Walt Disney Magic: Arnold and Lorimer Create a Classic “Theme Park”!

On every street, there are Arnold banners. In every nearby hotel lobby, there are event posters and balloons showing Schwarzenegger’s double-bicep pose. “ARNOLD PARKING,” reads the electronic signs for our vehicles. Arnold drink specials are offered in nearby bars, and huge crowds of fans (many wearing Numero Uno shirts) are in wonderment over exciting new products and merchandise. There are even some things you can consider to be rides like the Marine’s pull-up bar, the electronic jump-rope challenge, the free Arnold shuttle service or the Jim Lorimer crane lift to the top of the stage. Yes, Walt Disney himself would have been impressed with this “theme park” that Arnold and his partner Jim Lorimer have created for the world’s most pumped-up fitness fans.


Twenty years ago, I attended my first Arnold Classic. I was only 21 then, and over the decades I have witnessed The Austrian Oak’s annual bodybuilding and fitness event going from a small dealer room (held only at Vets Memorial) to taking over the entire downtown area of Columbus. When I first attended the 5th Annual Arnold Classic in 1993, we attendees would park at Vets and walk to a small dealer room, see the bodybuilding events above and then walk downstairs at the end of the night to the VIP banquet. How times have changed (along with my mullet hairstyle)!


This year, TheArnoldFans attended the 25-year anniversary, which has not only spread to many new buildings, hotels and casinos, but has gone from several thousand attendees to a monstrous 175,000 fitness enthusiasts and athletes. Now in 2013, we have to shuttle all over the city. Within this “theme park,” as I call it, we can venture to the many different lands. We have FitnessFrontierLand (the Expo and sporting challenges), Tomorrowland (the Sunday Morning Review where Arnold discusses upcoming projects), Adventureland (where bodybuilding giants duel with pose-offs throughout the Classic), Fantasyland (where dreamers compete to become great future athletes) and even PleasureIsland (21 and over entertainment at The Hollywood Casino’s Party with the Pros).

Come with TheArnoldFans now and explore Ohio’s OakWorld: The Arnold Fitness Festival. Grab some energy bars and put on your comfortable walking shoes; we have a lot of territory to cover. Here’s your hopper pass to explore our three-day adventure.

DAY ONE: Friday

Ryan, Brian and I all check into the media room for our passes. Thanks again for the tickets, Matt! The Fitness Expo opened its doors at 10:30, and we immediately beelined our way to our top two favorite booths: the Tony Nowak Jackets booth and the Schwarzenegger Collection booth.


At Arnold’s station, people would one-by-one attempt to pull a seemingly impossible Conan sword out of the hand of this guy to find out who would be the future king. Okay, not true. The hero with the Arnold-signed sword here is none other than our good friend Daniel Marshall, who created many exclusive Arnold cigars and humidors. Daniel’s and Arnold’s donated collectible treasures were here for sale, which would benefit Schwarzenegger’s charity, the After-School All-Stars. If you’re a stogie fan, you will be AMAZED by the cigar that Daniel has produced. Click HERE to buy the world’s greatest cigar!!!


Next to us, a couple of great fans (who traveled six hours to get here) waited for Arnold to arrive at his booth. For several hours we waited. Wanting to take photos for you fans, we struck out as The Oak toured the complete opposite end of the Expo while we waited here. Sorry, guys. But on this day we met with Christopher Schwarzenegger, who was working at his father’s booth, and we met Greg (an international stud).

We toured the Expo and stopped at the many booths with Arnold magazines, standees and merchandise. In Arnoldland, there’s no need for corndogs or cotton candy. We had all-we-could-carry power bars and energy drinks while wearing ballsy T-shirts.


We handed out our own T-shirts to fans wearing Schwarzenegger attire and who, we made sure, had paid to see The Last Stand. If they had not seen it, we moved on. ***The DVD comes out on April 30th!


We retired early, knowing we would have a very busy following day. Brian went to see his stepbrother, and Ryan and I went nearby to Corey’s (the Gillinator’s brother’s) house for the night. Each time we’d walk in the door, Corey and his wife Kristen would have an Arnold movie already playing on TV. Nothing beats Carnival in Rio!


DAY TWO: Saturday

On average I’d get four hours sleep each night, but “I’m always back in the morning” to the Classic. Once again, we’d make it back to the Schwarzenegger Collection booth when we first arrived at the Expo. This time we knew Arnold would be stopping by there soon since he had yet to come by. It didn’t take long. Security made everyone take a couple of steps back. Ralf Moeller and Dieter firstwalked by, followed by the man everyone had come to see. A very large crowd had gathered to witness their idol. Patrick was also nearby to meet up with his pumped-up brother working the booth. Christopher and Patrick were humble, genuine and were engaging well with the fitness fans. They're real chips off the ol' Austrian block.


Several lucky fans received handshakes or had their movie stills signed by The Oak. One young boy was even able to present Arnold with a special Governor pin. Arnold posed with the lucky kid, followed by a very loud and proud bellow from his father, “YES, THAT’S MY BOY!”


The timing couldn’t have been more perfect as Ryan and I had to immediately go upstairs to cover the International Sports Hall of Fame event as soon as Arnold was finished here. We will be covering this great awards ceremony, hosted by Dr. Robert Goldman with Schwarzenegger, very soon! Stick around for that coverage. Also be on the lookout for Brian’s special report (not to be missed).


After the awards ceremony, we left the convention center so I could see the bronze statue of Schwarzenegger, which is located at Vets. Ryan and Brian had witnessed the statue unveiling ceremony last year, but this was my first time seeing the impressive work of art. Shhhhh, Arnold is reading the book Arnold’s Army. He’s very fascinated by his fans and wants to know all about us. Okay, “enough talk”; let’s move on.


When we arrived back at Corey’s house, Commando was playing during his marathon. Predator was also visually consumed. We killed a couple of hours while we waited for the Party with the Pros. I wasn’t too sure this after-party would be a success, considering it was miles away from everything else. Would everyone really make it out here to the “Hollywood Casino” after the Men’s Finals while snow was coming down? I guess these ballsy bodybuilders have enough layers of muscles to keep them warm. Everyone showed up. Drinks were flowing, characters in movie costumes were dancing, women were on stilts, and Arnold and his entourage had entered the room. Now THIS was a party.


Arnold first sat on a high VIP lounge to dine with his friends and family. It was great to see Franco Columbu back at the Classic again. The man of the hour took a break and walked through an excited crowd of his biggest admirers to the DJ’s stage. After The Oak was introduced, he gave a rousing five-minute speech and welcomed everyone to the event and then demanded us all to have fun! The muscular action hero then worked his way back to his table as he greeted fans along the way. Eventually the Governor and his friendly staff exited the party while TAFs continued on with the party. More sleep was lost.



DAY THREE: Sunday

While Sunday is not as busy as the other days, this has always been my most anticipated day. The Arnold Sports Festival’s greatest event has always been the Arnold Training Seminar. This year was no exception, but for the 25-year anniversary they moved this seminar to a better venue: the Hilton Hotel. Not as cold and more intimate, this training seminar opens with an introduction by co-founder Jim Lorimer and then instantly moves right into an hour-long treat for the fans. Now it’s time for Arnold to tell stories of his past, present and future. We have a lot of interesting project and movie news to report from this event. You’ll be back to read more on what TAFs has learned.

When Arnold was done and had thanked everyone for coming, TAFs were on our feet to get a photo with our hero. Lookin’ good, boss! You’re NO schmuck! Much obliged!


After the seminar and our photo, while still on our high, TAFs decided to treat ourselves to a special memento. With a jacket fitting and purchase from Maria Nowak, we’d forever remember our adventures of The Arnold Classic with the exclusive Tony Nowak limited edition 25-year anniversary silver-collared jacket. The T-1000 would approve!


We look forward The Arnold Classic growing in Ohio and also spreading to the new territories over the world, including a new destination of Rio. As I said earlier, nothing beats Carnival in Rio and with all the sports athletes completing, there will surely be some great bundas at the Classic in Rio.

Be sure to order ASF25, an ALL-NEW DVD of the 25th Anniversary of the Arnold Classic. Buy it HERE and tell them that TAFs sent you! Also be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter to see many more photos from our Classic coverage!

Ballsy Awards: Special thanks to JimL MattL, FrancoC, Dr.Bob, MariaN, ArnoldS, GregD, DanielM, DanielK, DieterR, RalfM, ChristopherS, PatrickS, FernieL (great cigar), Corey and Kristen for making our trip so memorable.

The Low Forehead Awards: Delta Airlines for breaking down, making me get my story up a day later.