3rd Time Around: Arnold Sports Festival 2017
Well I didn’t get a picture or autograph, but I still saw one of my biggest heroes ever for the third time. Arnold Schwarzenegger!! I went to his annual seminar on March 5, which always happens on the last day of his 4-day Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio. This festival was started by Arnold and a local Ohio businessman, Jim Lorimer, in the 1970s. It encompasses bodybuilding, wrestling, MMA, archery, and basically any sport you can think of. Hundreds of thousands of people come to this each year. It has expanded to several other parts of the world, but its main hub is always Columbus, Ohio. Arnold’s seminar is the best way to actually see him. He appears at several events throughout the week, but with this, he sits down and tells stories about his life, career, and talks motivation. One of his longtime friends and former bodybuilder himself and actor, Franco Columbo, was there, too. He actually walked by me to get to his seat in the audience, which was cool. He eventually got on stage with Arnold and talked some as well, which was great. Arnold did say that the sequel to his movie Twins is being written. This has been in the works for sometime, so to hear him say this in a public forum was cool. He has a drama coming out on video next month called Aftermath, which was actually shot in Columbus. Check it out when it’s released. It looks really good. Arnold said all is good with his life. If I could be as successful and as happy as he is, even in the smallest way, then I can say I’ve done well. I’ve been a fan of this man since I was 8 or 9 years old (I’ll be 35 this year. The same day he turns 70. July 30th.) He’s still getting new fans, too. A boy, 9-years-old I believe, told Arnold that he is his biggest fan and asked him who would win in a fight of Terminator vs. Robocop? Arnold asked the boy “Who do you think?” The boy said “Terminator?” And Arnold said “Alright”. Very nice man. I’ll always be a fan.