Day
3 -- Sunday, March 4 --
Da Seminar
7 AM -- It's rise n' shine bright and early again! We slept
quite comfortably on Shaun's couch and recliner, but we quickly
gather our things and are out the door without even waking him up.
Today we are like Arnold's Kindergarten class and we eagerly await
his instruction at the Training Seminar! Seating for this event
is general admission, so the sooner we get there, the closer we
get to Arnold. The reason for it taking place on the last day of
the Classic at 9 in the morning is also a way to weed out the girly
fans and make it a more intimate discussion between The Oak and
his biggest fans, which is exactly what we are.
7:45 -- On the way to Vets in the car, Randy and I discuss
what possible questions we might ask Arnold if he chooses one of
us for that distinct honor. Randy still isn't sure, but I decide
that I will ask about his four children-- if any of them have any
dreams or ideas about what they will be when they grow up. Randy
agrees that it is a good unique question-- maybe Patrick Schwarzenegger
will follow in his daddy's footsteps.
8 AM -- We arrive at Vets and walk right into the auditorium.
Much to our satisfaction, we are one of the first few there and
have our pick of the prime seats. The stage is quite simple compared
to last night-- just a curtain and the podium, which looks like
something from Krypton. We decide on the second row close to the
aisle, in front of and slightly right of the podium. The Terminator's
cybornetic vision will scan the crowd and identify us as "BEST FANS".
It also allows us a prime videotaping angle with Randy's camera.
While waiting for it to begin, we puruse through all the materials
we had collected from the expo, and I read the article on Arnold
in Physical.
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AM -- Jim Lorimer (oh he's that old guy with white hair!)
steps out to welcome everyone. I'm not paying much attention
to him because I'm going over my question over and over in
my head so if I get called on, I know exactly how I'll word
it and avoid sounding retarded (like during the photo). Jim
then introduces Arnold, who walks out wearing jeans and an
Arnold Classic jacket. "Good morning," he says, "Are you awake?"
The crowd gives a weak reply, which is not how you answer
Arnold. "Oh, you sound like a bunch of girly men who have
a lot of flabbalanche around their waist! One more time, are
you awake?" "Jaaaah!" we yell out gutteraly, and this time
Arnold approves, "Very nice. I'm very happy about that." |
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Then he tells us about his morning. "I've been up since 7, but not
by choice. I had 4 kids in my bed. I get no respect at home, it
was disastrous last night-- all 4 of them... and my wife too!" Arnold
likes to joke about his family, but then he says that he really
enjoys precious moments like that, any time that he can spend with
all of his kids together, and they have had a great time in Columbus
by going to see Peter Pan and other things. Hearing Arnold talk
so frankly and heartfelt about his wife and kids certainly puts
the recent Premiere article even more to shame, for he is truly
the most loving father and husband with a supportive family who
wants to join him for this weekend. But I digress. He goes on to
say how successful the weekend has been and how even though they
couldn't increase the cash prize over that of Mr. Olympia, they
threw in a new Hummer on top of it. He says that the greatest thing
is that it's causing people to be aware how great the sport of bodybuilding
is, and more doctors are telling their patients to exercise and
work out with weights. The attitude even of movie stars like Clint
Eastwood who use weights used to be that it was a secret they didn't
want anyone to know about, but now it is accepted and encouraged
in movies and on TV. Then he talks about the programs he supports:
the Special Olympics and Inner-City Games.
"We always have to reach out for those who need help, because
each of us has something to offer....in the end, I believe we are
going to be judged not by how much we've made, but by how much we've
given."
Before opening the floor to questions, he answers one of his most
frequently asked questions: how much does he train? "I train
at least a half hour with weights and at least a half hour of cardiovascular
every day, or more if I have time....(cardiovascular) has kept me
in shape so I can do the stunts in my movies...running around the
jungle in Mexico for Collateral Damage. Of course, in the old days,
I trained 5 hours a day, because I believed that you train until
you fall over... and also pose for a half hour a day, because it's
most important to learn how to control your muscles."
Next, he opens it up for questions, and my hand is the first one
up, because I knew I'd have to be confident for him to pick me.
His eyes glance in my direction...he points...I'm about to stand
up...and then my chance is stolen by a dork sitting in front of
me in the first row!!! I am seething with anger as I glare at the
back of his ugly brown sweater. This was my chance and this asshole
stole it! Dorkman asks a 2-parter: where does Arnold see the Classic
going in 20 years, and can he have a picture with Arnold's lovely
wife Maria. Arnold jokes, "Hold on, let me check with her," to laughs
and then,"I think she's in bed, but you can take a picture with
her anytime she's around." Good luck, dorkman. For the first part,
Arnold says that the goal is to make this the premiere bodybuilding
and fitness event that all others are modeled after, and it will
grow beyond anything they'd ever imagined, including more events
and organizations. Then dorkman actually interrupts Arnold to ask
a stupid followup: "Will it be watered down if too many sports join?"
which Arnold immediately replies in a scolding tone with, "No, we
don't have to water anything down, it's just the organization, and
this is the best city to organize it in...O.K. next question."
Then,
it happens. I feel exactly like little Jamie in Jingle All
the Way, standing at the parade waiting for TurboMan to pick
the lucky kid who gets the doll... because even before I put
my hand back up, Arnold points straight at me and says, "You!"
He had picked me the first time and knew that Dorkman had
stolen my question, so he chose me again so I could ask mine!
HOW AWESOME IS THAT!! I quickly compose myself, and it came
out almost the way I rehearsed it:
"You have achieved so much greatness in life because of the
goals and dreams you have set even at an early age. I was
wondering what goals your children might be setting at their
age." His response (which lasted a full 5 minutes!) starts
out in a joking manner about how his kids change their minds
every week about what they want to do, but then he talks seriously
about how he has raised his kids and reflects much on his
own childhood and idols like Reg Park. Again, it is easy to
tell how much he loves his children in that he wants to keep
them away from showbuisness and have relatively normal childhoods.
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The coolest part of it is that as he answers, he keeps looking at
me the whole time as if he is just talking to me. Needless to say,
I am very happy. And now I can sit back and relax while I listen
to more questions by other people. I take the camera from Randy
and he gives a thumbs up of approval.
The next guy is the king of all dorks. He goes into a dramatic speech
asking if Arnold remembers 30 years ago in Gold's Gym when he took
a photo with Arnold and now he has it here to give to him. The ironic
thing is that this guy is as big as a house, so it looks like he
hasn't been to a gym since that encounter. Arnold does get a good
story out of it about how he remembers going to his first Mr. Universe
contest in 1968 as a sepctator when Frank Zane won, and he promised
himself that someday he would be up there winning first place. A
fat guy with a photo is not exactly the same thing, but some achieve
more than others (my comment, not Arnold's).
Here are some highlights of the other more interesting questions:
A woman who is inspired by Arnold asks "What motivates you?"
"I think the one thing that motivates me is my goals. If you
want to become a doctor, you go through the steps...a goal can be
small or big. If you have a goal then you live life...as soon as
you get one, then you hunger for a new goal. It makes it fun. You
set a goal and then in order to make it happen, you have to make
changes in life and make sacrifices, and to me I think our mind
operates well with those kinds of responsibilities."
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The
VIP winner from 2 years ago who spent a day with Arnold on
the set of Collateral Damage asks if he'll put up a bodybuilding
photo of him at his Schatzi restaurant.
"Is it a photo of you in a bathing suit or an Armani suit,
what do we have here?"
"Posing shorts"
"Oh, well of course I'll put it up. I want all the girls
who come in to get turned on when they see you!" |
Another guy tells a story about how Arnold inspired kids he works
with to not take drugs.
Click here for Arnold's amazing response
about drugs. (text alone doesn't do it justice)
A high school student says he has a hard time finding time to work
out.
Arnold's response. (another classic)
"As impressive as the physiques are today, I still say your chest
and your arms are the best I've ever seen."
"Thanks so much! That was exactly how I had written it for you."
Arnold wraps it up after talking for a full hour by thanking everyone
and saying he'll see us again next year. He doesn't say "I'll be
back" which is odd. Either it slipped his mind, or maybe he's trying
to cut "back" on using it so much. As he leaves the stage, I see
people start to cluster towards the door that leads backstage. During
the questions, several people had asked Arnold to sign things or
give things to him, and he had said yes to them all. Since I was
the second person to ask a question, I didn't think requests like
that would be appropriate. I try to get back there too, but security
people were pushing people out, saying only people he gave permission
to could go in. I am bummed, but at the same time I feel good that
I only asked my question and didn't try to pull a "Oh, also, can
you sign my DVD?" Some of those people were annoying. But at least
all of the questions were honest and good natured, which is what
Arnold expects from his true fans, and that's probably why this
is one of the only times he takes live questions without any prep
or screening system. He knows that no one here will attack him or
ask an inappropriate question out of respect, and you can tell he
enjoys answering them. There wasn't even a question about the Premiere
article, because everyone already knows it's all lies and it's surely
painful for him to think or talk about-- now these are fans with
class!
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