About twenty-one years ago, I had reached out to Mr. Hernandez at The Hollenbeck Youth Center telling him about myself, about to graduate from high school and a big Arnold Fan, and that I would like to come visit one day in Los Angeles to see where all the action was. Mr. Hernandez had sent me a signed Arnold photo and thanked me for reaching out to him and invited me to come when I would visit Los Angeles. Now I finally was able to set something up with Priscilla for us to do a tour of the center. With covid being an obstacle, they were only allowing visitors by appointment and wearing a face mask.
When greeted by one of the advisors, I went in for a tour. Entering the center, you see a boxing ring and a basketball court where kids after school would box and play basketball. There is a lot of rich history with the Hollenbeck Youth Center. The gymnasium room featured a painted mural of Arnold Schwarzenegger. A lot of the gym equipment was donated from the Original Gold’s Gym in Venice.
In the hallways, featured articles and framed flyers of annual inner city games events being held. Other celebrity guests included Oscar De La Hoya, Tom Arnold, Arnold Schwarzenegger, etc. One person that was introduced to the center was Gabriel Luna who played the Rev-9 in Terminator Dark Fate.
When Mr. Hernandez was done with one of his conference calls, he approached me, and we talked in one of the conference rooms. We conversed about life, where I am currently do in my professional career and told him about the letter and signed photo that I had saved for all these years. He smiled and appreciated me finally stopping by after all these years. I told him I help promote the After School All Stars Experience Arnold Event every year in Columbus, Ohio and that we were in LA to celebrate Arnold’s 75th birthday and our 25th Anniversary of the fan club.
Before jumping on another call, we got a quick photo together in front of a framed collage of Arnold pictures and a letter.
Every year they have two huge events. One is the turkey giveaway that is done every year around Thanksgiving and the Miracle on 1st Toy Drive where Arnold usually is there donating toys and food to families in the Inner-City. Randy Jennings of TheAronldFans wears his Turbo Man outfit we know from Jingle All the Way. So how can you help to give back? You can help by donating at https://www.hollenbeckpbc.org/ or volunteering.
