#587 - Arnold Schwarzenegger

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31:42What do you think? Was there a time period in your life that you wish you had maybe done like a little bit different, you know? No. 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 from bodybuilding when I felt like, okay, I don't have the joy anymore after five Mr. Universe competitions that I won Mr. World 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 Mistola and Beer, but that was really just an afterthought.

32:28But I mean, really, I retired in 1975. After the South African show? After the South African show, yeah. Can you 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, 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 ones that ruled the country. The blacks were kind of kept down. Was Desmond Tutu down there at that time? Do you know if he was speaking? Yes, of course he was.

32:59But I mean, the whites really were kind of in control. They were kind of the leaders of it. Exactly, the Dutch and the British. It was always a fight between those two in the parliament and all that. And 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 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.

33:41So I said the townships. Like the Sowetos? Yeah. So it was, of course, I did not know. And so he then explained it to me. And then he would organize with the Reg Park together for me to go in because he was not, what do you call it, the safest place in town. Not that they wanted to do harm to you, but I mean, for someone like me to come in there and do a demonstration there. Oh, they'll eat. 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.

34:21Into the Sowetos? Is that what it's called? Can you bring that up for me, Nick? Yeah, the townships, they're all over the place. In every town in South Africa, there's townships like that. There's places where the blacks would live, right? And they're very, very kind of flow. I think they're called the Sowetos. Are they or not? That's one of them. Yeah, Sowetos, yeah, I think so. So in any case, I would go in there and do a demonstration, do my posing, and lift weights and all of this kind of stuff. In these small townships? There was thousands of them surrounding, and then just screaming loud and having the greatest time.

34:56And then we would go out. Oh, they would put you on the grill. I bet they were so hungry, sometimes they would be like, look at this well-fed guy. It was fantastic, the reception and everything. So, but the reason I'm mentioning that is because it led to the conversation with, you know, that minister of sports.

35:19And he said to me, he says, we should have an international competition here in South Africa. He says, we should work together on that. And I said, okay, we will. And his name was Dr. Kornhoff. Dr. Kornhoff. Dr. Kornhoff. Dr. Kornhoff. 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 them. Diversify. Yeah, create. So he then, I set him up with Ben Weider, with Joe Weider's brother, who was the head of the International Federation of Bodybuilding. They got together and they hit it off really well.

36:02And so Joe Weider and Ben Weider worked with him to bring the Mr. Olympia contest to South Africa, to Pretoria, the capital of South Africa. But the conditions were that they were able to have a mixed audience. Okay, so black and white audience. Had they done that ever? Never. Wow. So there was the first time. There was black, it 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.

36:40So everyone was different. A lot of variety. It 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 to anyone, no matter what their nationality and what their kind of color is or religious beliefs, anyone should be able to come to this competition. And also not only that, but to be a judge. We will have also half black and half white judges and 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, not at all, because they won it. I mean, I was competing in America at that time already.

37:19Oh, you were used to it. And I was used to it. We have a Lyric Colbert, who was the first guy with the 122-inch arms. big, big bodybuilder from the 50s and 60s. And he was a judge in New York several times. And he was a totally honest judge. There was other black judges. So that's the great thing about bodybuilding. In bodybuilding, there was no prejudice. There were some people in bodybuilding that were prejudiced. But in general, especially under the Wieders, the Wieders, I think because they were Jewish. Bring them up, Ben Weider? I think it had something to do with the fact that they were that kind of open-minded about it.

37:58Oh, yeah. A lot of times, they're the leaders in promoting diversity. That's right. There was no prejudice. Have been. 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 their Mr. America competition, 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 the Mr. America, and he would get beaten by white guys. And it was totally unfair.

38:35Or Harold Poole got beaten in 1963 by Vern Viva, which I thought was unfair. So what they did then was, because there was now two federations, there was the IFBB, there was the AAU in Napa. AAU? AAU, exactly, the American Athletic Union. Yeah. And so they then went from that federation over to the IFBB, and there Sergio Leva 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, Sergio Leva beat me. Wow. 1969, fairly. I mean, there was no complaints there at all because he was extraordinary, right?

39:13And 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 the Mr. Olympia in New York. So we were big rivals. And I was, of course, a big admirer 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's just kind of like they're always a little bit met. Like it's never perfect there, but everything's kind of like a little bit old enough where I like the equipment.

39:49You 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 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 do their bench press. Yeah. And the other day I saw one of those kind of videos and they get up from the bench. I'm looking at this guy could win Mr. America. Wow. Or win Mr. California or something like that. He looks extraordinary. So it's really not the technology so much.

40:37It helps you, but I mean, and it is really what you have to work on. It's the will. Oh, 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. I did my deadlifts right in front of the house in Graz, in Tahr, which now is a museum, and the house where I grew up in. Your home is a museum where you grew up? The home, exactly, yeah. I'm going to go over there in two weeks. Our pump club is meeting there with the European bodybuilders, members from the pump club, and then there's some Americans that are also coming over there.

41:12that audience in South Africa, what was, did, 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? There was so much energy in that auditorium and it was not a big auditorium. It maybe held, I would say 1500 people, I would guess. and it was the energy was fantastic the joy of being together was fantastic and I really think they had a tremendous impact also in the future of South Africa and 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 when he went to Mr.

42:06Olympia. But what was interesting about it was I got$1 ,000 cash price. And I was really upset about that because I felt like, wait a minute, in 1965, 10 years ago, Larry Scott, when he won Mr. 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 Party Billing 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 price to$5 ,000, then to$10 ,000, to$20 ,000. We doubled it every year.

42:55And 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'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, in those days, the way it worked was the whole lineup of all the competitors. Now, if you 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.

43:34And so the judges, they ask you the order to come out. You have a certain time at one o 'clock, be ready for pre-judging. And then you come out and then you stand there. And then the judges will shuffle you around and say, 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. Then they say, turn around, turn sideways. 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 mean, for me, it was basically always a tremendous joy to be up on stage because it's one of those things 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.

44:29And, you know, the key thing is, that you have practiced your posing enough that you can stand there in a flexed position. It looks relaxed. You stand there like this, but you still flex. You keep the stomach in, and you keep the abs flexed, and the calves flexed, and the biceps and the tricep flexed. 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 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.

45:07You have to communicate with them and also with the audience. Because remember that the sound of the audience is very important because you want to get big applause so the judge says, oh, this guy got the most applause. I mean, he definitely, you know, has the best body. So, but then you wait for the individual posing. So then you come at one after the next, you do a 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 tits or just rub some just like molasses into your lint? What was like a last-minute thing people would do, put ice under your arms or something?

45:44No, I think the key thing is just that 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 a few seconds they start shaking. Oh, so that's bad. For that level, I mean it's natural when you have a Mr. Venice Beach competition, or Mr. Muscle Beach. Or Mr. Montgomery, Alabama, yeah. Beginners, of course, they make mistakes and they're not as well trained, but when you get to the Mr. Olympia level, it's unacceptable. Oh, so you wanna make it look, so that you wanna control the shake. When you hit the shot, Yeah.

46:21And you smile, you look at the judges, and you smile and then you smoothly move into the next shot. Baf. Bang. You know, and then it hands and 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. Unlike maybe the others. So that's what it is. So it's all about the seven Ps. You know, the seven Ps. proper prior planning prevents pissed poor performance. The Marines, they have that. Proper prior planning prevents piss poor performance. Exactly. So that's what it's about. It's the same there. You come prepared.

47:09You make sure that you work. 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 noticed that last year you maybe had not so defined legs. Yes, maybe you won, but the legs were so-so. And then the next time when you come back, you have to have ripped legs. 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 an artist. You're a sculptor. You're not just the athlete that is competing, but you're the sculptor. But you're sculpting on your own body instead of a chisel.

47:52and the 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 more separation in the front between the deltoids and the pectoral muscle. I need a little bit more cut on the lower abs. I need the calves have to be balanced, they're 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 than your own body. That's what the idea is. Did you ever have to work out the top of your feet or your hand?

48:28Were there things you could do for your face even and stuff like that? No, no. 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're 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 there'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.

49:15So it's all about presentation. And so this is why I think the same is also in bodybuilding, the way you present your body, the way you present 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.

49:54Did 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 leads kind of perfectly into acting. Yeah, but remember that what is key in 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. Oh, yeah. Some people are boring piece of shit. And then some people have a great personality. Yeah.

50:28You 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 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 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.

51:06And so we went and did talk shows, the Johnny Carson show, Murph 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 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 and doing the training for bodybuilding. At SMC? Say again? Did you go to SMC?

51:37I went to Santa Monica City College, to UCLA, and got my degree in business. And it was like business administration. And I was just naturally always gifted for making deals and being creative. Got it. 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 had, we give away$20 ,000 and the beginning, but then you have to say, okay, where do we get this money from? Ah, sponsors. 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.

52:28We have 200 ,000 people coming through there in three days. We have every company displaying their products there, their machines, their food supplements, clothing. At the Arnold's it's called? The Arnold Classic. Arnold Classic. Yeah, it's always the first week in March. And it's three days, the whole thing. So, and now, like I said, now we raise enough money where we can give away over a million dollars of some effect this coming year. You're going to go and up to a million and a half dollars. Let's go. So it's like, so it's all kinds of great things happen. But I was able to build it to that because I have a business mind.

52:58Right. They know exactly how that works and how do we attract everyone and bring everyone together. Were there women all weightlifting at that time or no? The first Miss Olympia competition was a guy by the name of Schneider.

53:16He was back east from the 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't we compete? So we did a little, we call it Miss Olympia. And because the International Federation of Bodybuilding at that point had no interest in women bodybuilding. Why was that, do you think? Was it just their view of women at the time? No, at the time, it was stuck and we created this federation for the guys. Oh, yeah, it's a boys club. So why are we getting, it's like Jim, almost like Joe Gord. He would not let women train.

53:53Why? Not because it was against women. No, we love women coming in there. But he figured, I don't have the room for another bathroom here. I have 3 ,000 square feet. I have only for the man to shower in 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 their watches 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 their muscles and all that stuff.

54:31The Federation then woke up and they said, okay, we're going to get involved in that and we're going to go again. And since then it has been booming and they have been doing not only bodybuilding competitions, but fitness competitions and beauty competitions. Does Arnold Classic have a women's division? Oh yeah, absolutely. Oh, that's great. I didn't know that. Sorry. Oh, wow. Look at these chocolate babies right here, huh? Yeah, everybody kind of gets chocolate-ier, huh? They're tanned. Now you have this tanning stuff. Was it real tanning back then or was it? No. What was the key to the best tan?

55:06The best tan? We got the best tan that we could get. So I would work out a lot of times outside in the weightlifting platform in Venice. Oh, yeah. I love that. So you get kind of tanned all over the place. and doing chin-ups and doing 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 in the end, We then added to that tan, Tan in a Minute by Helena Rubenstein. Ooh. So I don't even know if this exists anymore. Bring it up 10 in a minute, huh? But. 60-second sous-vay, they call it. That was, in those days, it was the big trick.

55:49So you put it on with a sponge. You know, you just poured it out on a little plate. You put it on with a sponge, and you had a buddy of yours that did your back and stuff again, the back of the thighs, and all of that stuff. So this is what they did. That's why a lot of guys, they spray it on. Right. They have actual experts come to the bodybuilding show. And backstage, there's people that manufacture this tanning stuff. And they would then help bodybuilders and spray it on and all of that. So it's much more professional today. But at the time, so they would put that tan in a can, basically? Yeah, they would put it in a bottle.

56:23It 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. and it would show kind of like streaks of the, because it didn't have the red sponge. Yeah, a little mulatto around the wrist, huh? 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?

56:53Would you just call him a little chocolate bunny or something like that? No, it was up to the individual. As a matter of fact, they tell you that you can see in our Arnold Classic A lot of times when the guys turn around, you sometimes don't even know who is black and who is not. Oh, yeah, I know. Because they're so dark now, the tanning has gone so sophisticated. Look at this guy. Yeah, so he's a perfect guy. When he turns around, you would think it's a black guy standing. For sure. And a nutmeg fella, yeah. That is just a little molasses, baby. That's so remarkable. In business, they say you can have better, cheaper, or faster, but you only get to pick two.

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59:49You're gorgeous. Are you serious?

59:58You spying on us. Us spying on you.

1:00:06Well, Emma's pregnant. That got your tongue?

1:00:14I hope not. I may need it in the future. Sex? She means sex. Boy. World War III is about to jump off.

1:00:29Get out of there! Ready? No! No! Stop!

1:00:37Hold on, old man! Boom!

1:00:48I told you, I'm back.

1:00:59I want to talk about your new show. You do have 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. And it's season two. It's kind of great because it brings me through all this, like, nostalgia of watching you over the years, right? Like, I feel like it's a little bit of all the, 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 off the different roles.

1:01:31But the idea of the show is just to do like what, what we did with a true lies, what Jim Cameron did with true lies. Right. So it was like, how do we go into a show where you pack it with action and also with comedy, with humor and also with kind of soap opera where there's relationships, interesting relationships and so on. And so 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. But 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. But when I come home, I have to deal with the everyday crap, right?

1:02:13Like we all do, right? You have to worry about the kids. Check the mail. The wife is mad at you because you were gone for a week again, and you couldn't really explain. I always, because my wife does not know that I'm a spy, so I always had to lie. And there's this equipment company, and there's a health convention there. They have to go to this convention. Then I come home, and they have to make up stories. I said, the sales guys are really interesting. 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, but I'm getting, you know, 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 stuff.

1:02:59So 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 funny and all that. And so last show did very well, the last series, and now they 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 to see you still operate in these roles. You know, like you've just, you've continued to keep your, I mean, you're, you know, you've just continued to want to work. It does, because you don't have to work anymore. Well, let me tell you something.

1:03:34I 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 so it forces you. So when you do a movie, you have to get up at six in the morning. You have to get to the set. You have to go and prep. You have to go and practice the action and all that stuff in the fight scenes. You have to do the rehearsals of the scenes. And you work until night.

1:04:12Then you go home and you fall better 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 on TV, you do like six to eight or ten pages a day. Oh, just keeping your brain active. Just bringing it around. And then I play chess on the side while I'm waiting for the scenes and all this. Just keep always going. So to me, the important thing is because I feel like if you rest, you rust.

1:04:50And 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, there's just something that happens to the brain and to the body. Especially Alzheimer's. Especially it's Alzheimer's. Schwarzenegger, Alzheimer's. there almost seemed like they would be neighbors. 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 problems. So, I mean, I don't have to worry about another problem forever.

1:05:23For the last 25 years, I had heart open heart surgery, you know, three times and all that kind of stuff and valve replacements and all that stuff. It's a congenital thing for my mother. She had it from her mother and all that stuff. and so I have to deal with that all the time. But everything is good because I train every day and 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 can get through the rest of the day? No, no, none of that. You know what I'm talking about though?

1:05:53Yeah. Like did you ever have like, because 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 lifetime of like having heart issues that you would start to be like, ah, that's going to be okay. I never, 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, she always had an episode and I took her to UCLA. That's when we found out that she had a valve problem. And the doctor then said to me, he says, make sure that you also check yourself.

1:06:26He says, because this is something, there's a genetic thing. So it was almost like a gift that she got to be here and you got to go through that with her. Yeah, exactly. 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 you don't have to do anything now. He says, but as soon as we see it going down, we want to catch it before it goes down, because otherwise it affects the aorta itself and blah, blah, blah. So the bottom line is I stayed on top of it and always.

1:06:58So 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? Because you got to have the best guy. Of course. Of course, it's important. Did 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 didn't have to do that. No. I think I had.

1:07:23I would do that for sure. I knew this guy's history. Dr. Stanz was his name. They did the first two surgeries. and he was like the top of the top. So there was no do is about it. When you, 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. At what point you're probably, I would say, I think it's fair to say you're probably in the second half of your life. At what point do you, like, do kind of like goals turn into like legacy, if in your mind at all, if it does? And I don't mean that to be an uncomfortable question.

1:08:01I'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?

1:08:40Because we had to figure out a way of penetrating through the general public that thought that bodybuilding is just flexing your muscles on stage. But they didn't realize that bodybuilding is something that you just get a healthy and stronger body. For whatever you do, you maybe need it for tennis, you maybe need it for your bicycling, you maybe need it for your whatever sport, you know, like UFC fighters are working out. Oh, the first time I heard of fitness was through you. It was through you. But I mean, that was the idea. I wanted to not just lift myself up, but I wanted to lift the rest of the bodybuilding movement up.

1:09:14And 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 college, every sports team, everyone has weight 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 Font and other kind of characters that were, you know, helping women with the fitness movement.

1:09:51and so we really elevated the fitness sport to something really, also a huge economic contribution that it made. So to me, that's important. When I became governor, I wanted to make sure that we have healthcare for everybody. I want to make sure that we have a clean environment, that we fight pollution and to pass laws to reduce the pollution in California by 25 % and all 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 that stuff.

1:10:28So we have one coming up in 14 days now again. And so it's always after school programs, for instance, when I realized that our kids, that 70 % of the kids come from a home where both of the parents are working. So there's no one that's picking them up after three o 'clock from the school. So I saw these kids standing around after school and not doing anything. So then I found out, well, this is the danger zone for kids between three and six o 'clock because there's no supervision. So they get involved with drugs, with gangs, with violence, with alcohol, teenage pregnancy. I said, this costs the community a lot of money.

1:11:05Let'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 it has been a huge hit. We've raised over the last 30 years. Are they still open? The program you started? $4.5 billion we raised. Oh, really? How much was it? 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 can I make this a better world? I see what you're saying. So you feel like a lot of your legacy has kind of been lived along the way.

1:11:36Exactly. It's not like this 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. America gave me everything. They gave me the money that I have made, the career in bodybuilding, the career in acting, the wonderful family. All of that stuff is because of America. So to me, it's a natural thing that I give something back to America. Well, you're one of the most jacked immigrants, too, that we've ever had, probably, I think, for sure.

1:12:14I hope so. Yeah, you do. And you're competitive about it. I love that. You know, I can feel how competitive you are. 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 reach 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 have a good breadth of understanding here. You've gotten to work in politics. Do you think it's the American dream is still possible? or do you think there's things happening these days where we're not helping that along?

1:12:50Well, I can tell you I didn't study this issue, right? I couldn't really give you facts and figures. But what I can tell you is no matter where I go in the world today, people come up to me and say, Arnold, can you please help me get to America? So that never has changed. 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 power or Republican is in power what the Senate says, what the Congress says what the governor says, 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 to do it the legal way so anyway, the bottom line is, I think the opportunities are there, when I go down to Gorge gym.

1:13:41I 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 in order. Then he became a personal trainer. He's charging$200 an hour. He's driving up one day with his blue Bentley. The next day he's driving up with his red Ferrari. And I mean, this is a guy from Africa that came over here with nothing. So this is a young kid. He's 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, I say, work your ass off.

1:14:25Don't ever come. This is my big advice to immigrants. I say, don't ever come over here to just use this country. I say, 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 it. Even as you're saying that, I don't know. It's making me think about like even a relationships that I'm in or business situations.

1:14:58I 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 if it's a team that I'm on or just a commitment I've had, if I'm going to spend an hour with my son 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 so that we create something that 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.

1:15:44A 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 afterschool programs.

1:16:20I mean, to go to one of this afterschool program, the 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 afterschool 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 a lot at great length in my book, you know, be useful. I talk about all of those kind of principles of giving back and having a vision and don't listen to the naysayers and all those kind of things.

1:16:57Who 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, 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 would say that I have always had mentors like the Wieders 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 Shultz who was secretary of state under Reagan that then became my mentor when I became governor and told me about how to work together with Democrats and Republicans and not just my way or the highway.

1:17:40Did you get to meet Reagan? Yeah, for many times. Oh, really? 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? Say again? Good food over there, huh? Oh, yeah. They know how to cook. Hell yeah. Yeah, exactly, yeah. God, I love that. And then also Nixon. I mean, I was down at the Nixon Library I remember in the early 90s. And that's when Nixon, just without telling me, called me up on stage and wanted me to give a speech. So I told him how I became a Nixon fan when I came over here to this country and all that stuff.

1:18:17He loved it. He said to me, he says, oh, you should become governor of California. You know? And so it was really great. So he was one of the guys that always pushed about it. That's awesome. That's Bob Hope right there. Yeah, exactly. I just got back and I 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 to schmooze with them, take photographs with them, or tell them some jokes.

1:18:51Yeah, some jokes. I did it with Jay Leno. It was hit or miss. There we are right there. Oh, man, look at that. That's what I'm... Look at that team. A couple of Klu Klux Sandsmen. That's the joke I made. Pretty good joke. I think it's good. Do you do that often? Do you do shows? I did it for a long time, and then I've taken a break recently. For troops. Yeah. I did it for a long time, and then I've taken a break recently. But this really reignited me on it. I was actually texting a couple friends of mine and saying, let's go do some just even close bases that are close to us in America. Whatever we can, let's start to do it a little bit more.

1:19:28And I think we're going to 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. No, of course not. No, I think it's a great idea. And of course, I remember that 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 and to show them how to exercise and all that stuff. It was fantastic. I bet they loved that. It was up there. Ever since then, I really found it really enjoyable to go.

1:20:05If it's down here, there's San Diego to Pendleton or any of those military bases. Or if I go to Seoul, South Korea or to Japan or anywhere I go, Middle East, I was in Kuwait and visiting the military base. Oh, yeah, it's fun 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 shit. I'll tell you that. 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 when you, what about like, was it hard with your whole life?

1:20:39Was it tough to be like, was it ever tough to be a good husband or be a good dad? Like 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, 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 fucking drawing, I think, right? So you're like, the name is yours, really. Like, does it ever get hard to be a parent or something? Because of how big you're - Let me tell you something.

1:21:13Everything 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 Shriver was like, she understood that all of her. Bobby Kennedy. She related to Bobby Kennedy. Yeah. So, so if it is, you know, John F. Kennedy, if it was Bobby Kennedy, a senior, you know, when he ran for president, I mean, her father ran for president and for vice president and all of this.

1:21:53So she was used to that everyone has to go out and work. The energy of it all. They left the house in the morning and they came back late at night. Or, like, for instance, he then later on was traveling around the world for Special Olympics. And her mother was also a workaholic. And so she understood that. And so when I was going on location, when we had kids, she would go and she would stop her job in New York, the NBC job that she was hosting, the morning news. And 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 that we created together.

1:22:30And Patrick, of course, we're very proud of him. Oh, yeah. I love his new show. The show. He did a great job. He did a fantastic job. And Catherine is fantastic and writes books and all this stuff. And who are your other two children? Just so we are. Christina and Christopher. And Christopher. And Christopher is also in show business. He's, you know, working for a production company. He reads more scripts than I ever read in my whole life. But I mean, so 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.

1:23:03So 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 the chairlift, go up with the skis and ski with them. So that's what they did. They're showing up. So they, of course, they hated it when they were kids. They said, oh, dad, let's go in. I want to get a hot jacket. They said, there is no hot jacket. They're skiing. I said, this is a ski mountain, not a hot jacket mountain.

1:23:40I said, what's the matter with you kids? you know and then they were crying on the chair and then we were going up there and 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 that stuff and now when they go up to sand valley and go skiing they stop me and they say dad i just want you to know how much i appreciate that you made a ski because now i ski fantastic i can go down on any run and they love it when they do it and so because 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 the ski boots on and you go and do it it's the same with playing soccer i was playing soccer with my son and always 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 so this is brother.

1:24:30Well, Andy Leverwitz can make anyone look good. I guess. Yeah. My gosh. No, but you know what? I just gathered from some of your things is just the application of self. Right. And that you have to go get it. You have to go do this. Right. Yeah. Do you know Bobby pretty good? Bobby Kennedy is a friend of mine. Yeah. Yeah. Bobby. I mean, let me tell you something about Bobby. He's a great guy. Oh, he's one of my favorite. He's one of my favorite guys. Thank you. Thank you. 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.

1:25:04And then all of a sudden, they 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, fuck you. You're the damn Terminator. They got to be at least cordial. No, no, but I mean, you know, some people are kind of like, oh, 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. But they were really nice. So Bobby calls me and he says, Arnold, you're a Republican.

1:25:34Republicans are not known for the environmental records. He says, I'm an environmentalist. He says, yes, you know, I'm the head of the river keepers and all that stuff. And I have a guy that you should have a new team that can educate you really about the environment. I said, thank you, Bobby. That's really nice. He said, who is it? Terry Taminen. He says, let me send him over to your office. He sent over Terry Tamman, and we hit it off right away really well. And the next thing I know is we're working together. He's part of the team. And then when it became governor, and I think that contributed to me becoming governor because I saw this whole idea that I want to be environmentally friendly.

1:26:13I want to reduce greenhouse gases. I want to get that renewable energy up in California and all of this stuff. So next thing I said, I become governor. he becomes now Terry Tamlin and 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. I mean, he's like, didn't say, oh, you're a 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.

1:26:48He just felt like, oh, I like Arnold. 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 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 wellbeing with vaccines and stuff. We had him on. But yeah, I've always known him to be just a neat guy. You know, he's my friend. Yeah, I'm excited for him. I'm curious to see what it's like once you get into office. How can you still keep your beliefs or not?

1:27:20Or do things get heavily compromised? do you feel like? It is compromised. You have to. You have to compromise. 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 and all this. there's a sweet spot to find exactly so you can get a deal made and you can move things forward.

1:27:56It's not exactly your way. I mean, I remember with the infrastructure, I wanted to build$100 billion worth of infrastructure, but they only agreed on around$60 billion. So I didn't get in my way. With the financial situation, I wanted to wipe out the deficit. And I was not able to do that with all these Democrats around. They love to spend money. So I was stuck with it. 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 health care issues and so many other issues, education and all of this stuff.

1:28:33And we did really fine. I had a great time up there being governor of the state of California. But it's about compromise. I mean, you've said before that you can't do everything. You can't do it all by yourself, right? No, it's not a dictatorship. So you have two parties. Within your own party, they think differently. so that's you have to face reality the trick is just to be to not hate the other side because they think differently 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'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 someone is organic.

1:29:18I mean with me it was possible because I had a great mentor number one which was Pete Wilson who was a governor of California two terms and he helped me. Pete Wilson? Yeah Pete Wilson yeah and he helped me you know with the race a lot and then I also was organic because you You know, people saw that I did not come out of nowhere where I always said it went from acting to politics. I mean, I was working with Special Olympics for decades, going around the world to help Special Olympics and to get recognition for them and to be able to get jobs and to have, you know, be able to live anywhere they want and to get into sports, Special Olympics sports programs, in order to powerlifting, in order to...

1:30:04So I was 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. And also me starting the after-school 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 help 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.

1:30:45I'm more interested in getting the state of California back on its feet because we had blackouts with 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, the Indian gaming, they didn't pay taxes and they did all the gaming and made billions of dollars. and their workers' compensation costs were high and people were moving out with their businesses in California. I said, I will bring California back. No matter how many people were campaigning for Gray Davis, who was governor then, Clinton came out and campaigned for him.

1:31:18Gore came out. 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. But it was organic. So many of the guys come from real estate and they say, well, I want to be governor. I have the money now. People don't buy in on that stuff. You can't just buy it. I don't think you can just buy it. You had Bloomberg tried to do it a few years ago. It didn't work.

1:31:52Yeah, you have to be real. And you have to be able to have a vision. Remember, again, it goes back to the book, be useful. 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 says, what is your vision of your California? Remember that Teddy Kennedy, the problem he had when they asked him, Roger Mudd asked him when he announced to run for president. Roger Mudd 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 always taught us to give something back.

1:32:30It didn't work. People didn't buy it. And even though he was a great public servant, he 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 let the people know, I know what I want to do and I'm going to fight for you. Not fight for me. I don't want to be a political hack. I don't want to be just another Republican that wins the thing. No, I want to fight for you. So that was the whole theme of the campaign. They have, like, they just had where they found like 20 something billion dollars that was like it was supposed to be earmarked for homeless help 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 yeah what does it say Newsom 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.

1:33:54Right? So that's where it starts. So they're not 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. I know. 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 created by having people go and say, we don't want no growth in California.

1:34:37So when you have 19, when I came over, it was 19, 20 million people in California. Well, we had 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. Then when you go from 20 to 40 million people, then you need twice as many houses. 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.

1:35:16But in the meantime, no one gives a shit about that. They come anyway. And then they somehow then live three people in one apartment or five people in one apartment. Or sometimes, you know, workers that sometimes live 10 people in one apartment. Oh, yeah. They'll really be laying on each other's backs. So 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 costs$3 ,000 a month. But the salaries, the wages didn't go up accordingly. So now you have people that are economically homeless.

1:35:57They 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 which is that this whole thing that 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.

1:36:45Oh, yeah, right over there, 405 in Santa Monica. Right in front of the four 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 Veterans Administration and the homeless are gone because 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.

1:37:26I said, watch that. Within two months, we had those houses there and we created homes for 25 people so they could move in. just to show that the city, it can be done. Don't give me this, it can't be done. Anything can be done if there's a will to it with the whole thing. Amen. 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 for your contributions to entertainment and to just, it's evident that you, you know, you are the American dream and it made me feel like it is still possible, which I don't know if I even felt like that when I started this conversation.

1:38:04Did 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? Did 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 I was filming over there in Universal lot, the studio. And then we had also dinner several times. I remember one time with Katzenberg. Maybe it was even Katzenberg that organized it. I cannot remember anymore. But I mean, yeah, I mean, he was a wonderful, wonderful guy. Would he tell stories and stuff like regular people?

1:38:38Because they always make him seem so quiet. No, no, he's 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 he was, many times I always felt like you're talking to a child. Oh, I can see that for sure. You know, he would shift into this thing where things that children are really into, you know, kind of like riots in Disney or something like that that he would talk about that really interested him. And so it was kind of an interesting thing. But you can see the way he grew up.

1:39:22And 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, yeah. To be this genius of a musician. I mean, it's like unbelievable. And it's sad that he got addicted to this kind of, you know, sleeping thing. Propofol, I think, or something. Yeah. And then took too much of it 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'll cross paths with his daughter every once in a while. Anything else that you want to share on? I think it's been a good conversation.

1:39:56Do you guys feel like that? I think that the key thing is that we pump up, you know, that while you're airing this interview, that you show every 10 minutes a trailer of... FUBAR? FUBAR. Okay. And then while I'm talking, you show a little bit of the clips again. Okay, that's fair. Let me help you with the editing, okay? Hey, I promise you this. I will 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 just so many other movies. The lady with the three breasts, remember that one? She was like, God. Oh, yeah, from Total Recall.

1:40:32Yeah, exactly. I recalled 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. But thank you so much, man. Absolutely. It was great. And remember, I hope it's not the last time that we do it again sometimes. Oh, no. I would love to do this again. Yeah, that was fun. I really enjoyed the conversation. 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. Well, I'm proud of all my children. I'm very proud of Catherine, who has three kids now herself, and who's writing books, and she's the greatest mother.

1:41:10She'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 into producing and doing TV shows, documentaries, and all that. Here in Los Angeles? Yeah. And then, of course, Patrick Schwarzenegger, you know. Yeah, we just saw his new show. So good. 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 210 or something like that.

1:41:49Oh, he must be feeling so much healthier, huh? He feels really great. Works at the Gorge gym every day. And I know that's, I'm really proud of him. You get to see him there sometimes? Yeah, I see him all the time. Oh, that's awesome. And then, you know, Joseph is a fantastic human being. He's into real estate. He's into acting. And he's going into training. He works out all the time. So I'm really proud of all of them. Yeah. And none of them is into drugs. None of them is into alcohol. And any of those things. So it's really fantastic. to see them. And I have also a nephew here. I mean, he's really fantastic.

1:42:28Patrick Knapp is his name. Patrick Knapp is his name? Yeah, Patrick Knapp, exactly. That's Catherine? He's my entertainment lawyer. I mean, so I brought him over from Australia because my brother passed away. So this is Patrick. This is your brother's son? Yes, my brother's son. No way. So he was three years old when my brother passed away. And then so he went to school over there and everything. Then I brought him over to also go Santa Monica, College, go to UCLA, go to Hastings Law School. That's your path, Santa Monica to UCLA. Does he remind you of your brother? Oh, yeah. He reminds me a lot of my brother, yeah.

1:43:02That's awesome. I'll bet your brother's super proud of you, man. Thank you so much, Arnold, for just all your contributions and for your time today. My pleasure. You guys go watch Foo Bar.

1:43:21Oh, but when I reach that ground, I'll share this peace of mind I found. I can feel it in my bones, but it's gonna take...