gillinator.com Part I Part II Part III Part IV Part V


Celebrity Booths
 For the first time since I’ve been going, Lou Ferrigno was not present at the expo! How this travesty occurred, I cannot say. I feel like it’s not a Classic without saying hi to good ol’ Louie, like he’s the unofficial greeter or something. (Update: I read in some materials that Lou was there! Maybe it was only on Friday or something, because I don't know how I missed him.) Oh well, in his place, they do have two other greats from the Pumping Iron days with Arnold—Sergio Olivia and Frank Zane. Both are looking pretty old now and not as huge, but still in good shape and spirits, saying hi and signing autographs. It’s funny how at first I look at Sergio in his booth and think he is just a regular worker selling photos and stuff, since not many people are lined up or anything for him. I am just perusing the photos and maybe say a cursory “hey” and sideways glance to this famed bodybuilder who is actually the only guy Arnold ever got 2nd place to in a competition! Then I step away and see some other guys walk up and ask if he’s Sergio, and oddly he doesn’t really reply, he just stares and folds his arms as if to say “Dude, if you have to ask, just go away.” He only becomes talkative when people buy his photos for $10. I do get to shake his hand and ask a couple quick questions like does he hang out with Arnold much anymore, which he responds to with a quick “Oh, yes” and that’s it. He's still a cool guy to have met. Frank Zane's booth was quite busier being in a more prominent location, so I just see him from a distance.		  
Sergio & Arnold when they were competing, and Sergio today. The only man Arnold admits being intimidated by.

Frank Zane- another bodybuilding great who appears in Pumping Iron.
 
 
Here you can see the T3 jacket and glimpses of the other collectibles in this treasure trove! That's the back of Patrick's head, luckily he didn't spot my covert camera.		 The Collection
Come on baby, you know you’re the booth of my dreams! This booth is worth the price of admission alone. It is a double-size booth that is displaying some of the coolest Arnold-related artifacts I have ever seen in person, and selling them to raise money for Arnold’s after-school program charity. The most awe-inspiring item is an exact reproduction of the actual sword Arnold used in Conan the Barbarian. Yes, the Riddle of Steel! It is displayed at the far side of the booth in a special case that is open for close inspection, but it also has a big sign saying “NO PHOTOS” and “DO NOT TOUCH”. As if the sword itself doesn’t cause an immediate utterance of “Crom!” it is also signed in black right on the blade! The description says this is one of only five made, and one is hanging right over Arnold’s desk in the Governor’s office! Now, if only I had $13,000 on me, it could be hanging in my office!
The booth is being manned by several people, including a now-teenage Patrick Schwarzenegger at times and he is quick to spot anyone not heeding the no-camera rule. In fact, they aren’t allowing photos of anything in the booth except for the Terminator endoskeleton, so as I shot photos of it, I tried to peripherally pick up some of the other objects, which include a chess set with photos and signatures of Arnold and Franco Colombu, a signed T3 standee, and several items with the Governor of California seal like a humidor, a beer stein, and cufflinks. Almost everything is autographed by Arnold who had come by earlier in the day, and most have a sticker price of hundreds or thousands of dollars. But fortunately for Arnold fans like me on a more modest budget, there are some cool t-shirts, muscle-shirts, and a T3 baseball cap that are priced $30-$40. I end up going with a Governor Schwarzenegger t-shirt that shows Arnold on it looking very patriotic.
 
By Crom, that's Conan's sword gleaming there! I was zooming in from 20 feet away to get this shot, I just wish you could see the blade and hilt in all its glory up close! It was begging to be picked up and lop off some limbs!

Arnold and Franco training hard with their chess set. As Arnold says, your mind is a muscle too!

An awesome half scale endoskeleton with a bad case of red-eye. Even he wants to reach for the Conan sword, or maybe for a stogie from the signed T3 humidor, or to cover his chrome melon with a T3 crew hat.
Nowak Original
Yes, unfortunately I missed Arnold’s walkthrough of the Expo that day. However, I do get to chat with a guy who is a good friend of Arnold’s and has been at the Classic every one of its 19 years. It is none other than Tony Nowak, the man who designs and manufactures the official jackets of the Arnold Classic, and he always does a fantastic job. In the past he also made jackets for T3, other Arnold movies, and Planet Hollywood. He can custom make all kinds of sportswear for your group or organization, just go to tonynowak.com to check it out. Anyway, I’ve been by his booth in past years to check out the cool jackets but never spoke to him more than “Hi” (it is usually a fairly busy booth). This time, however, I am standing next to his booth watching the guys on the stage doing some bench-press challenge, and he starts commenting to me, saying “Don’t you think these guys are crazy?” I laugh and agree, saying I don’t know many practical uses for being able to bench press a thousand pounds, except maybe if you were being crushed by a car. Then he makes a joke that I couldn’t quite decipher, he starts by saying, “You know why they do that, don’t you?” and then something about heavy weights scattered all over the place and nobody picking them up. I don’t get it, but I laugh anyway because his delivery is so enthusiastic! It is then that he notices my video camera which had been recording.
 
He sees right through my sneaky tricks. Smile, you're on Gillinator-vision!

The exchange that follows (a little embellished):
Tony: “You have a camera?”
Gillinator: “Yeah.”
Tony: “Has it been recording this whole time?”
Gillinator: “Um… yeah, do you mind?”
Tony: “Put that thing away! Let me see that tape! I want it erased!” (etc.)
Gillinator: “Oh, umm, sorry. Do you really want to see it?”
Tony: “Yes! Show it to me now.”
Gillinator: “OK, uh let me see.” (nervously fumbling with the camera)
Tony: Starts laughing, “It’s OK, I don’t care!”

After a wave of relief sweeps over me, he asks what my name is, and I tell him The Gillinator. He then pretends he doesn’t hear me correctly and says “What? The Masturbator? Hey guys, come over here I want you to meet The Masturbator! He can give you a few pointers!” Everyone laughs and one of the other guys in the booth, Chris, actually says he recognized me from my website (no I don’t own masturbator.com) which I thought was pretty cool.

When Tony stops poking fun at me, I talk to him a little bit and I find out he was born in Poland, then moved to Austria, and then to California. I'm not sure where along the way he met Arnold, but hopefully there will be a follow-up interview for Gillinator.com later. He tells me I missed Arnold today, he came through and was signing things at the booths. I say I am bummed, but hopefully will catch him tomorrow, and I will also be back to see Tony again. With that, I continue on…

I walk around a little bit more, but the pushy crowds and lack of Arnold soon wear me out, so I leave the Expo and meet my parents for dinner at an excellent seafood place in town called Columbus Fish Market. While I slurp down some oysters and grilled tilapia, I look around just in case the Schwarzenegger clan had a fish craving, but no. I do run into my childhood piano teacher of all people, who I hadn’t seen in ages, so I get to chat a little, but leave at 6:40 to get back for the main event: Men’s Bodybuilding Finals. Click the link for Part III now! >>>>
A couple of Tony's excellent jackets. He said my T2 style jacket was pretty good, too.
gillinator.com Part I Part II Part III Part IV Part V