Pumping iron with Arnold
By BRIAN SEALS
SENTINEL STAFF WRITER

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SANTA CRUZ — Dave Draper totally recalls meeting Arnold Schwarzenegger just after the actor and would-be politician arrived in the United States in 1968.

The two were at a bodybuilding competition in Florida and bumped into each other backstage preparing for the contest.

"We just had posing trunks on," Draper said with a smile, sitting on the patio of his World Gym on DuBois Street in Santa Cruz. "We were getting pumped up for the show."

Other than his build there was nothing remarkable about the Austrian muscleman, but Draper said he did detect a few certain qualities: Schwarzenegger had that commanding presence in a room he is known for today.

"I could see he had great energy, he had vitality and enthusiasm for life," Draper said.

That was the beginning of a friendship of more than three decades, forged by countless 450-pound bench-presses and innumerable hours in the gym.

Soon after the Florida Mr. Universe competition, Schwarzenegger would move to the Venice area where, along with Draper and people like Ed Guiuliani and Joe Gold, they would build the legend of Southern California bodybuilding — a time known as the sport’s "Golden Age" — at Gold’s gym.

With Schwarzenegger’s entrance into the California gubernatorial recall race, Draper has been getting a lot of calls lately from the media. ABC, "Inside Edition" and the San Francisco Chronicle all have contacted Draper’s gym, seeking the scoop on the candidate and asking questions Draper calls "built for Lego collectors."

Draper, known as the "Blond Bomber," is pretty used to media attention himself. He has acted in movies, been highlighted in such magazines as GQ and featured on television shows like the "True Hollywood Story."

But these days the story is all about Arnold.
"I have to give it a lot of consideration; I’m not his spokesman," Draper said.

That’s not stopping the questions. Is Schwarzenegger a womanizer? What about the pot smoking? Is he a credible candidate?

The Arnold whom Draper remembers was a hard-working athlete, excited about being in the United States. Draper, a devout Christian with years of sobriety under his weight belt, said he used to smoke a little pot during those days, but never saw his gym-mate indulge.

"I never saw him smoke or drink," Draper said.
Clips of Schwarzenegger smoking a joint in the film "Pumping Iron" have aired repeatedly in recent days, but Draper suspects that was performed for cinematic purposes.

Draper said if there are skeletons to dig up, they weren’t apparent when the two worked out at the same gym, and probably were youthful indiscretions. "He’ll probably dress his skeletons up and make them comical," Draper said.

There was nothing telling about Schwarzenegger that would have made him seemed destined for stardom or the political stage. But he did show drive, and he had the low voice and commanding presence that caught people’s attention, according to his old pal.

"He commanded his own space," Draper remembered.

He also recalled that Schwarzenegger would work out with intensity, but couldn’t go too long without joking a bit. Also, he was smart with his money, using early earnings to buy property.

Draper says the same tendencies Schwarzenegger showed when he began exploring the possibilities of acting — he could make contacts but be his own man when decision time came — would serve him well if he becomes governor.

"He’s not going to be worried about stepping on legislators’ toes," Draper said. "He’s not going to pretend to be someone’s friend to get things done."

Draper, who says he’s more conservative than his pal, said he would support his bid to lead California.

"He’ll be a good governor," Draper said.
While reporters and pundits seek out Draper for insights into Arnold’s psyche, what the local businessman and author mostly recalls are simpler times of friendship.

The pair were once abandoned in Hawaii by an event promoter who skipped town without taking the two athletes with him. They were left with $2.60 in cash and a credit card.

"We just lived day by day," Draper said. "Arnold and I had to smile and learn to live with it."

During that same trip, Schwarzenegger showed his lighter side when he shed some clothing and hopped off a hot bus and into a lagoon.

"I’m looking at him saying, ‘Hey, this is illegal, you can’t do that,’ " Draper remembered.

He swam across the lagoon and met the bus as it traveled on and got back aboard to meet the small squadron of laughing bodybuilders.

Schwarzenegger had given up his apartment for the tour, so when they returned to California he briefly lived with Draper and Draper’s former wife, until he got another place.

They had plenty of time to talk, but nothing epic about future plans or political life.

"It could have been pretty vacant stuff; I think we would probably have more fun talking today," Draper said.

As the "Golden Age" began to lose its sheen, the two took separate paths.

Draper came to Santa Cruz County and continued his woodworking trade before opening his first gym in 1990, when his now-famous compadre flew in for a grand-opening appearance. With his wife Laree, whom he met in the late 1980s, Draper runs gyms in Santa Cruz and Scotts Valley, continues to write books and run a bodybuilding Web site.

He still works out regularly and has biceps the size of a Midwestern state.

Schwarzenegger, of course, went on to film stardom and marriage into the Kennedy clan.
They haven’t spoken lately, but remain fast friends, Draper says.

"All the guys that were there will be voting for him," Draper said. "You just think about it and shake your head."

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