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Being STRONG is more than just how much weight you can lift.
The Strong New York Podcast is dedicated to inspiring you to become your strongest self- in the gym, in business, in relationships and in life.
Join Kenny as he sits down with his strong as fuck buddies and shoots the shit on what it takes to be strong willed, strong minded and physically strong. Season one features everyone from entrepreneurs and local business owners to doctors and industry leaders in the fitness and wellness space.
With over a decade of experience, Kenny Santucci has made himself known as one of New York City’s top trainers and a thought leader in the health and wellness industry. After transforming his life at 15 years old through fitness, Kenny made it his mission to transform the lives of those around him.
Kenny has trained some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, including Jon Bon Jovi, Liev Schreiber, and Frank Ocean, and has been tapped as a fitness expert sharing his training approach with Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Runner's World, SHAPE, Well+Good, among other publications.
Kenny is the creator of STRONG New York, NYC's only Health and Fitness Expo. Strong New York is an immersive day of workouts, wellness experiences, panel discussions, and inspiring conversations with the best in-class wellness professionals, industry leaders, and change makers who are sharing their expertise on today's hottest wellness trends and first-hand experiences on how to optimize your overall health and life.
You can find Kenny at The Strength Club, his private training and group strength training facility in the heart of Manhattan located on 28th and 5th Ave in New York City.
Welcome back to another episode of the Strong New York podcast.I'm your host, Kenny Santucci, and as always, we're cracking cans of Celsius open and living fit.Also, if you wanna get your blood work done and get jacked and tan and look great and optimize your fitness, go to merrickhealth.com, use the code Kenny to get your blood work done.Talk to a doctor.Everything is built into the website.It's so simple and easy and effective.Don't just get your peptides or anything you need from some guy in the gym.Go to the source.Get it from a doctor, get it from somebody reliable.Remember, merrickhealth.com.Today's guest, my boy.I met this gentleman.I couldn't believe it, because when I was a kid, I was such a huge fan, and then a friend of mine called me up.He's like, "Hey."He goes, "Would you wanna do this?"This was probably 2020, 2021.He's like, "Do you want to, uh, do you know who Body by Jake is?"I go, "Do I know who Body by Jake is?"He's on the wall of the strength club for a reason.Big Jake, how we feeling, buddy?How you doing?So happy to have you.Great to see you.Yeah.Yeah, the gym looks great.It really does.You know what I love about this, man?This is, to me, this is like a, uh, this is like a homey New York- Yeahgym.Well, that's what I wanted.And, and, and I love the fact that, you know, there's a lot of sexy places to train.Yeah.Look, at the end of the day, you know, it's you versus you.And it's great when there are other people in the gym who are like-minded you versus you, but, uh, I'm a guy who trains, you know, I, I've been living in LA, as you know.Uh, uh, y- we lost our home in the Palisades fire, so I'm living in a, uh, an apartment complex now.Uh, fortunately, they open the gym early for me.I'm in the gym at 4:15 in the morning, and that's my place.That's my sanctuary.I, you know, I don't do drugs.I don't really drink.And that's, that's, that's where I regain consciousness, get my flow back, get into the zone, and get my day straight.You know, it's my cardio, my muscular, but it's also my mental workout.Could you remember the last time you missed a day atNo, I don't miss.You don't miss?Don't miss.And that- You know what it is?It, it, it, I don't even ca- It's like, when was the last time you didn't brush your teeth?Yeah, that's the way.That's what I tell people.I mean, they, if you say that, it's like- Yeahwhen, when did- Yeahwould you ever not brush your teeth?Yeah,It's the same thing.When you get up in the morning, or you go to bed at night.It just, it's part of who you are.Mm-hmm.I mean, it's just what makes you, you.And it's, uhLook, I love seeing what's going on in the industry today, but I love seeing what's going on in the world.I mean, you know, you talk about peptides, uh, in, in your intro, uh, these GLP-1s.You know, I used to stand on my shows, and I did home shopping for 17 years, you know?Mm-hmm.And look into the camera and say, "Hey, listen, you know, there is no magic pill."And- There w-it's kind of a magic pill now.Yeah.And, and but the thing about it is that what is the beautiful thing is there, there are so many people in this great country of ours who now have an opportunity, who've lost the weight, who now are motivated to start moving their bodies.But this is where you have to have an understanding of what it is you're gonna do and how to do it.Mm-hmm.And that's where guys like yourself come in, and, and, uh, and, a- and look, y- you know, for me, uh, I've been involved in so many different things in my career.Uh, you know, as you know, was the first guy to do personal fitness training and made it an occupation.A- and that came about, there was no business plan.Uh, you know, I, I, I went to California.I'm from here.Uh, went to college upstate New York.You know Cornell University, right?Uh, great school.I went to Cortland, down the street, and literally lasted 90 days, uh, and said I wanted to become Mr. America.That, that was my goal.Summer 1977, I go to LA when the dinosaurs still roamed the Earth, man, you know?Arnold and Louis Ferrigno and Franco Columbu and all the great bodybuilders that were on my wall, like on your wall-in high school.Uh, I'm, I'm in the gym, and, and it wasn't Gold's, 'cause Joe Gold had sold his name, and it was now World Gym, uh, on the second floor on Main Street in Venice.And, uh, I mean, it was insane.And, and I read all the magazines.Every magazine said, "Eat 18 eggs and 24 chickens a day, and you too could become Mr. America."I clucked a lot, man, but, but I didn't become Mr. America, because they never mentioned steroids.And I entered this Mr. Southern California contest in '78.I came in second place.Guy that beat me was on steroids.I'm 19 years old, and I had to make a decision.I mean, I left college.I left my family.I left my girlfriend, my buddies.All of which said, "You'll be back.You know, you're never gonna make it in LA."And it was that decision-making.You know, life's about moments.I'm a big believer in life's about moments, Kenny, where you gotta make a decision.And sometimes, you know, y- you really gotta sit with yourself and look in the mirror.And for me, it was a quick one.I didn't wanna put a needle in my own buttissimo.You know?I just thought there was something wrong with this picture.And but I loved working out, and I loved how I felt, and I wasn't going back to New York a loser.So I'm gonna stay in LA.And right place, right time, right moment, man, you know.I think when I look back on your career, and I was kinda deep diving, I wanted to figure out if there was something I didn't know about you.Right.Because I've been fortunate enough, like, we became buddies.Yeah, man.We've had dinner and breakfast- Yep, yepand, um, you know, I've gotten to hear your story, and it's so impressive.when somebody actually takes the initiative and gets so uncomfortable.You're a guy from New York City.It's the '70s.Bodybuilding wasn't what it is today.Right.And, uh, you know, being a fitness professional wasn't what it is today, and you went out there and took the plunge, and you created a life for yourself, and correct me if I'm wrong, that was bigger than you probably could have possibly imagined.Oh, man, I hadListen, people ask about the business plan.Uh, I, I'll, I'll just give it to you in a nutshell because you know the story, but- Yeahy- you know, your, your, your thousands and thousands of folks who watch you on a daily basis don't.And this is a great lesson in just taking a shot and believing in yourself.Mm-hmm.And what's the worst that happens, man?It doesn't work out, but at least you took a shot.Mm-hmm.And, um, a- amongst a number of different fun things, I mean, look, I posed on stage with the Village People, right?That was an insane moment, a great story for another time.Um, everyone's going,Wait a second.Timeout.You posed- Most people probably don't even know who the Village People areyou, you posed"The Village People are, you know, Macho Man YMCA, right?I posed onI was the Macho Man- Noby the Santa Monica Civic Center.But, and then I did the stand-in work for Louy, uh, the first season of The Hulk, uh- That's sickwhich, which was y- you know, I mean, a- and then they moved me up to the Universal Studios Tour, whi- which, which was really fun.And on my off days, I was living in Studio City, California, which is right down the road from Universal Studios, and I'm living in this apartment complex that, that housed, um, mainly out of work actors and actresses, but a number a- working actors and actresses.And this one day, I'm sitting out by the pool, and I also bounced at a bar at night.You know, what every good muscle head does, man.Y- y- you know, I mean, uh, I weighed 250 and, you know- You were big.You, you, you- Yeah, yeah, yeah.No, I was, I, I was, uh, uh, 6 feet, 250.You know, Louy, 6'6", 300, man.Yeah.So it was a different perspective, you know, Louy.Uh, he's a piece of work.Anyway- Do- were you guys close because you were both, like, kinda New York-y?You know, L- Lou- yeah, Louy always had, he had a problem with everybody.Uh, he, he's, he's a great dude today, but I think Arnold really got to him in Pumping Iron.Yeah.And it, it really changed him.And, and, uh, y- you know, he pushed me around, and that's all right.I was, I was 20.You know what I mean?You said.I'm 20 years old.How old was he at th- how old was Louy?I don't know.He might not have been a lot older, but he was like a- He's gotta be-grownup to me, y- you know?But I think he's gotta be 5 or 6 years older than least.Uh, I'm 68 now, so- Yeahso, you know.So he's gotta be in his- Yeah, yeahHe's, Arnold's, what, 78, 79?Yeah, Arn- I just saw Arnold at lunch, uh, a week and a half ago.Uh, he's 78.He'll be 79 at the end of the year.Yeah.Yeah, i- i- in or around then.Anyway, I'm hanging out at the pool, catching some Ramones, and, uh, this girl comes up to me and says, uh, "Hey, you know, I see you out here a lot of the time."And I go, "Okay."And she goes, uh, "What's your name?"And I said, "I'm Jake."And she introduced herself, and I said, "Hey, how you doing?"She says, um, "I got a question."I said, "Okay."She goes, "I got this Club Med commercial that I gotta do.I got 6 weeks, and I gotta get in shape.I gotta put a bikini on."And, uh, I said, "Okay."She goes, "Could you help me?"And, and she goes, "By the way, I like you, but I don't wanna look like you."And I thought, y- y- y- you know, it was likeAnd by the way, you understand, this was 1980.So Jane Fonda had just come on the scene with the high impact aerobics.Mm-hmm.You know, women were very intimidated by using weights, so she assumed that, uh, she was gonna get big muscles.And really what happened was a quick interaction.She sa- I said, "Yeah, I, I guess I can help you out."She goes, uh, uh, "Could you come to my boyfriend's house and do the workout there?"And I thought, "Yeah, no problem."She says, uh, "How much?"I go, "How much what?"She goes, "How much is it gonna cost?"I said, "Uh, give me, give me gas money for my 1977 white Camaro with Jake 77 on the license plate."I always kept a very low pro- So Always kept a very low pro- So East Coast.Very East Coast, right?Come on.Yeah.Y- y- you can take the East Coast out of you, Sam- Yeahright?Such a Guido car.So that's what it was.Had white with black interior.In LA, a black interior car.With, with your name on the license plate.The name on the license.And, um, so I came up with a 30-minute workout.Because I thoughtby the way, I love training.I, I love the gym, but I don't spend time in a gym.My workout's a 42-minute workout, and I'm in and out, and I've been doing it for years.I mean, for years.And I thought, "This is an A-type personality girl, you know, she's not gonna wanna spend a lot of time.I'm gonna improvise.Instead of weights, I'm gonna use a broomstick, and a towel, and a chair for pushups.Towel for resistance training, right?Yeah.Huh?Resistance training.I knew, uh, what I knew about- So you're like pulling it with a- Doing bicep curls, right.And I came up with this 30-minute workout, and I went to the boyfriend's house in Beverly Hills.If you weren't on the cover of MuscleHead Digest, I didn't know who you were.Guy answers the door, turns out to be Francis Ford Coppola, and I, I just looked at him and I thought, "This guy could use a workout, too."You know?And, uh, and terrific guy, terrific people.Um, uh, this girl got in great shape.They started going to parties.People started saying, "You look great.What are you doing?This guy Jake comes to the house.He's got this 30-minute workout with a broomstick, a towel, and a chair.He's pretty funny.He eats too much."They had a great fridge.I had no dough.Yeah.And they had, they had chicken, whatever.They let you raid the fridge.They had chicken, some tuna fish.Whatever it was, man, I would eat, you know?And, uh, so people start, wait, pe- people started to say, "What a great idea.What's his number?"Well, back in the day, for, there, there's, there's no cell number.you, when you moved from town to town or state to state, you had to list your phone number in the phone book.Mm-hmm.Okay?I know this is ancient conversation, but that's what you had to do.Yeah.I never did it, and it was one of those things- How'd people get in touch with you?That was the thing.When you're good and people wanna get ahold of you and they can't, they seem to want you more.And it became this mystique who is this guy?Find him and get him.And on my little answering machine in Studio City, in my apartment, I'm getting messages from Steven Spielberg, and Harrison Ford, and Priscilla Presley, Bette Midler, Warren Beatty, Madonna, every big star of the early '80s, and it was an ama- I trained Harrison for Raiders, uh, uh, for Temple of Doom, uh- So coolfor Witness, and, and I got end credit in the movie.Spielberg has become like a big brother to me at the time, and I'm learning about the business, and learning about what could be, and about dreaming, and understanding that now I'm hanging with these people.And yeah, I dropped a bunch of names, but here's the deal.They're no different than us.Mm-hmm.The only difference is they had a dream, and never quit on their dream, and never took no for an answer, and that gave me the incentive to say, "Wait a second, man.You know, I might never direct ET 2, but I'm gonna have my own success."Mm-hmm.And that's whenAnd look, the great thing about the moment of that decade, of the '80s, in Hollywood, in Los Angeles, you can't explain it, man.That's what I was gonna ask you.I'm like- Kenny, you, you- I'm obsessed with- You, you, you can't, you can't explain it, brother- Yeahbecause it wasWell, as you know, I, I, I think you know, and I, I, I told you, Universal is making a movie about my story.Yeah.And, uh, yeah.And, and y- you know, the storyline is it takes, the movie takes place over 3 days in 1984, and think of the movie Shampoo meets Rocky.That's the movie, okay?And the '80s was just a different time.I mean, my first exercise video, I, uh, I did in '83, uh, with MCA HomeVideo with a guy named Gene Giaquinto.I never signed a contract.I had a handshake- No contractfor 3 videos.I still get royalties after all these years.Never had a contract.No contract.So those stories of- old-school businesssigning something or doing like this, give me your hand and go like this."Kenny, you in?""I'm in."That was real.Yeah.That was real.It was just an amazingIt was also the me decade.So for me, here I am parlaying this famous by association into, into books and videos, and I'm watching what's going on.I'm training Hugh Hefner at the Playboy Mansion.Sick.Right?So cool, man.And I get a phone call.Now I moved to Westwood.I'm moving on up, right?Mm-hmm.So I moved to Westwood.Where was your first apartment in Hollywood?Studio City.Studio City.So Studio City's not bad.No, it was great.Well, well, wait, wait.The first place that I moved to-uh, this is a good one.So I told my mother, 'cause I went right from upstate to LA.I said, "Ma, do we know anybody in LA?""No.""Where do I go?"Yeah.She goes, "Let me make some calls."She calls, uh, her girlfriends, right?"Oh, your son's going to LA.Northridge is where he should live."Northridge.Deep in the Valley.Yeah.Okay?I was gonna say, where the fuck is that?Which by the way, which is whereSo I lived in a, in a, next to the dorm at Cal State Northridge- Okayin an apartment complex.True story1977, right?I watched the Yankees and the Dodger World Series on a black and white TV by myself.Couldn't meet a person.You know, I was always outgoing in New York.I, I felt like I couldn't meet a soul in LA.It was just different, man.But here I am in Westwood, things have really, I mean, things had taken off for me.There was an article on me in People magazine.Now, by the way, th- this is before social media, so People magazine was the Bible.And the article was, "Would Jake Bocks, Spielberg, Presley, and Ford Jump?"Right?That's- And it was pret- pre- it was a pretty fun article, and I had just boughtThe th- the thing that changed everything for me is, you know, when I would drive to my clients' houses, I'd park outside.You know, w- w- w- with the pool guy or the landscape people.Mm-hmm.And I said, "This is not gonna work for me."No disrespect to anybody else, but I'm- It's how you see yourself.You got it.W- r- Yeahthe world lets you be- Who-what you make them believe you are.Mm-hmm.I'll say it again for you.The world lets you be what you make them believe you are.And I said, "I'm gonna press the buzzer at Priscilla Presley's house, and those gates are gonna open."So here's what I did.I got a black 450 SL Mercedes, right?Where my car payment was double my apartment payment.Okay?And I said, "If it all goes to shit," right?At least you have a nice car to sleep in."I'll live in my car."Because LA was all about- Showme and show.Yeah, yeah.Show.I had a buddy, my buddy from, you know, 'cause I was born in Brooklyn, raised in Long Island, and my buddy Perry Klein was in the fur business.His parents were in the fur business.He made me a waist-length mink coat.I, I, I'll show you a picture, you post this up.I, out in front of Bette Midler's house with my Body by Jake sweatshirt on, cutoffs, cut off arms, cut off neck, right?I got this mink jacket on, sitting on the front, on the hood of my Mercedes, like that.Sick.I go, that's the '80s.Yeah.Right there is the '80s.Yeah.Sick.Anyway.Go ahead, go ahead, go.One of the first pieces of advice I give to trainers all the time, I'm like, "Listen, when you're making your Instagram handle or you're pushing your business, try to leave your name out of it."I think you're the originator of that, right?Body by Jake, or everybody's like, oh, this one fitness, like Charles Dickens Fitness-or whatever, right?They're all like, put fitness or body in- That's a good one, Charles Dickens Fitness.Right?I didn't, would never think of that one, but okay.But you, you were the first person to do it, and it's, it, it was successful.It was cool.Can I tell you something?I wish I could tell you it was a plan, Kenny.This thing happened.It ju- I'm tr- now I'm training these people, and now I'm at a party and a publicist comes up to me and says, "Aren't you that guy Jake?"And I go, "How you doing?"And she goes, "Uh, everybody is talking about you and the workout."'Cause I would challenge Spielberg, whoever I'm training during the day, to do pushups, right?So, and everybody would always say, "How many pushups is he doing?How many pushups is she doing?"They all wanna know.And they want, and they competed.So at dinner parties, all they were talking about was how many pushups, or did the puke monster jump on you?'Cause that was my thing.I'd get everybody to throw up.You know?So you were push- You, like, who- Oh, no, no, I'd bang it around.Yeah.Yeah, yeah, it, it, we, we did a 30-minute workout.Yeah.By the way, Harrison Ford, nobody tougher all year round.Didn't make a difference if he had a movie to train for or not.Priscilla Presley, tough as hell, funny as hell.Yeah.Um, I actually convinced her to do The Naked Gun movie, because she was hysterical.Hysterical.I trained them when she was doing Dallas.Okay.Uh- The original showfirst time I pulled in, first time I pulled into that house, right, I j- brand new Merc, pressed the buzzer, the gates just opened.I pulled down next to this white 280 SL, right?No top on, and on the gearbox it had Elvis Aaron Presley's registration.Wow.How about that, man?That's sick.Now, it- I was never an Elvis guy, but, uh, it was a great moment.I was like, I pulled down and going, "That's right, man."That's sick.That's right.So- The world lets you be what you make them believe you are.So you're going to all these homes and stuff.At that time, who had the most impressive, kinda aura around them, house?Like, who was the biggest of, like, the celebrities that you were training?You know, th- that's a great question.I mean, listen, when I think Harrison Ford, it was, was always the biggest star.Yeah.But he was the most regular guy.Spielberg, I trained, uh, first workout we did at his house in Coldwater Canyon, you know, he had, he was the typical guy, black socks and sneakers.You know, the kid like in gym class.Yeah.And he was all cripped up after the workout.He called me 200 times, "I can't move my arms, I can't move my legs."Yeah.And we bonded over that.And, um, uh, he was amazing.He's, he's been amazing to me.I, IListen, I could go down the list.Ev- every single one of these people, um, I learned so much from.A lot of what not to do in my life, you know, on the personal side of things.But professionally, and learning and listening about business deals.And I didn't go to business school, I didn't go to college.You know, I make my own deals.I have an attorney, and it's myself.Mm-hmm.I never had an agent, I never had a manager.Wow, really?INo.No.No, I took what a lot- Because at the end of the day what happens is, Kenny- Just chopping it upyou, you know who, forget about chopping it up.Who sells you the best?You s- you have to be able to sell you the best.Yeah.And it, it's sometimes it's hard for people to sell themselves, or to make a deal for themselves, but learn to do it, because someone else is taking advantage of you.I mean, listen, I'll tell- No, I, I agree.What happened to me was my first book deal in '83, Simon and Schuster, I had a quote unquote manager, that I didn'tYou know, I'm, I'm rocking and rolling, the things are happening.The guy, I, I, I bring on this attorney, he says, "Um, you're missing some money."And I go, "What do you mean?""You're missing some money."This guy took money from me.Interesting.Not only did I almost throw him out of a window, but You know, and that was the last time I did it.But you were so ahead of your time, because you were a fitness influencer- Yeahbefore it was a thing.Hey, listen- You, you had a QVC deal, right?You worked at QVC.HSN.You were- Uh, well, I, I started at QVC, but went to HSN, yeah.What, what we never talked about, and what I wanted to ask you- Yeahthe last time we hung out, was you had a show.Big Brother Jake.Yeah, I had a sitcom.I did a sitcom.I did 100 episodes, man.Yeah, which is so impressive.Like, at- Well, thank youat that time, you went from a trainer, basically- Right, yeahYou train all these people.Yeah.you were a real celebrity.You were, like, in the mix.You were in, um, Coming to America.I did 25 films.Yeah.And, uh, I mean, I, listen- Like, big moviesuh, big movies.I, listen, I, I, I, I, like I said, right place, right time.I know how to play me, you know what I mean?I never took an acting lesson.Don't make fun.Yeah.Uh, and y- you know, because I, I just feel who I am.I know how to play myself.Uh-huh.And you gotta be authentic and honest.And that's one reason I, I'm still sitting here with you.Because I think if you're not authentic, and if you're not honest, and there's not trust, you're done.You're done.And with clients, I was always straightforward, you know, no messing around.And that's a very important thing, especially back in the day.And then in business, the same way.Just try to treat everybody fairly, man.And, and, and, and just continue to take shots.And for me, I mean, like you said, I was doing Big Brother Jake in Norfolk, Virginia, in Virginia Beach, in Virginia.My daughter was born in Norfolk, Morgan, who's now 33.And, and I have 3 sons after that, all born in LA.But, um, it was the greatestI, I, I, I had, um, a television show that I created that got, it was called, got put in turnaround at CBS.I was at the airport going to a NATPE show, which was the syndicated television convention.Mm-hmm.Right?To renew my Body by Jake show in first-run syndication, with Sam Goldman Television.At the airport it says, I got a message, "Your show was put in turnaround.Some guy, some new guy came in."I figured, "I can't deal with that right now."Truly, this is what happened.You know, we used to sign, I used to sign Body by Jake T-shirts.So I'd s- have you stand up, and I would sign, "What's your name?Kenny."And, uh, and this one guy comes up to me.by the way, the show that I had in development was I played a big brother to some foster kids.The show was set in Brooklyn.I wanna go, I mean, that, right?Great concept.Okay.I wanna go to LA to become a stunt man.Yeah.Okay?And I'm about to get a job w- working with Harrison Ford, but foster dad dies, and foster mom asks me to stay to take, to, to help, uh, disperse the kids.And I didn't want, obviously, I don't want that to happen, so I end up staying for 100 episodes.That's the pitch.But you know, it's, when you think about other '80s shows at the time- Rightright?Yeah.Diff'rent Strokes and stuff like- Yeahthose were all, like, just simple family ideas.Yeah, yeah, yeah.Like, that you're like- Yeah"Oh, what would I do if I was in that situation?"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.Yeah.When you look back on your career, because I'm sure there's so many people out there, it was so much harder to do what you did at that time than it is now.You could get in touch with anybody.The people are so much more easily accessible.Everybody's trying to be famous.At that time, it was so much harder to get it done.Do you ever look back on your career and be like, "I kinda messed up here.I would've done this differently"?Are you just neutral about it?Nah, this is not neutral.I- Kenny, I've won, I've lost.I've won more than I've lost.Mm.But I don't regret a minute of it, and I would never change a thing about it.And look, let me take you through of where, why we're sitting here today- Yeahas much as I love you, man.Yeah, I wanted- You knowI wanted to chat about that We got something incredibly exciting, which is these moments have happened in my career, right?The personal fitness training, the, the first, the, the, to be the first to do that-that happened.That, that was never a plan.Parlaying that into everything else became a plan.Mm-hmm.It was like when I was doing my fitness show, well, T- Ted Turner, who was real- who just passed away, was my mentor.Ted gave me my shot.Uh, he was the guy I was telling you.Well, I was telling you about when I moved to Westwood, my, on the voicemail, right?On my answering machine.He read the article in People Magazine.He left a, he left a message, "Hi, I'm Ted Turner.I'm launching a new cable channel called Cable News Network, and it's a news network, and I wanna make it more family-friendly, and I would like you to do a fitness show."And I was on my way to see Hef at the mansion, 'cause I trained his girlfriend at the time, and after the workout, I didn't know Hefner.Westwood didn't even have cable yet, okay?This is 1981.And I say, "Hey, do you know this guy you ha- uh, um, Ted Turner?"He says, "Of course I do."And we started talking.I said, "I don't wanna become Jack LaLanne."You know, because the fitness, it was never, it was, it, it wasn't in my cards, in my head.Well, he was- I didn't know what-the only guy doing it, right?Like, he was the only g- other guy in the business.Well, yeah.I mean, and Jack, who by the way, ended up becoming a great friend, and his wife Elaine, and y- you know, incredible people.Uh, just one of the sweetest guys on the planet, man.And, uh, um, but I, that was not what I was going for.Mm-hmm.'Cause I, now I'm getting acting jobs, and I'm working as an actor.I'm figuring, "Well, yeah, I'm gonna be a big movie star, be a big TV star one day."And, uh, and so I'm pitching back and forth with Hef, and I said, "Wait a second.What if this guy paid me to do a commercial to promote me as I give, like, a fitness tip?"He says, "Okay."I said, "Could I use 12 Playmates?"He said, "Sure."And I said, "Okay."And then- And they give you, you, you got bells of steel, man.Just to, like- But you, no.Yeah But here's the thing.When you're one-on-one, it's like you and I.Yeah.We're sitting and ta- This is not, I'm, I'm not driving here-and standing in a class with a bunch of people.Yeah.I'm driving to your house.And it's you and me.We create a relationship.And the one thing I always knew is I never humped anybody, meaning I'm never selling.I'm never pitching a script to Steven Spielberg.I mean, I had people come to me wanting to pay me to give a script to Steven Spielberg.Would never do those kind of things- Mmbecause of the access that I had.Sacred.Mm-hmm.Never messed around.But with Hef, it was, I mean, they, these guys b- were my friends.They were real friends.Mm-hmm.And I saidHe says, "Yeah."So I said, "I'm gonna talk to Spielberg and ask him if I could use the beach house on Broad Beach, just to use the beach to shoot on."I call Spielberg wheels.I went to his house.I asked him, "Could I use the house?"He said, "Of course."You know, the, the, the beach in the backyard.Ted gave me 30 grand to shoot 200 one-minute vignettes.I'll send you one.It's incredibly embarrassing to look at right now.But they ran 4 times a day in the States, and 10 times an hour around the world.And what was the point of them?Like, what was- It was me and 2 playmates with a broomstick, a towel, or a chair, and it'sI'll, I'll, I'll do the bit right now."Hey, gang.I'm Jake of Body by Jake, and here's your fitness tip of the day.Here's Brenda and Mary, and we're gonna show you how to do the old battissimo squat, and it's real simple.We're gonna do 10 repetitions.Follow along if you can.It's a gorgeous day.Let's think great, positive thoughts.7, 8, 9, 10.Remember, stick to the fight when your hardest hit.It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.Don't quit.Have a great day.See you tomorrow."And that was the bit, and it became a huge success.No shit.I mean, we gotI, I have letters from the Reagan White House saying that when the Jake theme music comes on, everybody stops what they're doing here at Casablanca, is what they called the Reagan White House."We like you, Jake, but we, we sure like your, uh, models."No."We s- we, we sure like your associates- Yeahthey said.Uh, and it just it, it took off.And from there, I parlayed that into first run syndication, and then ESPN, and I did 800, 900 episodes of Body by Jake.And, uh, it was fun, but I only had 30 minutes a time, and I said, "I wanna create a 24-hour television network."And I said, "I can't just string fitness shows."You know, on ESPN when you were growing up, I was a part of this block of fitness shows.Mm-hmm.You know?Uh, and, and the ratings were al- I, I looked at the ratings.You know, I'm a, a, of a big ratings guy.And the ratings are like this, because you can only watch one fitness show y- you know?Yeah.And, uh, I thought, "You can't create a television network like that," but ah, headline news wheel, the old headline news wheel.Remember Ted Turner's headline news.Top of the hour was international news.National news in between, was local, sports, and da, da, da, and the last 15 minutes was something else.And I said, "I'm gonna use that to create a fitness network."Top of the hour, aerobic exercise.Bottom of the hour, I'm gonna brand Body by Jake anaerobic exercise.In between, lifestyle, cooking.Last 15 minutes, our version of a home shopping styled, uh, live to tape- Like fitness productsRight.Yeah.Right.All do fitness products.Yeah.All the hot fitness products.And I launched it in 1993.Um, I got what was called the hunting license from TCI, which was in Denver, Colorado, the biggest cable company at the time.Comcast, which is the monster today- Mm-hmmwas number 9 back in the day, and they gave me a hunting license, which was, "Jake, we're gonna take your kidney and your firstborn, uh, and you can tell our 17 million subscribers that we're letting you go pitch them."So I just traveled the country, man.And I grew the service to 28 million homes, and, uh, and sold it to Rupert Murdoch in 1998.It was a big moment in my life.And that was the biggest- And then that was the biggest moment of my life, yeah.And, uh, I wanted to buy an NBA team at the time, and nobodyEverybody in LA at the time were buying minor league baseball teams, and I end up founding Major League Lacrosse.For another time, another story.Yeah.But, you know, look, as an entrepreneur, you justAnd, and in between the infomercial business came about, I had n- wanted no part of it.If you remember the early days of the infomercial, it was the guy with the colorful sweater.Mm-hmm.You know, Ron Popeil, was a really nice man, actually.The Kitchen Magician, all the chachka stuff.And I said, "I'm not, I'm not doing that."Right?And then I started thinking, "But wait a second.Don't, don't, don't just poo-poo that.If you can do it your way with a sound product, it could be very interesting."And it was the greatest move I ever made.I mean, we had a string of, uh, hits over a course of 11 years in a row.Up to that point, you had to be doing pretty well for yourself though, right?Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.When did you become a first time?Oh, man.You know, I used to ask that que- You know what's interesting?Because- I used to go, I used to go to Wheels's house on Broad Beach, and I would sit with him, and I would always ask him, I said, "What's it like to have money?You know, what's it like not to have a car payment?"Oh, yeah.That was my thing, was like, "What's it like not to have a car payment?"Yeah.And here's what he said to me, and I'll never forget it, and I recite it."It's like having money is freedom to be able to do what you want, when you want, how you want, and with who you want."And that's, and that's really it.And I always wouldI, I couldn't wait.I don't remember the day that I had a million dollars in the bank, but that, that was a great moment.And, uh, a- and then once that starts happening, y- you know, uh, it, it, it becomes, the action becomes exciting.Mm-hmm.And as an entrepreneur, what's fun is when I speak at schools or I speak to companies and, you know, uh, corporate guys always wanna be entrepreneurs.Ev- everybody wants to leave the corporate world to be an entrepreneur.I go, "All right, Kenny, are you ready for the phone not to ring?"I mean, really.No health insurance.Mm-hmm.Um, uh, no, no anything.It's you.You gotta make it work.And everybody, you know, it's like all of a sudden, especially if you come from a world where you a- Somebody's handing you a paycheckyeah, having a paycheck.Uh, but I wouldn't trade it for anything, any, a- anything i- in the world.here's what happened.I brought up about losing my home in the Palisades fire, which was a monumental moment, by the way.Um, and, and I did the show, when we talked right afterwards.It, it was crazy, man.I mean, you could never imagine.We lived in this house for 31 years.All my kids were raised in that house.The memorabilia.When it all goes away, I, I mean, everything was gone, right?Yeah.Y- you gotta kinda look in the mirror a- a- and say, um, "What are you made of?"Like, what are you really made of?And something happened to me.It was, it was a born-again moment, you know, where this, this electricityI'm a pretty pumped up guy anyway, but there was something different.I felt a lightness come over me, and I felt this electricity buzzing through my body.And I immediately, you know, I, I did, uh, the guys at Fox & Friends, uh, have been, you know, great friends of mine.I've been doing that show since '99, you know.Uh, Brian Kilmeade, one of the greatest of all time.And, uh, when my house burned down, he had called, uh, ab- a, a number of news agencies.Unfortunately, some bad actors got up and took a photo of my house and posted it and, you know, called, "Would you do interviews?"I'm going, "I, I, I'm gonna fall.Get outta here."And Brian called and, and I ended up sitting on the show.And, and he hadHe was kinda railing onAnd by the way, I had no clothes.So I don't know if you ev- ever think about this or w- if you're watching right now, y- your, your wife or your girlfriend or you say to yourself, "Geez, I got nothing to wear tonight."I mean, we literally- Had nothinghad nothing to wear.We had to go toI had to go to Banana Republic to get a sweater to do F- to do the Fox & Friends show- Yeahthat morning.And I get picked up at a quarter to 4:00 in the morning, which is a quarter to 7:00 AM here.We go to Fox on Olympic in LA.I'm on 4:20, which is 7:20.And, uh, like I've done it a million times.I sat down and Brian starts kinda railing on Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass and this, and I said, "Brian, listen, I, I, I don't, I don't know these people personally, but I'm sure they're nice in person, but unfortunately they're playing checkers and this is chess."And, uh, I said, "Look, there was a dream that was California.I came here because of that dream, and I achieved that dream more than I could ever have dreamed possible, and I couldn't have done it anywhere else in the world but in California."Literally my house burned down, metaphorically California's burning, and I'm getting, like, lathered up.And he goes, "You should think about running for governor, Jake."And I said, "Look, I'm not saying no."Now, he could have said, "You should think about playing for the Knicks, Jake," and I would've said, "Look, I'm not saying no," right?Yeah.And it was just thatIt was just like that.And the interview was over and, and I took the IFB out of my ear and, and I got up and I walked like I would normally do.In the little control room at that time in the morning, there's 5 or 6 people in there, and they're clapping.I was gonna say, they probably went nuts.Yeah.And I'm thinking, "Hey, thanks, guys.I appreciate it."I probably felt bad I lost my house 2 days ago, you know?I get in my car, and I leave my phone in the car.I had 125 texts."Is this real?Are you really considering running for governor of California?"And I'll tell you this and I, 'cause you know the story, and, and I'll tell you guys, um, I, I really, I, I was very serious.I put a team together.I traveled up and down the state.I was excited when you told me that.I met a lot of people.I was like, "This'll be s- " Um, and we, we had committed a, a lot of money.And, um, at the end of it, I just felt, for the sake of my family, most importantly, I didn't wanna put my family through whatever, because it's just an ugly moment i- in our country.Oh.Uh, which is kinda sad.You're a little bit older thanDo you ever remember politics being so volatile?I mean, listen, they assassinated- Well-Kennedy, they hated, uh, Nixon.But do you ever remember a point in history that, like, there was so much- Yeah, there's alwaysYou know what?It just, it's, it, it's because of social media.Mm.I think it, it, it is what it is.And, um, look, most people get along.I really believe that.And I have the, the most hope in this country.I always have and I always will.There's always, it's like the kid in school.There's always one kid in the class of the 31 kids who makes the teacher nuts.Mm-hmm.And she's gotta take care of that kidYeah, yeah.Right?So it's always the squeaky wheels that everybody- It's alwayswants to talk about.Anyway, I decided against going, uh, about 5 months ago.And I did my homework.I mean, I literally, I was try- I, I met with the Sacramento Business Roundtable and with the insurance people, the oil and ga- I mean, I learned a whole lot, learned the challenges, learned what's, what's wrong, and, and I know that I- What was the most surprising?What w- what was the- What the most surprising is this, is that, um, uh, people just didn't wanna talk to each other.And for me, I love bringing people together.And that was my, and that's my strength, right?It's just bringing people together.How c- how can we make something work?How do, how are you able to give a little bit to give me something, and I gotta give a little bit to get something?Because that's really what negotiating is.It's what politics is.Right?And that's politics.Yeah.It's just, it's gotten so dirty and so disgusting.I, I just felt, you know what, man, I'm 68.Do I need this insanity?I'm rebuilding a house.And my wife, it's great.Uh, my f- my 4 kids are unbelievable.And I'm driving, 'cause we're living in Century City, Tracy and I.Mm-hmm.And we drive to the Westside, 'cause we're, we're building a house, and that's where our life is.And I'm in a car a lot.It's in the same spot.Yeah, yeah.The same house.Yeah.Yeah.Same, same spot.You, you own the plot of land, so you- Yeahthat's still yours.Yeah.Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.And, uh, actually, we just poured the foundation, uh- That's okaylast week.So it's super exciting.Yeah, that's great.Steel's up, and it's, uh, we'll be in next Thanksgiving.Not this coming, but next Thanksgiving.Oh, wow.So, uh, yeah.Which is exci- listen, it's exciting.I mean, that's a long time to build a house.It is.Holy shit.But you know what?You can't lose your mind over it.It's been, it's already been a year and a half.We've been- I was gonna say, it's almost been 2 yearsso, you know, it, it'll end up being 3 years.End up being 3 years.Holy shit.But you know what?You gotta persevere.H- h- here's what happens.You got 2 choices.It's like in any challenge in your life.You could, you could roll up in a ball and die- Mm-hmmand complain, "Oh, pity me," or you stand up and you fucking persevere.You just say, "Is that all you got?"You know?Yeah."Let's go."It's gotta make you stronger.That's the Rocky buddy.It, it, but, but, it, that's what you gotta do.It's gotta make you stronger.And I'm driving up and down Santa Monica Boulevard to the Westside, right?And I'm in a car.I lit SiriusXM, I got iHeartRadio stations, terrestrial broadcast radio.And I wanted to find something that was just a place that was calming, that was motivational, that was inspirational with really, really great music from, like, late '70s, '80s, and '90s.My, my, my fun stuff, right?Remixes, what have you.There was nothing.Kenny, there was nothing.And it got me thinking.I said, "Wait a second."Now, I go into the studio because I did the first original soundtrack to an exercise video in 1983.As a matter of fact, the picture on the wall that you have- Yeahis from the album, f- from the back of the album cover, right?And, uh, and we're doing, we're re-releasing that album with a version where we're stripping out the lyrics of the artist who sang.And you, and you know PHONK, P-H-O-N-K?Right?It's that scratchy gym EDM kind of music.The number one producer is a kid from Mexico City named Donovan.So he's working with me.We're in the studio.And I'm like, "Let's go.Here we go, here we go, here we go.Let's go, let's go, let's go."And he's doing all this stuff.And it got me thinking.I'm going, "Wait a second,I can do this.I wanna create a 24-hour digital radio platform that is all motivation, inspiration, education.It's mental health, right?Longevity tips- Mm-hmmin nugget sizes, 30 seconds, surrounded by great music.I wanna wake you up in the morning, and I wanna put you to bed at night."And how you do it?The old headline news wheel.The old Ted Turner headline news one-hour wheel.Mm-hmm.Just like I did with fitTV.That's an- And, and you talk about full c- I, I get the chills when I say it.Yeah.And I went to the chairman of Universal Music.I told him the idea.I said, "I want you to be my partner in this, 'cause I want the greatest music that I d- I don't have to ask, I just get it."He goes, "I love the idea.We're in."And then we made a deal with iHeartRadio, and these guys are amazing.Wow.They're just amazing.Bob Pittman is one of the greatest guys.Uh, John Zelner, uh, uh, Joe Robinson.Th- these guy- And they, they said to me in the first meeting, they said, "Once you become part of this iHeart family, we open the doors to so many things."And I'm seeing it 2 days in to the launch of Body by Jake Radio, which I know you do your plugs, but it's, if you have the iHeartRadio app-Right?You just search Body by Jake Radio.So it's already up.It's free.Oh yeah, it's up.It was up yesterday.No shit.0 opening day and, and we were number 2 trending.I said, "Uh, uh, what trending?I don't think I've ever trended."I mean, uh, that has to be pretty- I feel like you've trended a lot more than you know.Well, well, we trended, man.But we didn't call it trending back in the day, you know?But I'll tell you what, it's funny you say that because I wasI got up the other morning, and I was like, "I wish I could listen to a podcast or something that's just gonna get me in the right mood this morning."Yeah.And, and, and, and this is the thing, we start the top of every hour with this mindset minute.And it's just a reset.It's a reload.Right?So, and it'sAll it is- Who are the contributors?Who do you have, like, on?I, I got- It's just you?writers, and it's just me right now.No shit.Okay.It's just me.But you'll be doing it.Yeah.And we're bringing it.So what, what, what we're gonna be doing, and I'll sa- and I'm saying it to you here, so I, I have this idea that I wanna have the ability, and I did this with FitTV, uh, where I was able to give an opportunity to the next generation of fitness stars, right?And I gave people an opportunity to do their own shows on FitTV.Some worked, some didn't work, but I took shots.Yeah.Right?I wanna do the same thing on Body by Jake Radio.And then we're gonna incubate, uh, a Body by Jake fitness and music festival inside some of the iHeartRadio music festivals- That's amazingthat are already in existence.Mm-hmm.That we're gonna drop in to 50,000 people and do, like, a seventh inning stretch, and I'll introduce 2, 2 talents to do a, a, a 2minute little, a little break.You know, put, put your beer down, put your thing down.Uh, we'll do a little thing, and don't forget, uh, you know, search Body by Jake Radio on your free iHeartRadio app.So because I know there's probably people out there being like, "Oh, this idea can't work," but take us back to the '90s- Yeahwhen you created a channel.Uh, yeah.I'm sure there were a ton of people being like, "This isn't gonna work."Everybody said, nobody said it was gonnaNobody.There wasn't a person, except my wife-who always believed, and that's important.You, you, you had theMy success is so predicated upon Tracy Steinfeld.I can't tell you.As an entrepreneur, you have to understand, you have crazy ideas, man.And I, I always go all in.I neverif I don't go all in, I don't believe.But when I go all in, now I'm, I'm not gonna leave, left without a house.Mm-hmm.Right?But I go all in.And Tracy has always said, "Do you believe?"I said, "I do."She goes, "I'm with you every step of the way."And sh- and she's always been there.But nobody believed that that channel was gonna work.And you ended up selling it for?A half a billion, to Rupert.That, that's public knowledge, so.Yeah, yeah.No, I fi- I, I didn't get a half a billion.If I did, I, I would be on an island somewhere.No, but I'm sure you did okay.Now, I mean, this is, this is the next precipice for you, right?This is.And, and, and, and this, I think, could be bigger.Yeah.I really do because we- from there we're, we're gonna, uh, basically the, the platform is Body by Jake Radio.Mm-hmm.Right?This digital radio service.And the tentacles of opportunity come from the talent that we're gonna cr- that, the new talent.And if you have what it takes, get ahold of me.Um, that, thatRight?There's gonna, there are so many people I could think of off the top of my head.No, I know.You, you said it.Yeah.The, uh, music and fitness festivals.And the, there's, there are so many tentacles that, that come off of this.Well, off of iHeart and Universal.Yes.Because they're already doing these festivals.Is there a fitness element to their festivals already?Nothing, right?No, man.And that's the th- Kenny, that's the thing.Look, the hardest thing that I learned is selling a ticket, right?I, I founded Major League Lacrosse.I do.You know what you do with Strongville, right?I do.You with, with your events.It's a suck ass to get people to buy tickets, for sure.It's the ha- and, "Oh, I'm coming.I'm co- I'm in, I promise I'm buying."Yeah."I, I, don't worry, Kenny, I'm gonna be there," you know?And you're praying for the walk-up.Except it rains that day, you know?So you don't have to worry aboutBut that was, you know, a- and I just said now, you get smarter too a little bit.You know, as crazy as the ideas become, you do get a little smarter.I said, "Let's incubate these things inside a big platform.There's already a big, uh, festival, a big music festival.Let's drop in, you know, like we're a guest performer."Now, could I get, could I listen to any of this on Spotify?Yeah.Uh, uh, Spotify- Or you need, you- Oh, we got Alexa, we got all this stuff lined up.So it's all coming, but you gotta have the iHe- Download the iHeartRadio app.Yeah, just download the iHeartRadio app.It's free.Yeah.And then just search Body by Jake Radio.Okay.And just let it roll.I mean, the music is great.The tips are cool, man.And it's- I'm exci- Yeah, no, I definitely wanna listen.And it's 24/7, where, where, th- like I said, this is top of the second day.Yeah.It's top of the second day.I wanted to launch this month, 'cause it's mental health month.Mm-hmm.As you know, the most underutilized antidepressant is exercise.Oh.Is just moving your body.Yeah.Right?I think so many of our kids are overmedicated, uh- Overstimulatedand grownups too, and overstimulated.And th- this is, this is a place where you know it's, it's great positive music- Mm-hmmand it's great positive vibes.And the nuggets, you remember the old Arsenio Hall TV show?He used to do, right?Arsenio.The things that make you go, "Hmm."Yeah.That's what all this is.It's like, it's a nugget.You're on the train, you're in the car, you're walking the dog.Wherever you are, and you have this on, there's a tip that comes up, and we don't overburden you.The tips come on 4 or 5 times an hour.They're 30 seconds tops.You know, I don't know, you probably don't remember, the Casey Kasem used to do- Of coursehis Top 40, right?Yeah.So, and he used to do a letter.You know, this is, "This goes out to Kenny- Yeah, yeahin, you know, in New Jersey."We're doing the same thing.So we, we, we did this test, and we were inundated with stories of people who've overcome adversity.That's a- act- So- I love that aspect.So- That's greatI read a little, you know, we cut it down to 35 seconds.You know, uh, Andre from Atlanta, Georgia- Mm-hmmyou know, was the night, uh, janitor at a gym.And, uh, this one night, it, someone had mentioned, "Andre, you should, should start working out."And he said, "Ah, I don't know."Anyway, Andre ends up training a little bit.Ends up getting his personal fitness certification.Mm-hmm.You know, Andre can do it, so could you.Don't quit.You know, it's, it's, it's that kinda stuff.Yeah.I love that.It's simple.It's an old trick that worked really well.Like, I re- I remember listening to Casey Kasem in the car with my parents.Yeah.They always, and you, you hear those stories, and you remember some of them.You do.Yeah.And, and, and, and the thing is this.Everybody tries to overcomplicate things, Kenny.I've always tried to simplify.I ain't that smart to complicate things.I can't, I never can talk above anybody.I would never talk below anybody.What works is when you listen to the channel, is I make it where I'm talking to you, and it's just a one-on-one conversation.So when I'm giving you the little insight to the mental health moment, or the wellness tip, or the nutrition tip, it's like I'm sitting at a table.I say, "Kenny, you know, about this thing, let me tell you."And it's da, da, da, da, da, da, ba, ba, da, ba, da, ba, boom.And then we go into a great piece of music.And now what's some of the music?is it- It's the greatest.Late '70s, '80s, and '90s.Come on, man.I mean, it doesn't get better.It's all I listen to anyway.I know.I mean, but most people- It's the feel good.You could always tell what decade a song was written in b-by the topic, right?It was like the '80s was all about the parties.'90s was like- Yeahsome of the more aggressive rock stuff.Um, but you have seen and basically helped birth the idea of, like, fitness, wellness, everything that's going on now.You've watched it- Mm-hmmgrow to this point.Yeah.What have you seen, uh, uh, where do you think it's going?Because you've seen it all, right?Yeah.You were, you were at the beginning.Where do you see it going?Because now we have the, the radio show.There's, everybody has a fitness channel.Every, YouTube is ma- fitness is massive on YouTube.Yeah, yeah.Where do you see it all going?You know what?I, I, I, uh, the, the really great thing we talked earlier about, the folks on the GLP-1s.So there's millions of more people getting in the game.Um, there are more and more opportunities, uh, to be successful in this industry.Um, I think there's plenty of room for everybody to succeed.I think the only thing that I wanna see is for people to be authentic and to be trusting, because a person who is losing weight, who doesn't have a lot of self-esteem, who doesn't have, you know, a lot of confidence, is gonna walk through those doors.It's, it takes a lot for that person to do that.Mm-hmm.Right?And the person inside has to understand that.It's not just some money walking in the room.It's about there's a responsibility.Yeah.And there's, there's all these, look, e- you know, all these events and s- uh, I think it's great.I do.I think it's great.I, I mean, the more people engage with one another, and put down social media, and are out running, whether it's doing the HYROX stuff, or doing, or any one of these things- Mm-hmmI think it's awesome.Yeah.I really do.I th- I, I think it's great.I-I look around this gym.I mean, you know, my, my first job, and you can look this up, man.I got to LA, I worked 2 weeks at Vince Gironda's gym.Now you never heard of the man's name.You go, you guys will look him up.Vince Gironda.He was on the way to studio, he was on the way to Universal Studios.His, his gym was all, there was noEverything was ropes.He b- he built everything with ropes, right?Yeah.There, there was no any, there was nothing but ropes and weights.And I remember working the front desk, right?I was 18 years old, I just got to LA, and I, I knew Vince Gironda from the muscle magazines.And the first day, Apollo Creed walked in, right?No shit.And then I saw, you know, Kent McCord from, uh, uh, One Adam-12.One Adam-12.See the lady on first Street, you know?And then Vince Gironda got mad at me 'cause I, 'cause I would give you the towel, and I would, you know, I'd say, "Apollo Creed," you know?And it was like, the guy would just walk by.I was 18.You know, it was like, "Wait a minute.I know you from Rocky."You know?Yeah.And that had just come out.It just came out.Yeah.It just came out.And, uh, I'll, I'll never forget it.Um, my grandma passed away, who was my biggest, my, my biggest hero, one that believed in me the most, and I told Vince, and Vince said, "Oh, I love you, man.You're from Brooklyn."You know, he used to always give me protein powder, you know, we'd take it to this closet, this, you know, the chalk, you know, back in the day.And I said, "My grandma died.I, I gotta go back to New York for the funeral."He says, "Don't worry.You got your chair when you come back."And I said, "Okay."I came back the next weekend.Some dude is sitting in the chair.I go, "What are you doing?"says, "You weren't here last week."I go, "My grandma died."Go, "Nah, Vince got me the job now."I said, "Vince, what happened?"He goes, "You didn't tell me you were leaving."I mean, the dude was whacked out of his mind too.And I said, from that moment, true story, I said, "I'll never work for anybody again in my life."Neither will I.He fired me.For my grandma.I mean, 'cause my grandma passed away.But he, he was, he did, he did me a service.Yeah.I said- I think I, it's- I said, "I will never work for anybody again."I say, I say that all the time.I've been fired from every job, I'm so thankful.Um, but one of the things, uh, I wanted to ask you about was, I, I, last week, 2 weeks ago, that Hulk Hogan documentary came out.Oh, yeah.And I watched the 4 ser- uh, 4 parts, and- What a, what a great, what a great guy.Did you watch it?I didn't, I didn't watch it.I, I knew him, man.I knew Terry.Yeah.He was just a, justAnd I saw him at the end too, when, when he had 2 canes.Yeah.He was at this place called The Beverage Forum, which my friend puts on.Uh, and, and he was, uh, launching a beer.Yeah, yeah.Um, just the nicest guy.So- Uh, he was just the nicest guyin the last episode, they were, uh, Jesse Ventura was saying, he goes, "You know, when, when Terry died, it made it real mortal for me."Yeah.He, he's like, you know, everybody looked up to him, he was such a big deal.And it got me thinking, you know, how people remember you, and what your legacy and what you leave behind.And I think one of the best quotes is from the, the Batman movie where he says, "Either live, uh, you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain."And I think s- Hulk Hogan suffered a little bit of that.He lived long enough where, you know, people started to change their mind about him.Had he have passed away a little sooner, I think people would've remembered him a different way.it got me thinking about- Ohmortality and life and how people see you and remember you, and howBecause you've had this life, you know, you're almost 70 years old.Yeah.Jesus.And you're- Give me aCome on, man, you just turned 68.Jesus Christ.Well, you're close to it, man.Yeah.You're knocking on the door of 70.Easy does it, doctor.Check, please.Party of one.But, but you've, I think you've made a lot of really smart choices in your life, where it's like, I only look at you, like, only in a positive light.Like, there is no down- Well, thank you.What's your recommendation to people who are, you know, because as I get older, I'm like, how do you stay so good?How do you stay so neutral, right?In so many different aspects of life.Because I think you stepping away from becoming governor- Yeahwas a huge move for you.Yeah.Whether you did everything right, there would still be people who hate you.That's right.And I think that was such a strategic move.When you told me you weren't gonna do it, I was like, "Fuck, I would've loved to seen him as governor."Right.But I think the burdenI know your family, I know your children.Right, yeah.Like, I understand how- Well, you think about it.I built a brand since I'm 19 years old.It could've been destroyed in 72 hours.Yeah.I mean, look- Yeahfor no apparent reason other than people think you're gonna win.Mm-hmm.And whoever doesn't wanna see you win gonna take you down, and they're gonna say whatever they have to say.And they'll, and they'll make shit up.And then you gotta stand up and say, "Uh, I did not do that."And then it's like, "Well, he looks like he might do that."Yeah.And then all of a sudden, everything unravels.People say that all the time, you know.And they do that.But you know what, though?Kenny, the thing I also learned, too, if you belie- My friend Harrison Ford said this, and I just told this story this morning.I did a short-lived sitcom back in the early, early days called Shapin' Up, right?And this is a story you don't know.It, it, it was a summer replacement show in 1984.The A-Team was the number one show, right, in the country.Mr. T and all that.And- I love that showABC did a, did a summer replacement show called Shapin' Up, which took place in a gym.Leslie Nielsen, you know, the great actor.Yeah, yeah, yeah.He was incredible.Amazing actor.Jennifer Tilly, the actress.Shawn Weatherly, who was Miss America.The creators of the show, a guy named Ken Estin and Sam Simon.Sam Simon created The Simpsons.Okay?Not, not the character, but the TV show.Yeah.And I was cast as an airline flight attendant.All right?And I'm in the gym.And, uh, and I'm only supposed to be in the pilot episode.And the first episode, I had 2 lines.Whatever 2 lines, but I da, da, da, right?And I get a big laugh.And they said, "We're gonna write you in the next one."And when it came time for the show to come out, they did a press screening for the show at Paramount.This was 1984.And, um, after the screening, people come up to me, "You're hysterical.You're gonna be a big star."I'm like, "Thanks, man.Uh, that's really great," you know?And I'm all pumped up, right?And the next morning, I go to a deli called Nate 'n Al's in LA.It, it's a cool deli.I would go all the time in between clients.I get Hollywood Reporter and Variety.This is '84 now, so once again, no social media.And I'm ready to read a review like, "Jake Steinfeld is the new, you know, Harrison whoever."I, first of all, they, they immediately start to rip the show.And then they go, "And Jake Steinfeld as the gym dumbbell."I go like this.I'm looking around thinking, "Who else is reading Hollywood Reporter right now?"Yeah.I'm destroyed.Like, I wanna get out of there so fast.And I'm going to my clients' houses, and every client I went to, I said, "Uh, you ever get a bad review?So a buddy of mine, uh, called me, said I got a bad review.You know, w- what do you think I should tell him?"You, you know?And I remember what, what H said to me.He said, "Jake, uh, your buddy, huh?So you got a bad review."Uh, I said, "Yeah, buddy.Called me a gym dumbbell."He says, "Hey, if you believe the good reviews, then you better believe the bad reviews."He says, "It's up to you if you wanna read them, and it's one person's opinion.It's how you felt on how you did and executed the role- Mm-hmmor the job or anything like that.And you learn over the course of time, not everyone's gonna love you.You know?There's gonna be people who, they might be jealous, they might be this.They don't wanna see you succeed because they feel that there's now, if Kenny's successful, then I can't be successful.What you come to learn is you wanna surround yourself with people who all believe in each other, 'cause all boats rise.And if Kenny's successful, then I can be successful.Mm-hmm.And we can all be successful.Because there's plenty of room for everybody to succeed.There's just a lot of people out there that just believe that, "Oh, Kenny is a 2bit, man.He ain't so good," you know."I'm better."Well, then go out and do it.But those are the ones who don't go out and do it.Yeah.I, you know, and I think that's why we connect so much, because I genuinely wanna see people win.Yeah.And know if I have more people winning around me, it's only gonna lead to my success.It's the, I mean, it's the greatest thing, and it, it does take time because early on, you know, you wanna- Oh, yeah, yeah.Yeahyou, you compete, and c- and competition is great.But, um, you know, it, it's, it's something where, you know, like we said, you go, you build a brand, and you just make, you make choices.You know, I never went to bars.I, I used to bounce at a bar early on in my career, right?You know, way before- Mmwhen I was just starting out.And I don't go out at night, you know?I, I, you know, I'm not getting in trouble.Uh, and you just, you just, it's, you make, you have to make dec- choices and decisions.There is definitely sacrifice as I was coming up that, hey, I'm not gonna go out.You know?I don- I don't wanna go to this place because I'm on TV now.Right?And I learned from a lot of the people that I trained a- about what, what to do in those situations.So that was a great learning- For me.I, I feel like you have so much wisdom.You know, uh, you obviously own the quote, "Don't quit."Yes.I trademarked those words.Cut from my 8th grade basketball team, true story, uh, and this kid gave me a poem called Don't Quit on a permaplac.And, um, permaplac, you know, those hard thing, right?Yeah, yeah.And, um, I was not a student.I was not good in school.I had a terrible stutter growing up, was an overweight kid, and, um, I would normallyI don't know why I didn't throw it away, but I put it on my desk, and I had kept it on my desk since I was 14 years old.Wherever I w- was at, whatever apartment I was in, in my house.I trademarked the words in 1981.Uh, Nike tried to buy them, um, before they did Just Do It.And they offered me, I mean, uh, I- probably a lot of money for me in '81, and I said, "No, not gonna do it."And we've had our back and forth over the years, and, uh, I persevere.Um, and- I'm sure, uh, plenty of people have tried to steal that.Oh, yeah.But you know what, though?People know.We send a nice note, you know, uh, from an attorney.Have you made more money off that than the other- No, man.No.You never made money on it?I spent money.Really?I haven't made any money on Don't Quit.No shit.No, man.No, I have it on- Have you ever thought about selling it?I won't sell it.I won't sell it.And now even more because when we were evacuating, right?Think about this.You're living in a house for 31 years.You have one hour to evacuate.What do you take?So we try to get all the valuables, as much as we can.I'm in my office.I pulled a couple things, and I literally went toI, I, uh, I could tell you, I put my hand on the plaque, which you can't even see.By the way, you can't even read the poem anymore.It's fromI'm 14,I'm 68 now.You said close to 70.What the fuck?And, uh, and I'm about to put it in my duffle bag, and I said, "I can't do this."If IAnd, and to myself, out loud, "If I take the poem, I'm quitting on the house.I'll be back to read it tomorrow morning."Unfortunately, it didn't work out the way I planned it.But, um, no, Don't Quit, I have spent more in legal fees to fight, um, the trademark- That's crazythan I ever had in, uhAt some point, we'll, we'll do something.I mean, companies have come to me to, to buy it.Um, and I just, uh, it's, it's who I am, man.It's just, you knowAnd, and the poem is, you know, I don't know if I ever recited it, man.But it's, uh-when things go wrong, as they sometimes will, when the road you're trudging seems all uphill, when the funds are low and the debts are high, and you wanna smile but you have to sigh, when care is pressing you down a bit, rest if you must, but don't you quit.Life is queer with its twist and turns as every one of us sometimes learn.And many a failure turn about when you might have won had you stuck it out.Don't give up though the pace seems slow, you may succeed with another blow.Success is failure turned inside out, the silver tint of the clouds of doubt.And you never can tell how close you are, it may be near when it seems so far.So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit, it's when things seem worst that you must not quit.Do you- Don't quit.Who actually wrote it?It was an anonymous poem, but now over the years I've seen an, a name on the poem.That's- But, uh, when I received it, it was an anonymous poem.Yeah.So somebody- Uhsomebody took, uh, put their name on the bottom of it.Uh, and they've added a stanza, but the orig- what I recited was the original poem that I received- Yeahuh- In 19-when I was cut from my 8th grade basketball team.So, uh, uh, '72.1972.World was a different place then.Yeah, man.Gene, I loved s- sitting and chatting with you.This is great.So look- Thank you so muchI want everybody to check out- Yeahseriously, this is all, this is all great.I love telling stories.Mm-hmm.But, uh, this is a great opportunity and a great moment for you, uh, to be able to make change.Yeah.You know, 'cause making change in your life is the m- the toughest part about life is, is change.Mm-hmm.And it's rough and tough, but when you have the right motivation and the right inspiration and the right tools, change can happen.What's the social footprint for the, the new radio show itself?Uh, y- y- Is there, do we have any, like, social stuff coming out?No.The, uh, the- there is gonna be coming out right now.I mean, literally, it's, it's, so we're gonna have a YouTube channel- Yeahuh, where we're talking about a podcast.But, uh, right now I'm focused wholly and solely on building Body by Jake Radio, which just download, you know, your, your iHeartRadio app, it's free.And search Body by Jake Radio, preset it, and you got it.And, uh, when you wake up in the morning, boop, put it on, and, um, it's you and me.Yeah.And I promise you we're gonna win.You're gonna win.You are a cultural icon.I love chatting with you.You're my boy.You're the best.Thank you, buddy.Thank you so much.One of the best guys I've ever met.This guy, I'm proud of you.Listen- Thank you so muchI love what you're doing.I really do.Appreciate it.I, I love what you're doing in the world and bringing, and bringing the enthusiasm and excitement and, and, and covering the, the industry the way you do in a really positive way, giving everybody a fair shake.You don't bust balls, you don't, uh, you know, there's too much of that.Yeah.Everybody, e- every equipment company you talk to, every brand you talk to is an entrepreneur- Mm-hmmwho, who has dreamt something up, who believes in it, and for you to sit there and say something in a negative way, I, I just love the way you do it.I appreciate that.You know?Guys, quit.Guys, thank you so much as always.Jake, thank you so much for joining us.As always, like, share, subscribe with a friend, and stay strong.