Bigger Stronger Faster

CHRIS BELL:

January 23, 1984.

It was a day that

changed my life forever.

PRESIDENT REAGAN:... The muscle,

the moral courage that built

the greatest, freest nation

the world has ever known.

CHRIS:
Ronald Reagan

was our President

and there was trouble

brewing in Iran.

I was just a kid,

but I knew

who was behind it.

His name was

The Iron Sheik.

ANNOUNCER:

From Tehran, Iran,

weighing 258 Ibs,

The Iron Sheik!

COMMENTATOR:
They have a lot of

hate in their hearts for this man.

Iran- number one!

U.S.A.-

CHRIS:
You see, Reagan

may have freed the hostages

but The Sheik still had

the championship belt.

There was only one man

that could save us.

I am a real

American...

ANNOUNCER:
From Venice

Beach, California,

the incredible

Hulk Hogan!

COMMENTATOR:
And the

Hulkster rips off that shirt.

CHRIS:
But three

minutes into the match

Hulk Hogan was locked in

the dreaded camel clutch.

COMMENTATOR:

It's over for the Hulk.

CHRIS:
This move would snap

the back of a normal man,

But this wasn't

a normal man.

This was Hulk Hogan

and he was fighting

for our country.

The Hulkster got out

of the camel clutch

with the Sheik

on his back,

dropped the big leg

and he pinned

the Sheik.

Hulkamania was born

and the message was clear-

You don't mess

with Hulk Hogan

and you certainly

don't mess with America.

I must break you.

CHRIS:
Look what

happened to Ivan Drago.

He tried to mess

with America

and Rocky

kicked his ass.

And then when the Vietnamese

were holding P.O.W.S

Rambo went in and

he kicked their ass.

And in the spirit

of Rambo

let me tell you we're

gonna win this time.

CHRIS:
Then came

Arnold Schwarzenegger,

The ultimate

ass-kicker.

I never saw "Gone With

the Wind" or "Casablanca,"

but I can tell you every

line of every Arnold movie.

"Crush your enemies, see

them driven before you

and hear the lamentations

of the women. "

"Dylan,

you son of a b*tch. "

And they go bam! And they're all oiled

up and their veins are popping out.

I have the power!

TV ANNOUNCER:

Better, Stronger, Faster.

CHRIS:
I was just 12 years old

and there was an explosion

of ass-kicking in America.

REAGAN:
And like

our Olympic athletes

we set our sights

on the stars

and we're going

for the gold.

the eye of the tiger.

CHRIS:
I wanted to

tear off my shirt

and be ripped, tanned

and larger than life.

But in reality

I was a fat, pale kid

from Poughkeepsie.

You see, I come from

an overweight family.

My parents were always a

little on the heavy side.

I couldn't ask

for a better mom.

She did everything

for her three boys.

We went to church

three times a week

and she even taught

Sunday school.

My dad was always

there for us too

and he even coached

our little league teams.

I love my dad, but he

was never really my hero.

I didn't want

to be like him.

I wanted to be

like Arnold.

Problem is, I was always

too small, too short.

People would say, "Hey, Little Bell.

What's up, Little Bell?"

And I didn't want

to be Little Bell.

I wanted to be

Big Bell.

My older brother Mike

was a little chubby

and every morning

when he went to school

he'd get on the bus and the

kids would call him Pugsley.

He didn't like that

too much,

so he beat

some of those kids up.

That's where he got

the nickname "Mad Dog. "

Mark was

the baby of the family.

He had a hard time

in school.

He was separated

from his friends

and put in the class

with the special kids.

It didn't make him feel

very special at all.

He hated school,

So he spent all of his

time playing sports.

He'd come to the dinner

table dripping with sweat.

Mad Dog and I

nicknamed him "Smelly. "

So I was the short kid,

Mad Dog was the fat kid

And Smelly had

a learning disability.

Okay, I get it.

We're never gonna make it, right?

But for us, we knew

muscles were the answer

and the Hulkster

showed us the way.

Train, say your prayers,

eat your vitamins.

Be true to yourself,

true to your country.

Be a real American.

CHRIS:
So we started

training in the basement.

We'd body-slam

each other,

drop elbows, D.D.T.S

Double noggin knocker,

the abdominal stretch,

the iron claw,

the Boston crab

the piledriver.

And when Mad Dog

was too tough for me

I would break out

the steel chair.

My mom's brother John

was a bodybuilder

and he gave me and my brothers

our first muscle magazines

and showed us

how to work out.

And the next Christmas

instead of video games

we got the Hulkamania

workout set.

Are you ready to feel the power?

Ladies and gentlemen,

we are

the power team!

CHRIS:
Mad Dog became the

captain of the football team

and Smelly and I both started

competing in power lifting.

ANNOUNCER:

Chris Bell is next at 425.

CHRIS:
Soon I was the

strongest kid in my high school.

Then I broke

the New York State record.

And that's when I first got

accused of using steroids.

I knew guys who used

them, but they were losers.

If my heroes didn't need

steroids then neither did I.

By the time

I was a senior

I was one of the strongest

kids in the country.

Hulk Hogan was always

talking about

"hanging and banging down at

Gold's Gym, Venice Beach, brother. "

I thought, "that's

where Arnold trains.

that's where

I need to be. "

I was gonna be

an American hero

And I was willing to do

whatever it takes.

CHRIS:
It's been 15 years

since I got to California

and now

I'm 33 years old.

When Arnold was 33

he'd already won

the Mr. Olympia

seven times.

Stallone had already made

"Rocky I and Rocky II."

And the Hulkster

had already been

the heavyweight champion

four years in a row.

I really thought muscles

were gonna be the answer.

But all they got me was a

job selling gym memberships.

I still train

every day at Gold's,

But the only thing left of Arnold

is a cheap mural on the wall

and a bunch of guys telling

stories about the old days,

like my buddy Paul.

It's changed a lot in

all these years, you know.

How long

have you been here?

Since 1980.

Of course, Arnold was

on the scene and Arnold-

Nobody had ever seen anybody

who looked like Arnold.

Sylvester Stallone had

just done the "Rocky" movies

and he was the type of

guy that I could relate to.

CHRIS:
Paul even got a chance to

work with Sly in "Over the Top. "

I should be able to

blow them away real easy.

PAUL:
I couldn't believe

the dream was coming true.

And did you get a chance

to do it again?

No, but I'm hoping

to get back in shape

to be able to make that

a reality.

You can be

on the street one day

and you can be in the

penthouse the next.

Anything's possible.

This is

my humble abode.

- Your humble abode right here?

- Yeah.

So do you actually

live in the van?

I actually live-

well, I sleep in it,

let's put it

this way, yes.

You sleep in it. And

then you train over here.

I train here, yeah.

You would see

vans like this-

Guys would come from

all over the world,

sleep in their cars,

this and that-

Anything to get a chance

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