more of it. I'm going to get some of my. friends to watch it. We grew up watching. um just so many movies. The lady with. the three breasts. Remember that one? She was like, God. Oh, yeah. From Total.

Recall. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Exactly. I. recall those a lot, brother. You know, and I totaled them up three every time. You know, but thank you for that. That. was the first breast I was ever allowed. to see a little bit. So, but thank you. so much, man. Oh, yeah. Absolutely. It. was great. And remember, I hope this not. the last time that we they do it again. sometimes. Oh, no. I would love to do. this again. That was fun. I really. enjoyed that. Thank you so much. Oh, one. more. Just say something nice about each. one of your children so one day they'll. be able to see this really fast. Whoa. I'm proud of all my ch children. I'm.

very proud of Katherine who has uh three. kids now herself and was writing books. and is she's the greatest mother. She's. just like her mother Maria that was a. really fantastic mother and I'm very. proud of her. I'm proud of Christina who. is also you know into producing and. doing you know TV shows, documentaries. and all that here in Los Angeles. Yeah. And uh then we I of course Patrick. Schwarzenegger, you know, you just saw.

his new show. He's he's doing really. well. I'm so happy that his acting. career is taking off. You know, this is. something that he really was very. passionate about always. Christopher is. doing a great job. I mean, he just lost. 150 pounds. No way. Yeah. So, he used to. weigh 350. He's now down like to 210 or. something like that. Oh, he must be. feeling so much healthier, huh? It's He. feels really great. works at engage gym. every day and all that. So I'm really. proud of him. You get to see him there. sometimes. Yeah. I see him all the time. Yeah. Oh, that's awesome. And uh then.

you know, Joseph, he's a fantastic human. being. He's into real estate. He's into. acting and uh he's going into training. He works out all the time. So I'm really. proud of all of them. Yeah. Well, and. none of them is into drugs, none of them. is the alcohol and any of this things. is really fantastic to see them and even. and I have also a nephew here. I mean. that is really fantastic. Patrick Nap is. here. Patrick Nap he's my entertainment.

he's my entertainment lawyer. I mean so. I brought him over from Austria because. my brother passed away. So he's uh this. is Patrick right there. This is your. brother's son. This is my brother's son. So he he was three years old when my. brother passed away and then so he went. to school over there and everything. Then they brought him over to also go to. Santa Monica College, go to UCLA, go to. Hastings Law School. That's your path. Santa Monica, UCLA. That's right. Yeah. Did he Does he remind you of your. brother? Oh, yeah. Yeah, he reminds me a.

lot of my brother. Yeah, that's awesome. I bet your brother's super proud of you, man. And uh thank you so much, Arnold, for just all your contributions and for. your time today. My pleasure. Yep. You. guys go watch Fuar. Now I'm just falling. on the breeze and I feel I'm falling. like these leaves. I must be corner. stone. Oh, but when I reach that ground, I'll share this piece of mind I found. I. can feel it in my.

bones. But it's going to take.