Ric Drasin: The Body from Bakersfield on Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dave Draper, Lou Ferrigno, John Cena, Golden Age of Bodybuilding, Pro Wrestling and More
The 1970s, was a golden era of bodybuilders like Arnold Schwarzenegger. Schwarzenegger, of course, went on to become one of the great Hollywood action stars of all time, as well as the governor of California. But Arnold was not the only bodybuilder whose foundation for success began with weightlifting. His training partner – at the original Gold’s Gym in Venice, California – to was Ric Drasin, who went on to a career in pro wrestling. Drasin also appeared in movies with the likes of acting legend Mae West and worked on the popular TV show The Incredibe Hulk which starred Bill Bixby and bodybuilding legend Lou Ferrigno.
The multi-talented Drasin was also the artist who drew the Gold’s Gym logo that has become one of the most recognizable logos in the world. To this day, you can see the on many of the gym franchise’s t-shirts.
The 1970s was a time of intense training, along with camaraderie, for some of the best built and strongest men in the world. This was an era when performance enhancing drugs – including steroids – were not yet mainstream, the selection of the substances was relatively limited, yet their use, while legal, was not the be all and end all of weight training.
Besides Arnold, Drasin was friends with and trained amongst the likes of Dave Draper – the famed “Blonde Bomber” who today has become something of bodybuilding’s poet laureate – and big Lou Ferrigno – who most recently was in the spotlight as having trained Michael Jackson to help physically prepare him for the This is It tour, which tragically never took place.
The aesthetic and relatively earnest strength of the bodybuilders from that golden era seems lost with where competitive, professional bodybuilding has gone today.
Currently, Ric Drasin – who is a compelling speaker and personality – has a YouTube based show, with a loyal following, the eponymous, Ric’s Corner. The former Mr. Venice Beach interviews legendary bodybuilders from the past and covers a variety of topics. His show is refreshingly candid. Drasin has various plans for a TV show and doesn’t rule out radio.
Reinvention is not for everyone. It involves learning new skills and striving to perfect them. That said, Mr. Drasin – a renaissance man if there ever was one – has done that many times over. Fans of bodybuilding, training, fitness and pro wrestling are sure to appreciate his knowledge. People in general are bound to be drawn in by his natural, knowledgeable, easy style. You can listen to the entire interview below or read the write up.
Drasin opens up by talking about gyms and the state of training in America today and how his YouTube show, Ric’s Corner, has worked to give educational and historical information on the training regimens of the guys from the 1970s.
Listen to the entire 50 plus minute CYInterview with Ric Drasin:
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Drasin opens up by talking about gyms and the state of training in America today and how his YouTube show, Ric’s Corner, has worked to give educational and historical information on the training regimens of the guys from the 1970s.
“It’s interesting because I look at the trainers in the gym today and so many of them haven’t got a clue what they’re doing, they’re talking on their phone and texting people all the time…No one’s getting results and I keep getting quizzed about the 70s era. What we did? How did we got in such great shape? What was the workout? What was the diet? How many sets? How many reps? What did Arnold do? So I decided to make myself available by way of my website, by way of YouTube and the Internet, worldwide, be able to train people who wanted me to put them on a program by way of the Internet.”
Highlighting the differences of how things have changed in the bodybuilding and strength game, Drasin analyzes the drug and supplement culture impacting bodybuilding today, covering a four decade transition.
“With bodybuilding, the more drugs you take, the bigger you get, the better you think you are, so what they’ve done is they’ve come into growth hormones, insulin…But drugs we never even heard of back then and they never took, which kept our waist small. Today, they take growth hormones and insulin, it extends the stomach and all the organs below that and makes you look like you’re pregnant. So you have these big bloated waists and they compete at 300 pounds, 280, even at five foot five…because their mindset is bigger, better.”
What’s bound to come up speaking with Mr. Drasin about his storied life is his relationship with former training partner Arnold Schwarzenegger. Ric relates how he told the former governor not to continue in the world of acting after he saw Arnold do a reading for a movie. He says they still keep in touch and he’s heard Arnold is probably going to get back involved in bodybuilding, one way or another. He’d also love to do some collaborations with Arnold, perhaps, having him on Ric’s Corner.
“We did our first Chevy commercial together in Malibu. I remember we first got a job doing a commercial. After that, I got the movie Ben (editor’s note: Michael Jackson did the title song, Ben). He went on to do some things. We joined SAG and then I won an audition one night with him in Burbank. He went to read for some gladiator thing and he was stuttering over the words laughing. He asked me to go. I got in the car and I said, ‘Arnold, I don’t think you should even think of acting. You can’t even talk.’ And we laughed about it. I think about that today what a stupid statement that was or maybe not because he was so focused that he did what he did.
Now that he is out of office, I’ve heard rumors that he’s getting back into bodybuilding as far as the promotional end and the magazines and whatever he can do to promote the sport, which I think is great because what better person than him. Then he had a deal for a movie as well, which I think he’ll probably do too. I don’t know. I can’t imagine Arnold sitting home retired, just sitting on his couch…I have heard from him through the governor’s office a couple of times about a year or two ago. He asked (famed bodybuilder) Bill Grant about me last week. They were doing something. He knows about Ric’s Corner. I said, ‘Well, make sure you tell him that I want to get him on there.’ Maybe we can work something to promote bodybuilding between he and I and along with Ric’s Corner. If he gets behind it, that be great.”
Movie-wise, Mr. Drasin acted alongside Mae West in the movie Sextette. It was the last movie of the Hollywood legend’s career. She was 85 years old at the time. Drasin, and some of his muscle colleagues, were hired to do four days of work and instead ended up on the project for four weeks.
“We got hired to work on the show. It was over at Paramount. Had to be the worst movie ever made. I mean, Ringo Star, Timothy Dalton, every superstar was in that film. We were supposed to have four days on it…So we went down there for four days and we ended up being up there for four weeks. She didn’t show up half the time. She wasn’t feeling well. She was sleeping. She didn’t feel like working. So we made a lot of money doing that movie. It was nice to have that footage. I have some really good scenes with her. I have some dialogue back and forth, which it’s Mae West. It’s kind of classic.”
On the small screen, Drasin was on the The Incredible Hulk television series with fellow strongman and veteran actor Lou Ferrigno. More recently, Mr. Ferrigno had been training and working with his friend Michael Jackson for the This Is It tour, prior to the King of Pop’s tragic passing. Ric has nothing but great things to say about big Louie and his time working on The Incredible Hulk. However, he says Lou was always focused on what Arnold Schwarzenegger was doing, in the gym, even at the height of his successful TV show. Some believe, perhaps, Lou’s father was the reason Ferrigno focused on Arnold so much.
“Lou is a good guy. I’ve known Lou forever. He’s just the nicest, warmest, friendliest person to me. I have a lot of respect for him and when I worked on the show, I had no idea where it was gonna go…So they made me the middle Hulk, which had it’s own following. Working on the show was fine. It’s like working on any movie. You sit on the set and you’re bored to death…Lou and I would sit in this trailer and have lunch and all he would talk about is, what do you think Arnold’s doing, what do you think Arnold’s training? I said, ‘Why are you so worried about Arnold? You’ve got this series going. You’re making a fortune and you’re doing well. Don’t worry about Arnold.’ But he was always concerned about what Arnold was doing at the gym when he wasn’t there. Then he wanted to fly a helicopter, have a helicopter take us to workout that night. You know, it’s not that important. I’m tired. I’m going home.”
When it comes to legitimate tough guys in professional wrestling, Drasin believes his neighbor “Judo” Gene LeBell is the man. Ric also says it’s true that LeBell choked out actor and Aikido master Steve Seagal on a movie set.
“There’s only one guy that comes to mind. That’s Gene LeBell. It’s true. Gene’s my neighbor. He lives about six blocks from me. When I got into the business, I worked with him a lot. We’ve been close friends ever since. Anytime he does stunt work that he’s doing, he has a need for somebody like me, he’ll call me up and give me a job. He’s really a wonderful guy.”
On YouTube, Ric has a six part series on steroid use on his Ric’s Corner. For young athletes and kids who might consider taking steroids, Drasin believes they’re not the answer [Editor’s Note: And they’re illegal!]. He also believes people have no idea what’s being dealt on the street and most young people don’t understand that proper diet and exercise have to be done with steroid use to get the full effect.
“I think there’s a time and place for it. I started taking them when I was around 18 [editor’s note: steroids were legal then]. It was legal for many years after that and I didn’t get good results with it because my body wasn’t use to it and I was still producing testosterone. Then I’d go off it then I’d go on it, then I’d go off it and it worked. It did its job. No question about it, but that stuff back then was real. It came from the pharmacy. Over the years, I don’t know what’s real and not anymore on the street. There’s a lot of bogus stuff out there and kids get their hands on something, they could get sick…I don’t think that anybody young needs it because your body is still working and producing…It does put you over the top, but it doesn’t do it by itself. The steroid itself isn’t the answer. You have to train hard and you have to diet properly in order to see the results from it because I see guys, young guys do it and they get pimples and they get fat…I’m not gonna tell them to take steroids because it’s not the answer. I would say, it’s your choice. If you want to risk it, go ahead.”
Finally, Drasin talks about his time as a wrestling promoter with the American Wrestling Federation. In his early days, well before appearing on WrestleMania this past weekend or being the WWE Champion, John Cena appeared on cards Drasin promoted, working for $50. Cena picked Drasin’s brain about many wrestling techniques.
“I decided to open the American Wrestling Federation and I ran shows here about every two months at local schools and colleges and drew a big crowd. John was just learning how to wrestle. I used him on my card and I’d give him 50 bucks. Then he’d ask me about old school techniques, some experience and can you help me with this, can you help me with that? Next thing I know he was WWE. He’s a wonderful human being, just the nicest person in the world…I know people who run into him and he always sends his regards to me. He’s that type of person.”
You can find out everything about Ric Drasin and Ric’s Corner at his official website at http://www.ricdrasin.com
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