Mike O'Hearn PART ONE - SAS CLASSIC

Summary

The Steve Austin Show – Mike O’Hearn PART ONE – SAS CLASSIC

Date: February 3, 2026
Host: Steve Austin
Guest: Mike O’Hearn

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Episode Overview

In this engaging episode, Steve Austin is joined by fitness legend Mike O’Hearn for an in-depth and wide-ranging conversation. The two discuss Mike's remarkable career in bodybuilding, powerlifting, and television (notably American Gladiators), along with his philosophies on training, nutrition, motivation, and maintaining peak physical condition over multiple decades. The episode is rich with personal stories, tales of discipline and resilience, and actionable insights for anyone interested in fitness and personal growth.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Mike O’Hearn’s Early Life and Athletic Beginnings

[10:11–16:45]

• Mike hails from a large family in Washington, with a strong background in athletics—the entire family was physically gifted.
• Dyslexia: Mike shares his experience being dyslexic, struggling with reading and writing as a kid, and being placed in special education.
  • "I could not read and write." – Mike [13:23]
  • Overcame by sheer repetition and relentless effort, still needing to reread scripts many times even today.
• Parental approach: Mike’s parents instilled accountability and independence, vitalizing his development.
• Started competing in martial arts, bodybuilding, and powerlifting at age 9, winning his first bodybuilding contest at 14.

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2. Genetics, Work Ethic, and Staying Natural

[15:45–22:25]

• Steve and Mike discuss the idea of great genetics versus consistent, disciplined work.
  • "The genetics never drove me to the gym, never made me stay on the diet... The one thing I won't do is quit." – Mike [21:29]
• Mike insists he’s always been natural, competing exclusively in drug-tested events by choice.
• He started training alongside powerlifting legends (Doug Furness, Ed Coan, Doyle Kennedy), believing “monstrous strength” was the norm because of his gym crowd.
• Debunks the notion that he was using steroids as a teenager:
  • "Dude, I didn't have even hair on my balls, you know, so it's like, stop that." [16:46]

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3. Bodybuilding, Football, and Turning Points

[22:25–26:16]

• Mike was an All-American high school football player and heavily recruited for college but realized his passion was individual achievement, not team sports.
  • Emphasized lack of financial incentive in football at the time.
  • Chose bodybuilding, quickly gaining visibility with Joe Weider and landing on magazine covers at age 17.
  • "I was a kid from Washington. I'm like, alright, whatever... Then a cover of Muscle & Fitness comes out... It was a headshot." – Mike [27:12]
• Discussed the business side of fitness modeling and learning to leverage appearances for career longevity.

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4. American Gladiators, TV, and Wrestling ‘What Ifs’

[29:26–32:50; 45:56–53:13]

• Mike nearly signed with WWE (meeting Vince and Shane McMahon) but contractual obligations to American Gladiators prevented dual participation.
• His entry into American Gladiators was highly competitive, highlighting his physical prowess (running a 4.9-second 40-yard dash at 285 lbs, high reps of pull-ups, etc.).
  • "They had us fight all day... I wanted to go out there and prove I could do it." [46:09]
• Mike learned valuable stage presence and mic skills from his time on TV, especially from Gladiators cohort Hawk.
• Compared the originality and authenticity of old school Gladiators to newer, more reality TV-oriented versions.

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5. Physical Training Philosophy & Lifestyle

[38:47–44:20; 61:18–66:36]

• Mike is legendary for his consistency: trains at 4am every day, hasn’t missed a plan since age 9.
  • "I've done it for 30 years." [38:34]
• Training Routine: Single bodypart per day, heavy compound lifts (squat, bench, deadlift), minimal isolation, full ROM.
  • "What hasn't changed is me pushing as heavy as I can every single day as best I can." [61:36]
• Developed and promotes "power bodybuilding," prioritizing strength and physique simultaneously.
• Less is more: At age 47, focuses on the quality of work and recovery rather than marathon gym sessions.
• Tapering nutrition and caloric intake throughout the year; cycles up to 5,000–6,000 calories at times [64:45].

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6. Nutrition, Alcohol, and Maintaining Leanness

[41:29–44:16]

• Always eats every 2–3 hours; protein at each meal; adjusts protein/carb ratios based on goals.
• Does cardio daily—sometimes two hours—to stay lean at 250 lbs, says he “has to over-train to stay this size.”
  • At his peak, was 305 lbs: "Dude, I was a monster." [43:08]
• Avoids alcohol, influenced by negative family experiences.
  • "I saw what the good was and what the bad was. So I saw my brother ... then the person turned around, and it was my sister, right? Whatever that is, I don't want to do that." [35:14]

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7. Longevity & Motivation

[77:28–79:59]

• Mike stresses that the “magic pill” (performance enhancers) is short-lived and true results come from consistency and motivation.
  • "Consistency is key. Before anything else, consistency is key." [79:59]
• Reveals being motivated by family legacy, not trophies or fleeting wins.
  • "Do this now for your last name... having that goal and the representation of who I am for my family and for my mom and dad is what pushes me through today." [77:45]

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8. Mindset, Gym Etiquette, and Social Media

[67:35–71:06]

• Mike laments the decline in gym etiquette—lack of respect, unracked weights, disrespectful behaviors.
  • "I train at 4am because it is the time where there's no way, nothing will ever get my workout in the way of it." [69:02]
• Discusses the impact of social media both positive (motivation, reach) and negative (skepticism, naysaying).

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9. Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Staying Natural:
  "I chose to get drug tested and do polygraphs and blood and all that stuff. If they believe, they believe. If they don't believe, it doesn't matter." – Mike [32:51]

• Consistency:
  "If you want it, you got to go get it. You go get it every day at 4 in the morning." – Steve [85:42]

• Motivation & Legacy:
  "Do this now for your last name." – Advice from Josh Barnett shared by Mike [77:45]

• Bodybuilding Philosophy:
  "It's about being ready. It's always about being ready." – Mike [37:26]

• On Magazine Covers:
  "Arnold and me and Lou Ferrigno. So I got a couple guys a generation ahead of me that I'm right there with." – Mike [37:26]

• On Mindset in the Gym:
  "For me, working out is meditation. For me, working out is a challenge in myself... For me, it's an art show and I don't believe in showing the art piece unless it's completely done." – Mike [59:55]

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10. Timestamps for Core Segments

• Mike’s Background & Childhood: 10:11–16:45
• On Genetics, Training, Natty Status: 15:45–22:25
• Turning Down Football, Modeling Start: 22:25–29:26
• American Gladiators/Audition Stories: 29:26–32:50, 45:56–53:13
• Training Routines & Philosophy: 38:47–44:20, 61:18–66:36
• On Nutrition & Alcohol-Free Lifestyle: 41:29–44:16
• Motivation, Family, Consistency: 77:28–79:59
• Gym Etiquette & Trends: 67:35–71:06

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Additional Noteworthy Segments

• Dog Therapy & Charity: Mike brings his dog Stryker to hospitals and events for therapeutic causes ([40:11–41:29]).
• Romance Novel Covers: Mike reveals funny and awkward moments from modeling for romance covers ([81:33–82:55]).
• Biggest Embarrassment on TV: Hilarious botched Entertainment Tonight interview recounted ([80:21–81:28]).

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Takeaways for Listeners

• Discipline and Consistency Beat Talent Alone: Both Steve and Mike reinforce that showing up, day after day, is what separates achievers from dreamers.
• Success Leaves Clues: Mike’s blend of genetics, elite influences, relentless schedule, and willingness to always be “camera ready” set him above his peers.
• Adapt and Learn: Mike’s willingness to evolve—from classic to modern bodybuilding, from powerlifting to television—shows lifelong learning keeps you at the top.

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For more from Mike, visit mikeohearn.com and follow on social media.

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End of summary.

Transcript

[Steve Austin]

He started in a small town in.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Texas, worked his ass off to become.

[Steve Austin]

One of the most famous wrestlers of all time.

[Michael O'Hearn]

We're gonna take care of business tonight. And that's the bottom line.

[Steve Austin]

And now he's dominating the world of On Demand Audio and he's doing it.

[Michael O'Hearn]

For the working man. This is a damn good outlet for me to spew the bullshit off my brain.

[Steve Austin]

This is the Steve Austin Show. Unleash. Unleash.

[Michael O'Hearn]

All right, everybody. Welcome to Steve Austin Show. I'm coming to you from the mean streets of Los Angeles, California. Today I'm sitting here in my office here at 316 Gimmick Street. It has been a busy morning for Steve Austin. Tell you what happened. Got a call a couple weeks ago by some cats, wanted to pitch me a project and I said, hey man, that sounds kind of interesting. Why don't we go ahead and set up the meeting? So the meeting was going to be set down in Beverly hills in the 90210 district. I get into my Range Rover. I didn't want to take my Ford Bronco to this meeting, want to look like a hot shot. So I drive on down to Beverly Hills and here's the thing. I'm represented by United Talent Agency, uta. UTA represents some of the biggest stars in all of entertainment. And of course they're lucky to also represent a global icon and a national treasurer such as myself, Steve Austin. So anyway, back to the meeting. I go in looking like a superstar. I valet my car, the dude gives me the ticket and I walk out into the offices and go up to the young lady who's running the front desk and say, hey man, looking for my guy, got a meeting here. And she calls my agent and I'm waiting for him to come down and there's two guys there in the lobby and that's the two guys that I'm meeting with. So they go ahead and amble over and introduce themselves to me. Now I notice that when I walk in everybody's looking at me kind of funny. Partially probably because the way I was dressed. UTA is pretty much business casual dress or business business. Everybody there tries to look real sharp because you're trying to impress people. Well, it's kind of hard for me to get dressed and wear fancy clothes and put on jeans and stuff because I got this gimp arm. Also makes it kind of impossible for me to tie any shoes. So I showed up in a pair of camouflage green shorts, a dry fit shirt, a pair of those gimmick sandals that you pull the strap over the Back of your heel. My toes. You can't see my toes because it's got a covered toe. But I'm basically wearing sandals, camouflage shorts and dry fit. And I got my arm in a sling because you all know my shoulder is busted. Well, check this out. I figured everybody was kind of looking at me funny when I checked in and probably looking at me like that because I was so out of place. Nobody dresses like I dress. It looked like a piece of white trash just rolled into uta. But it was more than that. I had actually packed into my vehicle an extra dry fit sleeveless shirt that I was going to put on after the meeting and go directly to the gym and have my first workout after my intensive shoulder surgery or as extensive shoulder surgery. Nonetheless, I was going to train my left arm for the first time since I've been operated on. So I was going to take a black dry fit shirt and switch that in to work out in. Well, I didn't know it at the time, but when I threw the shirt in the car, it was on my center console. It had attached itself to the Velcro strap on my arm sling. So I'm walking around like, you know, it's nobody's business. I'm just hanging out doing what I do. I'm dressed like, you know, a damn person that's going to Wally World or something and I got a three foot black shirt hanging from my arm and I don't know it's there so. So everybody's kind of looking at me like what the fuck's this guy got on? And I don't know that I'm dragging a black shirt around. So now here comes my agent. The two dudes come introduce themselves to me that I'm going to meet with and we start walking to a little office where we can have a private conversation. All of a sudden I feel something fall off of my arm and realize that I turn around and it's that God damn black sleeveless shirt that I was going to work out in that it attached itself to the Velcro strap on my arm slings. I felt like a fucking idiot. I'm walking around there dressed like a piece of white trash and on top of that I got a black shirt hanging from my arm sling. And I said, why couldn't somebody give me the heads up and say hey dude, you got your laundry or some kind of shit attached to your arm sling? But no. Anyway, so I pick up the black shirt, I stuff it in my arm sling and I said, damn dudes. I said, can't none of you guys tell me I got a shirt hanging from my fucking sling. Anyway, it was kind of funny at the time. Maybe it was a lame story. The only way I figured it could have been any worse, if somehow, someway, I'd have got a goddamn pair of blue panties tangled up on that motherfucker and they'd have fell on the floor too. And that would have been the shit. Ted Fowler style. Speaking of Ted. TedFowler361. You motherfucker. Hey, I got a story for yalls ass before we get jump into the buy this show and talk to Mike o'. Hearn. Teddy Fowler gets the big idea that he's gonna pull a rib on on Steve Austin, a global icon and a national treasure. And I've been waiting to talk about this on the podcast because I keep on forgetting about it. So anyway, I just get my shoulder cut on and I get this damn card in the mail. And I got a couple neighbors down there in Texas. And so he puts two initials in the upper left hand corner instead of a return address. And so on the COVID there's a beaver and he's got his hand spread and. And it says, be healed. And he puts Steve there. All better. Can I get an amen? And he says, get well soon. God loves you. And so do I. And he writes down my neighbor's name. And I'm like, man, there ain't no way my neighbor could have wrote me that letter because I don't know him that well. I was cool with him saying that God loves me because maybe he does, but when he says, so do I, man, I don't know that guy that well. So I was really perplexed. And then here's the thing. He had called Kristen to let her know that the card was coming in the mail and not to throw it out. So I was like, totally caught off guard. And my wife was in on the rib. And so, man, it was weird because I didn't know what was going to happen. A lot of times Crystal will open up my mail. And so she opened up my mail and she kind of looked at it and her eyes opened up and she took her head back and she just kind of shakes her head and it's that kind of look, you know, like when your wife gives you that look and thinking, oh, fuck, something's fucked up here, man. Something ain't right. I'm in trouble. I didn't fucking do nothing. And it was just the fact that she was playing into the fact that my neighbor says, he loves me. And he wrote it down and then wrote his name. And she just said, weird, and handed it to me and walked off into the kitchen playing it out. She should have won an Oscar for a performance. And I'm shaking my goddamn head and wondering what the fuck's going on. So anyway, this goes on for about six hours. Finally, Ted Fowler calls me on the phone and smartens me up that it was him that pulled the rib on me. Because I was getting so damn irate and wondering what the fuck was going on. Kristen figured I was going to call my neighbor and ask him what the fuck was going on. I mean, I wasn't mad at him for saying that God loves me. And I was just kind of like, dude, that's. You know, it was just kind of weird. So Teddy called me up and I told that. I said, you motherfucker. I said, you had me hook, line, and sinker. I said, what in the wide, wide world of sports possess you to want to pull a rib like that on me? We never ribbed each other at all. I don't think we joke around a lot at the Brooklyn Skull Ranch and. And drinking a lot, but we don't ever rib each other. So that summits came out of fucking nowhere. And Teddy, I know you listen to the podcast, mister. Somehow, some way, you're not going to know when, but I'm going to rib the hell out of you. And I think a lot of people would say, hey, don't smarten him up, Steve. That way you'll catch him by surprise. No, Teddy knows he's got a receipt coming. I think he knew it when he sent that goddamn card. But Teddy, I'm giving you official notice on the Steve Austin podcast, your ass rib me. And you got a return rib. You gotta have a receipt. As we would say in the business coming back, beware. I'm coming for you. Anyway, enough about the shenanigans of my business meeting and Ted Fowler ribbing me. Good rib, Ted. I give you credit on that one. You had to be there to appreciate how good that fucking rib was. But let's get into business because I got Michael Hearn on deck here.

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[Steve Austin]

Steve Austin. Steve Austin unleashed. Unleashed.

[Michael O'Hearn]

All right, we rolling sound over here at 316 Gimmick Street I got Mike O'Hearn sitting right in front of me. Mike, how you doing today?

[Steve Austin]

I am doing awesome, man. It's been too long. Too long, man.

[Michael O'Hearn]

I know. How long have we known each other? 15 years. I mean, we never see each other, but we've known each other for 15 or better years.

[Steve Austin]

I'd say more than that.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Probably even about 96. When WWF started coming into town, you were already in town. You got to LA, what, 91.

[Steve Austin]

91. So yeah, 96, 20 years.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Hey man, unless someone's been living under a rock, they don't know who you are. Anybody that's in the bodybuilding, powerlifting, strongman stuff, physique stuff, you're all over YouTube, crazy following. Here's the thing, anytime you walk into a gym, you either have the best physique there or one of the best. Anytime you walk into the gym, you're the strongest guy there or one of the strongest guys there. So let's go back a little bit because I know your dad did some bodybuilding.

[Steve Austin]

Yep.

[Michael O'Hearn]

I know he played some football.

[Steve Austin]

Yep.

[Michael O'Hearn]

I know you got a bunch of brothers and sisters. You come from Washington? What? I didn't know. Didn't know you were dyslexic.

[Steve Austin]

Ah.

[Michael O'Hearn]

How'd you make your way through the educational system?

[Steve Austin]

Dude, I grew up at a time.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Where.

[Steve Austin]

You know, basically they make movies about. And you're probably the same way as. You came from Texas.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Yeah.

[Steve Austin]

And you were football. Right, Right. And I was football. And trust me, man, college is mostly, when we were growing up, were like, we don't care about this, that and the other thing. You play ball, we'll get you. Yeah. And that's how the. From junior high to high school on through, it was. I was a ball player. And they just said, don't worry about nothing, we'll get you through. Which kind of, you know, in a sense, you know, you're asking for a young kid oh, yeah.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Oh, stop it, Hershey. What we have here. What we have here, Striker, is. Mike, is this a husky?

[Steve Austin]

Yeah, husky.

[Michael O'Hearn]

And Hershey the wonder dog, my chocolate lab, who doesn't have a vicious bone in her body, starting to get protective because Stryker's all over the place. Over here we got a house full of dogs.

[Steve Austin]

I love.

[Michael O'Hearn]

I love it. You mentioned my wife is a former special education teacher. You took some special ed.

[Steve Austin]

Oh, kid, here's what happened. And this is why I think, first of all, I'm glad I grew up with it. My dad was a school teacher. He was a bodybuilder and a football player when he was young. And then he became a schoolteacher. So he was pretty. And I understood this later on in life, he was pretty burnt out by the time he got home. And he got nine kids, and he's not going from school. School to come home to help everybody their homework. And so one of the one. One of the great things I'm glad that happened is my parents were. And then I'll jump back to answer. My parents were, hey, listen, you make your choices. And we started young. You make your choices. You do something wrong, something's gonna happen, and we're not gonna be here to. To set you straight. You know, I got in fights and stuff, and I'd get arrested and, you know, I'd make my one call and they'd be like, well, have a nice night. And I'd be like, you coming down to get me out? Nope. You made a decision to do this right. You know, you deal with the consequences and you grow up quick. Yeah, and I'm glad about that because they had too many kids. And you grow up as a man and you realize, man, that's tough. You raise one kid and it's kind of tough. Imagine raising nine kids like me, and I was the good one of the bunch. So I was a big kid and I took the athletics quick. And your wife would know this dyslexic is a disbalance of IQ to understanding ratio. And one drops, one rises. So I was quick to understand things and put things together. I could not read and write.

[Michael O'Hearn]

How'd you get past that? When did you learn to read, dude?

[Steve Austin]

Much later. Much later.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Most. It's a good friend of mine, DDP Diamond Dallas, Dyslexic. And took him a long time to overcome it. Dude. I think he was damn near 34. He learned how to read.

[Steve Austin]

I would say. There's still times today it's like, if I get a script, I'M reading that five, six, seven, eight, nine times. Anything I get, I'll read twice as much or three times as much as anybody else. Just so I fully, fully understand it. Because, yeah, it's something I will always struggle with, but it just makes me work harder and makes me focus more. But in school, I went from first grade to where they thought I was a savant and brilliant kid. And all this because I'm figuring out everything. You're first grade, man. You're not figuring out jack. And, you know, if I put my diapers on, there we go. So they, they threw me to third grade. I missed phonics. And then I was suddenly, bam. I got hit by everything. And they go, okay, well, no, he's not special. He's a little slow. So, boom, right into fourth grade, went right into special ed and it stayed there and it went. That's when. When the anger came and I started fighting, I. I was with the kids that were basically just couldn't understand, couldn't function. Were you mostly back then? I wasn't bullied. I wasn't bullied. They were bullied. And I became the guardian for them.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Right.

[Steve Austin]

So I was the guy that was fighting every recess because kids are kids, and kids would pick on kids that are special or legs are messed up or this or that, or they're eating the checkered pieces and stuff. And so I'd be fighting all the, all the kids, dude.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Nobody. Like, I know, you know, I just never figured you'd be that guy. Yeah, but you said something earlier, which, you know, like, I just. Men, like, if you walk into a gym, you're one of the biggest, strongest, best built guys there. But you were always a big kid because I think in high school. What'd you weigh when you graduated?

[Steve Austin]

275, dude.

[Michael O'Hearn]

So when you're 275, when you graduate, dude, I was 205 as a senior in high school. And so, you know, you've always been a big guy because we got to say this, you've always maintained that you're a completely natural bodybuilder, power lifter. And so we get that out of the way. You was big from the get go.

[Steve Austin]

I was, I. Here, here's the thing that here. The great thing that you and I get to do is we get to be around elite athletes our whole lives. And so we understand the comp. Some people are born big, some aren't, and some are born strong, some aren't. And you and I know great freaking athletes from WWE or back in wcw. Just monster men. Right, right.

[Michael O'Hearn]

From the bodybuilding powerlifting world.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah. And so. So the one thing that I started early was nine years old, I started competing in martial arts, powerlifting and bodybuilding lifting. By 13, I was already competing. By 14, I won my first bodybuilding show and first powerlifting meet at 14.

[Michael O'Hearn]

This was pre puberty.

[Steve Austin]

And here's one of the things, social media is what it is, but they'll go, oh, you're already on steroids at 14, dude, I didn't have even hair on my balls, you know, and so it's like, stop that. So, yeah, it was one of those things that I just. I started young, went through puberty, which was a great thing, that during that time I went 170 pounds to 275. So I was already 275be. As a. Going into my late sophomore. So I was already that big and I was already. I won the state powerlifting that year as a. As a sophomore, junior and a senior. So, yeah, I was lifting like a madman.

[Michael O'Hearn]

So when you started doing your bodybuilding because your dad was a bodybuilder, as one of his pastimes or passions, so you got started on that when you were into the high school football program at which you excelled, were you three time all state and an all American in college?

[Steve Austin]

All American high school. Two time all American in high school.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Okay. D line.

[Steve Austin]

D line, yeah.

[Michael O'Hearn]

And. Or tackle.

[Steve Austin]

D and. And fullback.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Okay. Were you on the school's weightlifting program? Did they have a program? Because you're almost my age, dude. Back. Yeah, I'm 51. I'm a little bit ahead of you. But back in the day, dude, we had a universal circuit machine, and that's what it was, Coach. Blow whistle. Circle to circle.

[Steve Austin]

Circle.

[Michael O'Hearn]

So were you doing your dad's routine? Were you doing your thing? Would you do what the school told you to do? Because you're already competing.

[Steve Austin]

I think you might know Ed Cohen.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Oh, absolutely.

[Steve Austin]

Doug Furness.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Dude, Doug Fernanda feels Doyle Kennedy. Yeah.

[Steve Austin]

Okay, so here, here's something that you're gonna go.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Okay, These are elite.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah, yeah. If you drop a kid into the most elite crew, Michael Jackson right around, incredible singers from the time he was a child. Right. Will he exceed? Will he get better? Right. Where's his limit? Where's his fishbowl? Where as big as he can get us here or. Or up here.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Right.

[Steve Austin]

I'm 9, 10, 11 years old already. I found a gym. I walked there after the school and stuff, and the owner, the manager said, you put weights away, you can train you for free. So these guys, these monster guys who again, you know, ignorance, 9, 10, 11, 12 years old, thinking this is basically anybody's dad, right? These six guys. And so I assume, assumed that a 900 deadlift that Doyle Kennedy was doing was anybody's dad, Right. Doug Furness, those 36 inch thighs. I thought a 900 squat was anybody's dad, right? That was my ceiling.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Yeah.

[Steve Austin]

And so from growing up at that age. And I called a beautiful bliss of ignorance with knowing that that is what this is and that I can go, wow, you know what? I can be as good as these guys or as strong as these guys, but I want to look better right at that age. And that never changed for me.

[Michael O'Hearn]

But that being said, I mean, with a high ceiling or what is the guys that you just named some of the greatest of all time as far as powerlifting.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah. I don't know if the listeners know this, but the guys I'm talking about is Doug Furness was like the first 100, 900 and they'll know him.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Professional wrestling, awesome drop kick he got out of powerlifting. Had he stayed in powerlifting, he probably would have shattered every record that there ever was at 242 or 275, whatever he wanted to be. Yeah, I mean, Ed Cohen, explain that.

[Steve Austin]

Name, come on now. But all those guys were the guys I grew up with and trained around and they, they mentored me.

[Michael O'Hearn]

But you got. So you've got a high ceiling there and that's, that's your norm in most gyms, I mean you're looking at four hundreds to five hundred.

[Steve Austin]

Think about balies or 24 hour fit. Yeah. Okay.

[Michael O'Hearn]

There's a great deal. With all due respect, I'm not going.

[Steve Austin]

To say this, but you go into those gyms and you see a guy do 315 squat, it's like, wow, the ceiling.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Wow.

[Steve Austin]

That's the strongest guy in the gym.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Yeah.

[Steve Austin]

And I'm thinking, what are you talking about?

[Michael O'Hearn]

But along with that, you had the genetics to back it up. Now here's one of the things I want to touch upon because people ask me all the time, hey, Steve, what do you do to stay in shape? Dude, right now you're standing right, you're sitting right in front of me. I'm in the worst ship I've ever been in my life. Three weeks out of rotator cuff, just came out with a beer. I've been drinking too much of it. People ask me all the time about getting in shape. And one of the things that you've been able to maintain is your physique. Every time I've ever seen you, you're extremely consistent. You've been higher, you've been lower in weight, depending on whatever you want to do, whether he's trying to bulk up or like right now you run at about 250.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah, about 250.

[Michael O'Hearn]

But with all. What I want to stress to my listeners is I do this show for the working man, working woman. You work your ass off to look like you look and to lift what you lift. Along with that, you happen to be blessed with great genetics. Correct.

[Steve Austin]

I agree. I agree.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Those great genetics are fine. But if you'd have to work ethic, then it wouldn't really mean shit.

[Steve Austin]

The genetics never drove me to the gym, never made me stay on the diet. I think Chris Bell said it best. And it's one of those things that if the fans or the social media people listen to the elite and this is nice and this is only really. I've only noticed it in the last five years is the fun stuff about like, somebody like Ed Cohen, you know, messaging me going, dude, I just. I love it. You motivate me. What hold. You're Ed Cohen. Nobody motivates you. You motivate the world. But then he messaged me saying that, and it's because 100%, the one thing that I'll say that there's guys with better genetics or there's guys who are bigger and stronger. The one thing I won't do is I won't quit. And I'll be on every single day. And I've done it since I was 9, 10 years old.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Hey, man, I want to get to that because you got to train. You have a crazy training routine, and we'll get to that. But let's go back to high school for a little bit. You excel. You're on the D line. You're all state. You go to college. What college do you go to?

[Steve Austin]

I was going to go to the University of Washington and. Or Wazoo. And I decided against what.

[Michael O'Hearn]

What happened? I mean, dude, you got to get the makers of a pro football player.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah. It came down to the point of where. And again, you go through. You go through and you get. I was recruited by Oklahoma and Nebraska and everybody. And it came down to. I played for a school that was ranked fourth in the nation. We never lost. And it was fun and it was blast and stuff, but I realized I lost a passion for it and I was selfish as a kid to where I wanted to do Something for me and solely mean I wasn't a team player.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Yeah, but that's cool, though.

[Steve Austin]

And it was one of those.

[Michael O'Hearn]

That's what floated your boat.

[Steve Austin]

That's what floated my boat. And, and the one thing. And, and also the one thing is I. They won't understand is that the money back then. Remember the money?

[Michael O'Hearn]

What?

[Steve Austin]

Nothing. Yeah, it does nothing.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Right.

[Steve Austin]

It was not money. It wasn't one of those things where you go. It's not a yes, no question. It's like, eh. You know, it was like Bosworth later on was. Was like one of the first guys that got paid some kind of coin, but everybody else wasn't making that kind of money. So it wasn't that kind of up and down like it is today where you're making 100 million. And at that point, one of the coolest things was I was already starting to get into the magazines at 17 years old, and I'm walking on stage at 17 at £216 ripped at teenage Nationals. And I said. And then Joe Weider saw me shortly after that and started throwing me on covers. And I said, now see, this is fun. So it was. It was a walk away. And it was also the learning ability. And when. I'm not gonna say what school said this, but the school says, do not worry about the academics. You're playing ball. We're gonna get you through.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Right.

[Steve Austin]

And I realized at that point it's like, yeah, this is. This is not where I want to go.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Well, tell me about. You've been on over 500 magazine covers. You've been on close to 200 romance novel covers. So how was the discovery process? All of a sudden you start doing this because, like, right now, what would you say you do for a living? I mean, I know you train people, but I mean, would you still consider yourself, I mean, like a fitness model?

[Steve Austin]

I mean, I don't know what a fitness model is.

[Michael O'Hearn]

I mean, like, how would. What would, what would you say your job is? I mean, because you bodybuild you. Do you still compete?

[Steve Austin]

No, I stopped competing almost.

[Michael O'Hearn]

But you live the lifestyle. Yeah, live a lifestyle. But so what would you say? Entrepreneur?

[Steve Austin]

I'd say more like an Anthony Robbins. I'm traveling, doing lectures and motivational speaking and.

[Michael O'Hearn]

But you guys pose a lot and.

[Steve Austin]

Do seminars A lot.

[Michael O'Hearn]

A lot.

[Steve Austin]

We're almost every weekend. And I think, which helps too, because I think I realized after I won the Universe and the powerlifting meets and the martial arts stuff, I wanted something more than the title and guest posing every Weekend is such a good focus for me to stay in shape and keep kind of breaking the barrier of what people think you can and can't do.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Let's go back to you being discovered. Peter discovered.

[Steve Austin]

Joe Weeder, man.

[Michael O'Hearn]

How was that? Because obviously you're a bodybuilder fan from way back.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah. And I also knew this. I also knew that Arnold was discovered that way. And. And so it was one of those things that you hear about, you know, somebody getting discovered in Hollywood on. On an elevator. Oh, my God, you got the look. And then, boom. Next thing you know, they're in the movies. And it was just that. It was a. A client of mine that I was training flew me to the Olympia, and I was walking through the auditorium, and Joe Weider goes, hold on, who are you?

[Michael O'Hearn]

And I said, I'm like, good looking kid. Good for you. Good physique. And you catch Joe's eye?

[Steve Austin]

He caught Joe's eye. And Joe says, all right, in a couple weeks, I'm gonna give you a call. Okay, cool. I go back to Seattle, and then I get a phone call and it's Joe Weider. And Joe Weider goes, okay, you know what we're gonna do? I'm gonna fly you to Cabo San Lucas and we're gonna do a photo shoot. And I'm like, great. You know. You know, kid from Washington. I'm like, all right, whatever. So I go, I get flown down to Cabo San Lucas, and it's me with seven girls for a week on.

[Michael O'Hearn]

The beach doing job, Mike. You gotta do what you gotta do.

[Steve Austin]

So I'm shooting with these beautiful women and doing this shoot, and I'm getting paid ridiculous and all this. And then I'm like, wow, that's. That's kind of fun week. But then a month or so went by, and then a cover of Muscle and Fitness comes out. And it's. It's not my body, it's. It's not my arms show. It's nothing like that. It's a headshot. My first cover was a headshot.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Really?

[Steve Austin]

Muscle and Fitness. It wasn't abs, it wasn't anything else. It was my head, my face on the COVID of Muscle and Fitness and a story inside, you know, and boom. I was like, wow, this is kind of cool. And everybody starts seeing, oh, it's a cover. Back then, it was like, it was so cool for everybody to see. For me, I was like, oh, this is great, man. This is. This is something, dude.

[Michael O'Hearn]

What kind of heat did that generate within the bodybuilding community?

[Steve Austin]

Don't know. Wasn't even here yet. Okay, Wasn't even California. Still in Washington, right. So four weeks go by and the next cover comes out. Me again. Me with five girls wrapped around me. And I'm like, okay, this is, this is ridiculous. And then I get a call from Joe and he goes, oh, these covers are just going great and all this and that. I want you in California. We're gonna get you down here, we're gonna set you up and put you under contract. And boom, not even three months later, I was packed. My dad says, go get him, son. And I was off. I was down to California shortly after that and I was here doing shoots and started competing down here.

[Michael O'Hearn]

But dude, tell me through the grind of that, because what's the learning curve when you get into the business of pro wrestling? Or maybe some rock and roll guys tell you the same thing. It's that old, kind of that old contract where, hey man, just sign your life away. And so what was the learning curve from you as a young bodybuilder now, man, this is business. This is what you're going to do for a living. You're competing as well. But seems like the COVID things are your bread and butter.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah, the covers.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Business acumen for that.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah, the covers took off. Here's the funny thing. We're talking. This is, this is 90. This is 90. So I get here, I'm shooting up a storm. Here's the funny thing, I go into Gold's Gym and man, there's some, there's some legends there training and I start working out and I'm like. And no offense to them, but this is a bodybuilding gym and I came from a straight up hardcore ass powerlifting gym where you're slapping and ammonia smelling. Yeah, you know, a bad squat is 700, you know, so I get to Gold's Gym and I'm this, you know, 20 year old kid and I start squatting and stuff and I'm like, why isn't anybody. What's going on here?

[Michael O'Hearn]

So you're throwing up stupid numbers.

[Steve Austin]

Throwing up stupid numbers. And that's throwing up things.

[Michael O'Hearn]

And then, and to my audience, when I say stupid numbers, I'm just into high numbers on a squat or deadlift or a bench. I mean like again, a 315 on inclined bench for, for a lot of gyms is a hell of a lot of weight. Yeah, I'm seeing you repping four or five and so now you're squatting 700. So what are they like, what is this guy doing?

[Steve Austin]

It was. It was a quick run into the very best. There wasn't a lot of downtime. It was me training with Tom Plaz on legs, you know, three and a half hours. And I was the new kid and I was getting covers and stories, so it was fun. Then I get a call from a guy named Shane McMahon, and he goes, hey, so I want to. I want to fly out and do dinner.

[Michael O'Hearn]

And I'm like, all right, is this Pre Gladiators?

[Steve Austin]

Hold on, hold on.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Okay. Okay. Yeah.

[Steve Austin]

Okay. Not much after the phone call and we're gonna arrange this thing, I book American Gladiators, right? As Thor.

[Adam Carolla]

Yep.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Yeah.

[Steve Austin]

So I. I do this dinner with Shane and fly out and I meet Vince and everybody. And so this is one of those crossroads. I look back and I go, man, my life could have been a lot different, right? Because I met Vince and they. They sent me downstairs to wardrobe and everything.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Said, and Vince is a big body guy.

[Steve Austin]

He likes legs. I heard he likes guys that are, like, jacked and legs.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Yeah, he's like the whole thing. He's a body guy.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah. So I meet with these guys out there and great. Both. Both Shane, Just great guys. And. And the only problem is I couldn't sign because I was already signed with Gladiators. So that was the first kind of wow. Contracts get in the way. There were crossroads. What could you have done? So I could have been wrestling since the early 90s and I couldn't do it because of the American Gladiators.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Dude, that would have been. That's a great what if.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah.

[Michael O'Hearn]

But it turned out good. Yeah, I watched. I watched your audition thing. I guess it was for the first incarnation of American Gladiator, and, man, they had you do a bunch of drills. You ran a 4, 940. You probably weighed 265. 285. 285. You're a monster. But, dude, you clocked a 49 at that weight. And you weren't sprinting every day. You were just squatting and training hard. And then you were doing a bunch of burpees and stuff like that. So a lot of athleticism goes back to your college background. And so you're on the bodybuilding scene. You're down there, you're shooting covers. Now, if you add up all your best lifts, if I'm remembering correctly, I know you got an 800 pound squat, give or take a 775 deadlift. What's your deadlift?

[Steve Austin]

I did a 775 for three.

[Adam Carolla]

Three.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Jesus, you're gonna lie about it, okay, so 800 squat, an 800 deadlift, what? 500 bench? Five.

[Steve Austin]

A 555 bench.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Okay, let's add that up. What's that 23.

[Steve Austin]

This is all gym stuff right there. I took second internationals to a freak named Bull Stewart throughout my teenage years, in my early twenties.

[Michael O'Hearn]

So what's your total?

[Steve Austin]

Was. See? 19. 19 and a meat.

[Michael O'Hearn]

19 and a meat.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah, okay, but dude, but this is 80 FPA. This is drug free. This is. And this will go back to everybody going, no, no, no, no, no. Right, guys, I. Here's the, here's the, here's the 4, 1, 1 on that. I competed from the time I was 14 until I retired in drug tested show. Not because I had to, because I wanted to.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Right?

[Steve Austin]

But. And I chose to get drug tested and do polygraphs and blood and all that stuff. If they believe, they believe. They don't believe. It doesn't matter.

[Michael O'Hearn]

I gotcha.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah, but it was one of those things that I won the California powerlift team four times. And I just couldn't win the nationals because a guy named, a legend named Bull Stewart, who would do a 515 squat, a 515 deadlift, and a nice 450 bench. Drug free.

[Michael O'Hearn]

But given the numbers that you're putting up, did you ever say, hey man, let me stick with this full time?

[Steve Austin]

I, I was cool with my numbers because of the fact of this. I, I have never been a one dimensional guy because of. I believed in. I idolized Arnold for what he did. I idolized Bruce Lee for what he did. But I believe that I could do it all. So I competed in martial arts part of the year. I competed in bodybuilding part of the year. I didn't focus on powerlifting all year long. And you know me, I've never done it all year in the sense of just one thing.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Right.

[Steve Austin]

And you said, well, what do you really do? I like doing it all.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Yeah.

[Steve Austin]

I like having the physique, I like having the power. I like being able to be athletic first and foremost and throughout whole life.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Dude, do you ever drink? Cuz never.

[Adam Carolla]

No.

[Michael O'Hearn]

And I know that, you know, we were talking, it was a year or two ago, we were talking about someone, how specific they were when they went out to eat. When, when you go out to eat, do you ever cheat? I mean, you're maintaining. What are you, 6% now?

[Steve Austin]

I don't know. But you're lean. I'm lean.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Look like a million bucks.

[Steve Austin]

Thank you. I am like Chris Bell said, Mark Brook.

[Michael O'Hearn]

I love Chris. Yeah, I Don't know him well.

[Steve Austin]

He always. His favorite story to tell me is or to tell people is, got UFC over at the house. Everybody's showing up, eating Doritos and stuff. And there's Mike on the couch, and he opens up his Tupperware. What the freak is that about every single time, you and your Tupperware.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Yeah.

[Steve Austin]

I stay consistent. So if you see me bulked up, it's still a foundation of calorie intake for healthiness and size and strength, where I could easily just drop some carbs and boom, I'd tighten up. So I've never been one guy that. For me, it's one of those things that if I talk to people when I travel and I say, well, how's your nutrition? Well, I'm not competing right now, so it's whatever, Right. I've never. Since I was 9 years old, not been on a plan.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Really.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah.

[Michael O'Hearn]

And. Okay.

[Steve Austin]

And going to drinking. It's not that I have anything against drinking. I saw. Here's a. Here's a great thing. If you're around somebody. Yeah. You grew up on the streets, and you see your older brothers and gangs, and you see the damages it causes. It changes the younger one. So I got a lot of family, and I saw a lot of them do steroids. I saw a lot of them do drugs. I saw them do alcohol. So as a kid, I saw what the good was and what the bad was. So I saw my brother one time, we skipped school and went home to play football, sandlot football, with a whole bunch of people. And we're watching. We're playing, but they're drinking as we're playing. And then I saw them kind of pass out and throw up, and they're like, well, turn him over. Turn him over. And this is still vivid in my mind, and I said, why you got to turn him over? Well, if he throws up like that, he's gonna choke on it. And at that point, I just never. I said, there's no reason. That doesn't do anything for me. And I want athletics. And then same thing for steroids. I. Somebody in my family did it, and the results were freaking incredible. But they were incredible much. That one day in the gym, I saw the back of her, and I go, that dude is jacked. And then the person turned around, and it was my sister, right? And at that moment, I was like, I see her every day. And I didn't even recognize the change. I said, whatever that is, I don't want to do that.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Did all your brothers and sisters have the same genetics you did?

[Steve Austin]

Yeah. Oh, no. My sister won Miss Seattle. She won the North American. She won the Washington State Powerlifting. My brother won Washington State Powerlifting. My brothers were all football players. It was a family that was genetically created.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Dude, how do you explain over 500 covers? I mean, obviously, the consistency, the dedication, the hard work, always being on plan, relentless in the gym. 500. I mean, in wrestling, when we talk 16 world titles by Ric Flair, it's like, what did. They just couldn't find anybody else with a belt on. He was that good. So you're. You. You had the physique. I mean, I'm. Dude, when everything magazine there was. You've been on a hundred times.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah. I think when it comes like Muscle and Fitness, which is, you know, basically the top magazine, it's Arnold and me and Lou Ferrigno. So I got a couple guys that are a generation ahead of me that I'm right there with. It's because I think I realized early on as you, it's not about the title. It's about being ready. It's always about being ready. And so when Joe Weider would make a phone call, hey, you ready? A lot of the guys would go, no, I'm off season. I can't do this. And he called me up and says, can you shoot? Frick, yeah, let's go. And every single person around that. And then one of the things I think, and I try to tell this to the up and comers, they go, I am getting ready for a show. Great. Now, before the show and after the show, set up 10 photo shoots. Well, I really want to focus on the show. All right, There's. I'm just wasting my breath now. They don't get it. This is. If you want to make a career out of. If you want to do more than just win a title. Dude. How many guys have won Mr. USA? 30, 40, 50, 60 guys.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Yeah.

[Steve Austin]

But there's only a couple guys that have made a career out of it. Why is that? It's because of the other stuff they do outside of that.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Right.

[Steve Austin]

And the one thing is that I just won't quit, and I'm always ready, and I'll. And I'll be ready every single day. And that's why. It's one of those things with the nutrition or anything I do. It's, you know me, I train at 4 in the morning, and I've done it for 30 years.

[Michael O'Hearn]

That's what I want to ask you about. You're up at 3, you're in the gym at 4?

[Steve Austin]

Yeah.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Why? What are you doing through the part of the day?

[Steve Austin]

How crazy is our schedules? Our schedule is pretty freaking crazy. Yeah.

[Michael O'Hearn]

But, dude, I'm in a whole different stratosphere because I'm either doing it.

[Steve Austin]

You're just big time now.

[Adam Carolla]

That's.

[Michael O'Hearn]

No, it's interesting. When you. When. When I was, you know, on the road all the time, you know, that was. I was somewhere every day. Yeah. And so, you know, with now if. If I'm shooting, you know, Broken Skull Challenge or something, or doing a podcast, that's what I do. But other than that, you know, I'm an entertainment business, so, you know, when I don't work, I don't work. What's the backside of what you do? Because a lot. Let's go to the training.

[Steve Austin]

Okay.

[Michael O'Hearn]

In a gym at 4am 4am does goals always let you in? Yeah, because they're not really open at 4am Are you?

[Steve Austin]

No, I've had a key since 91.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Okay. So you, man, you've got a lot of videos on YouTube, millions and millions of views. And Striker, your dogs in there, a lot of them. Does Striker come with you the gym every day or just for those night shoots when. Or the early morning shoots when there's fewer people in there?

[Steve Austin]

No, Striker goes with me nationwide.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Oh, no. I've seen him everywhere. Yeah.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah. I. I think most people think that, and I. Hopefully everybody hears this. I don't take Striker with because of therapy for me or anything like that. I took her with and have taken her with for six years now, because we get asked a lot, you know, celebrities do to go to charities.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Right.

[Steve Austin]

And years ago, I was asked to go to a Christmas charity for kids to give out presents and stuff like that at a cancer burn. Burn unit. And I'm like, you know, to myself, I said, they don't care about these 20 celebrities. They care about Santa Claus and puppies. And I just had her. And I said, I'll do this, but I'm gonna bring my puppy. And then. So I brought the puppy with, and I was right. You know, they wanted, you know, presents and play with Stryker. And to see the smiles at that moment was. It was mind blowing to me that this dog or a dog, could make somebody, even a kid, forget about the pain and suffering or anything that they have going on with them. And ever since that point, except for Hershey, except. So at that point on, I have continuously done the charity work with Stryker. So when we travel, I'll always fly in a day early. And we'll visit hospitals like Ronald McDonald House or anything like that.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Let's strike her out on plane with you, Striker.

[Steve Austin]

Right on the plane, sitting next to me. And she goes into the hospitals and I spend some hours there with her. So I'm basically the handler, right? And she does the charity work and that's why I do it. And so she's with me. Everything, everywhere, photo shoots, anything I do, she's with me.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Hey, dude, I love it. Talk to me about your diet. Chris Bell says you come over, everybody's eating chips or drinking beer and you break out a Tupperware container. We've talked in the past. What are you eating right now to maintain 250 pounds of muscle and whatever body percent your fat is. What's the diet?

[Steve Austin]

Dude, I am one of these guys that is always eating every two to three hours. I'll get a majority of protein, a little bit of carbs, a little bit of fat with each meal.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Where you like to get your protein from eating any red meat?

[Steve Austin]

Red meat? I do do red meat. My chicken. Depending on if I'm trying to get size and strength, is it red meat or chicken relative to fish. And right now I'm doing a lot of fish and I'm just slicing and dicing right now I'm going to try to get down to £230. So I got to tear off a lot of muscle.

[Michael O'Hearn]

So how many calories would you guess right now? I like to figure, you know, how many calories?

[Steve Austin]

Yeah, right now I'm at 37.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Okay.

[Steve Austin]

3, 700.

[Michael O'Hearn]

You do cardio every single day?

[Steve Austin]

I do do cardio every day because here's the thing. Like this will confuse people. If I tell you I do two hours of cardio a day, you'll be like, holy cow, that's tearing it down. I'm like you. I'm a big boy. Naturally I have to over train to stay this size. If I stop doing cardio and I kick back to four days a week and I keep my calories at 5,000, Dude, I'm 300 pounds within a month, so.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Really?

[Steve Austin]

Yeah.

[Michael O'Hearn]

I was watching a video with. You were training with Rich Piano. That video did over 8 million views. You trained in arms with Rich Piano. So. And you said that the heaviest you got up to was 305.

[Steve Austin]

Yep, 305.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Dude, you must have been a damn monster, dude.

[Steve Austin]

I would have.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Oh, what did you do? Did you just stop cardio?

[Steve Austin]

It was, it was a. It was an. It was a good time and a bad time. Obviously I was Everybody's calling you.

[Michael O'Hearn]

I owe everybody a beer. That's my standard thing. There's a guy delivering some beer to my front door. My computer's ringing. All right, well, what happened, Monster?

[Steve Austin]

I was finishing up Battledome and I was about 285 feeling strong because I'd always start the show ripped to the bone, and then I'd put on some size throughout the show just so I can stay healthy. Because you're banging. You're banging every single day, man. You're going against six guys a day, and so that kind of wears and tears on you. So I'd always put a little size on throughout the season. But after the season was over, I just. I just jumped on a whole bunch of fruit and started doing more protein shakes and wanted to see what I can get up to and see how strong I can get. And that's when I did the. I was 305. I did 775 for three on deadlift beltless. And I. I swear to God, that pisses me off. I swear to God, I would have wrestled a bear.

[Michael O'Hearn]

If you brought a bear to watch you do that stuff you're doing without a belt.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah, I did. I did equipment. I. Early on in my career, when I first powerlifted, I did tons of super. Remember the super suits would take two guys to get that on you and. And the belt and the knee wraps that would cut your circulation off. If it could be tighter than tight, I'd wear it. But then I did gladiators and I realized, I say, why am I training with equipment if it's not going to help me here, right? Or I was competing in martial arts, so if it's not going to help me there. There's no difference between a 600 squat and an 800 squat. If the. If you get into the 800 with equipment and you take all the equipment off and you're only doing a 600, I would rather be the guy doing 600 with you. So it's. It's one of those things that people ask me, why don't you D.O. equipment? It's 100% blunt force trauma. I want that back to be strong. I don't want to put on a brace. If I put on a brace, and that's what's helping me get it, I'll just drop the weight and do something a little less.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Hey, you brought up American Gladiators. Take a break right now for the sponsors to keep the show on the air for free. I'm coming out back with Mike O'. Hearn one badass dude.

[Steve Austin]

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[Michael O'Hearn]

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[Steve Austin]

This is the mantra.

[Michael O'Hearn]

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[Steve Austin]

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[Michael O'Hearn]

The Fairly Odd Parents, and Ghosts, Pluto TV is always free. Huzzah.

[Steve Austin]

Pluto TV stream now.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Pain ever.

[Steve Austin]

You're welcome.

[Michael O'Hearn]

I. Dude, you said American Gladiators, one of my favorite shows back in the day. You auditioned, I guess. I think in one of your stories, I think maybe 15,000 people showed up for the audition.

[Steve Austin]

It was crazy.

[Michael O'Hearn]

It was crazy. Yeah. You got picked.

[Steve Austin]

So. Yeah, we. We fought all day. There was a couple. I mean, I think with the new Gladiators, it was. It was much easier because I appreciate the original Gladiators. And when I, when I got the new Gladiators, they said, hey, we're gonna bring you on. I said, no, no, no, I don't like that treatment. I want to fight just like everybody else fights. And that's when. That's the audition tape that you saw running the 440 and doing the 35 pull ups in 30 seconds and all that stuff. I wanted to go out there and prove that I could do it. Not just when I was 22 years old, 21 years old. I wanted to prove it when I was this age, but the original one when I, when I went out and got Gladiators, man, that was. That was badass because it was like 15. It was, it was more than that. And we'd done the Coliseum and we fought all day for two days. And it started out with so freaking packed with.

[Michael O'Hearn]

That's at least back in the stone ages too, because you almost go back, like some old school pro wrestling days. I know, it's like, what was that, 96.

[Steve Austin]

This one was 94.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Okay, but in that ballpark where, I mean, back in, it was pretty mild. A lot more things fly back in than would today. Yeah, yeah. And let me go ahead and mention, because every time I do a podcast, I have someone over here on Wednesday. My neighbor's getting his God dang yard going. So I got to complain about the blower one more time. And Mike, that's the reason this award winning podcast never wins an award. Back to American Gladiators, dude. What did they tell you guys on the show? All of a sudden, y' all got your spots? Did the producer say, okay, so. And so Joe Blow's coming on. Smoke his ass. Would they just tell you guys to uncork on them. Did y' all try to give them a little bit of a chance or just throttle down?

[Steve Austin]

I could tell you three different levels because I did Gladiators and I did a TV show, Battle Dome. Like, who had Terry Crews on there? And then I did Gladiators again and Band. Do you learn? Holy cow, do you learn? The original Gladiators was probably, I gotta say, this was the best of the three because of the fact that producers back then didn't turn it into a reality show. They actually got great freaking athletes to go against us. And the guys that were Gladiators with me were great athletes. They were just all the guys, Nitro Dan Clark and all these guys, great athletes. And so for me, it was awesome to see these guys do it. And they could also work a mic because that's the one thing I couldn't do at that time.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Really?

[Steve Austin]

Yeah. I couldn't work a mic right off the bat.

[Michael O'Hearn]

When'd you get your promo skills, dude? You know what you had to give.

[Steve Austin]

To Gab Lee Raman, who, who just passed a little while ago, Hawk from American Gladiators kind of took me under and said, just, just watch. Because he could work a mic.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Yeah.

[Steve Austin]

Athletically, I was right from the get go. Stronger, bigger, you know these guys.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Yeah.

[Steve Austin]

So I, I, that wasn't the problem. I had the look. Couldn't work a microphone like my Nitro Dan Clark, Hawk. Those guys could work a mic, so I had to learn that stuff. But with that one, we got to 100% every time. Beat the guy's ass. Right. Or we get our asses beat. Right, right. And, and so from the original Gladiators, I learned so much because when I got to Battle Dome, I was such, I was so much calmer and I was, you know, it's what I liked is this is, it was like I was always, I know what I look like. And so I know that every guy that comes out there, if they're going to want to fight somebody, they're going to want to fight me. I'll take that guy. And he's, he can't be tough. They're not going to choose Terry Crews, man, because he looks like a badass, is going to knock your head off.

[Michael O'Hearn]

And I'm like, he's the nicest guy in the world. He's the meanest looking guy in the world.

[Steve Austin]

Sweetheart. So I learned a lot through those two shows. Battledome was again, we got to, that was even more violent. We were snapping guys legs and shoulders and arms and we were, and it was funny. We. It wasn't funny. Sorry about that. I don't mean this funny, but it was just. I saw what was going on as soon as we snapped the one guy's leg. The producers come back and they go, all right, that's our first show. That's what we're gonna run with. And I'm like, okay, I see what kind of show this is gonna be. This is gonna be badass. Knocking heads. Carnage. Carnage, yeah. And then when I got to the New Gladiators, I got to enjoy it. I got to live in the moment. I don't know about you, but, like, you're going from show to show, traveling the world, you know, with you. And for me, every time you go out and to fight somebody on Gladiators, it's like, you cannot lose, you know, this is tv, baby. This is you and him on TV by yourselves, up on the joust. And early on, when I was younger, I couldn't live in the moment. I would be, like, too worried about winning, winning, winning. When I went back to the new Gladiators, I was so relaxed and so calm and had a nice confidence to myself, to where I could live in the moment. Go do it. I get to get up, fight six guys a day, get paid for it. The only bad thing is wear spandex. It was so badass and fun, and I really enjoyed that.

[Michael O'Hearn]

When you say in the moment or relaxed, you know, sometimes I think it's kind of like a parallel being in the ring when you're thinking so much about everything that you're doing. You know, it's like my buddy Zach Wilde, who plays lead guitar for Black Label side his band, he goes, you know, I asked him, dude, how do you do that? What are you thinking while you're doing it? He goes, bro, if you're thinking, you're stinking. So you get in your head the acting experience as well. If you're hearing what you're saying, you're not really doing it the way you should be. And the same. Same with an athletic endeavor, you know, just to be able instincts to be relaxed and just rely on your skills and be there to react. That way you can enjoy it. But. But to me, that's when you also perform your best.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah, I agree with you. I think I did my best performance on the New Gladiators, relative to the early stuff.

[Michael O'Hearn]

What happened to the show? Did it. Did the ratings?

[Steve Austin]

They killed the new one. They killed it. They couldn't leave good well enough alone. The original was great because you got David and Goliath, boom. That's what it was about. For some reason, the new gladiators, they were like, okay, each week we want a new game, each week we want a new gladiator. So it never gave time. And then they turned it into a reality show where it was like, let's take this 48 minutes and really care about the contestants. When the majority of people want to tune in and go, I want to see a small guy kick a big guy's ass or a big guy kick the small guy's ass, or vice versa. David and Goliath, that's what the show was about. And they tried to turn into a reality show.

[Michael O'Hearn]

How much you trying to pursue acting these days?

[Steve Austin]

I'm pushing on everything. And like right now we're trying to get Johnny Cage for the new Mortal Kombat. And I stay consistent. I'm in class, I'm studying, and I'm working on it.

[Michael O'Hearn]

I love it.

[Steve Austin]

I love being on set, I love being filming. And I like the idea of more at this stage, more martial arts, badass, kind of, you know, projects.

[Michael O'Hearn]

How do you like the fights? To me, fighting for camera is a pain in the ass because of the choreography, the camera angles, and because, man, from my background in pro wrestling, it's a dance. I mean, there's two guys out there and people think, oh, yeah, you rehearse everything or you choreograph. No, no, no. You know, back in the old days. And you might have a few things that, you know, were going to happen, but basically, I mean, it's kind of a free for all. And you know, the guy, you're as good as the guy you're dancing with.

[Steve Austin]

Yes.

[Michael O'Hearn]

And so it's less technical. And fighting for camera. So technical. And for some of the lower budget stuff I was doing, dude, you got no rehearsal time. Sometimes it was monkey see, monkey do, watching stunt guys do it and then you follow it and it just, I just, it didn't appeal to me. Do you like fighting for camera?

[Steve Austin]

I haven't. Yeah, I like it. I don't mind it. A lot of my background besides the grappling was I originally started with taekwondo and stuff like that. And so I like the high kicks and round stuff and putting that on.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Screen, that background makes everything a lot easier. It does. Because, dude, from my pro wrestling experience, I had a big right hand and that was it. You know, I didn't have any feet work because I never needed footwork because, you know, I was, I was wrestling. I was stand up, brawling right dude, if you got bad footwork on camera, I mean you can look bad real fast.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah.

[Michael O'Hearn]

I want to tell the guys, hey man, shoot me high, shoot me close, waist up, you know, because I got no footwork. So yeah, if you have, I agree with skill set. It does help.

[Steve Austin]

It does suck to do the same. That didn't play. That didn't play. Let's go again. That's, that's annoying, right? So. Because then with wrestling, man, you get your one shot, you got to run that whole scene and you never know what happens. You guys, that's impressive.

[Michael O'Hearn]

It is what it is. It was fun, dude. You go all over the world training with some of the biggest, strongest, baddest dudes out there. I love watching some of your stuff when you're training with the White Rhino. Stan efferding.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah, you know what? That's still to my day. I know that like, like you said, Rich Piano's video got 8,8 million views and stuff. And that's great. And Rich is a great guy. I love Rich. The person I know is a very soft spoken, nice guy. And then I just did a video with C T Fletcher that's almost at a million within a week. But Stan effort and my video after I guest posed and was depleted and dried out and everything. He came up on stage and he says, let's squat tomorrow morning, which was Sunday morning. I said, let's do this.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Here's your thing. When you go into a gym, you approach it as warfare. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Steve Austin]

You're like me. It's outside of the gym, I'll open the door for anybody and everybody and be as kind as anything. But in the gym you gotta let me be barbaric. You gotta let me go head to head and butt heads. And the great thing with Stan Everton is, you know, he's a proven lifter. Mostly later in his years that he's just crazy totals. And then we squatted off at £500 and it was just the energy and the, the whatever you do, I'm gonna beat it. I don't care what happens, I will beat it.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Right?

[Steve Austin]

Was the attitude and that, that still tingles. So I love that shit.

[Michael O'Hearn]

CT Fletcher got almost a million views on that one. I went down to the LBC to the iron addicts to gym. You were there, right?

[Steve Austin]

Yeah.

[Michael O'Hearn]

That guy's hilarious. He's, he's very motivational. It was interesting because you went down there and y' all trained arms. He didn't want to, he didn't want to bench with you. He didn't want to squat with you. Didn't want to deadlift with you. But he can hang on arms. But y' all trained his style. It was quick movements he likes. He calls it prison style training. So what did you think about that? What? Did you have a good workout with him?

[Steve Austin]

Oh, hell yeah. Hell yeah. I don't think people know this, but he and I powerlifted at the same meets together and stuff.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Yeah.

[Steve Austin]

And I don't know visually, but I'm old school, baby, you know? And something that was awesome is you go through life. I don't know how personality I was when I was 20. But the cool thing was he admitted when we. When we just shot, he goes, man, I fuck Mike o'. Hearn. I don't like this guy. Who. Why is everybody talking about this guy? You know, because he was a big super heavyweight right back. And I'm talking early 90s. And so just so you guys understand when this listening. Yeah, we're talking about CT, Fletcher and me, backward in the early 90s when we powerlifted, I was a 242. Or he's a super heavyweight. And he goes, I don't care about this kid. I don't give a shit. And stuff. And then I showed up and I won best lifter that day and won the title and he won his class. But after that, he was like, it was respect. It was cool that I got the respect within a fight in the powerlifting meet relative to.

[Michael O'Hearn]

But that's when, hey, man, the numbers do the talk and green lights on the lift, you know, you weren't walking. You proved yourself. Yeah, here's the thing. A lot of people, you have your naysayers out there. There's no way it can be clean. We've already talked about all that. And sometimes, you know, like, I remember back in the day, I'd see you in the magazines. I think, man, dude's getting. Dude looks good. But it can't be all that in person. Then all of a sudden, every time I saw you, you're 632-5026, whatever. When you roll up on a cat, you're. You're a lot bigger in person. You look great in the magazines, but.

[Steve Austin]

Dude, but I look small magazine.

[Michael O'Hearn]

When you get yourself here in person, like, man, I think I might be able to hang with Mike. All of a sudden, you roll up like, nah, that's a big son of a bitch fashion question. Why in the hell are you wearing those baseball shirts Every video you do and you catch some flack about this I am. What is with the baseball shirts? You got these 21 inc. You're veined out and you got everything covered up.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah, always help.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Everything up. I wear camo.

[Steve Austin]

Jump back to ct. I had a great workout. When you challenge a guy or something goes down, you let them call the workout. And that's why I said I'm here, it's your house, you call the workout. Got you and I'll show you what I got. Gotcha. And so that was a brawl and it was great freaking workout. But if you can't pick it up in the, in the video the energy was so freaking badass. And man, you walk in that gym and your testosterone just jumps up a couple notches just because it was so. It was such a street fun fight and battle and talking and afterwards we'll go break, you know, break bread and stuff. But it was, it was good. But jumping forward.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Yes.

[Steve Austin]

I get flack for, for a couple things. One is basically wearing the same thing over and over again. It's my jersey.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Yeah.

[Steve Austin]

And is my jersey. And I don't need to go in the gym and be fashionable and wear fashionable clothes and dress up for the others. It's my jersey and I represent it. And I know people hate that shit, but it don't matter. I get up at 3 in the morning, I put on my clothes, I got about 40 of these bad boys and I'll put it on and go in there. The reason why I cover up is because of this, if you can understand this, working out isn't working out. For me working out is meditation. For me, working out as a challenge in myself and me talking to myself inside my head as I train going bitch, you better freakin do this today. This is you. And it challenges me. What can I do better today than I did yesterday? So it's my meditation, it's me of working on me to get better. So that's why I cover up. Because it's an art show and I don't believe in showing the art piece unless it's completely done. And I don't go into a gym in a tank top. I've never worn tank tops. I don't wear shorts and stuff like that. I love to keep it covered.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Although probably after workout you'll strip off your shirt and start. Your favorite body part is your abs, you've always got them. So you and piano in there and you've got your shirt off. You got to do that for the killing guns. And so yeah, you'll cover up. But then at the end you're ready to uncover.

[Steve Austin]

I'll show a bit, mostly for videos and stuff, but it never happens when it's just a workout. Workout.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Let's talk about your training program because you kind of invented your routine. Power bodybuilding.

[Steve Austin]

Power bodybuilding.

[Michael O'Hearn]

But what has changed in your lifting? Because now you're 46 or 47.

[Steve Austin]

47.

[Michael O'Hearn]

You're 47. So what has changed since you were just a young stud throwing up stupid numbers at 21 to now, you know, getting, you know, older?

[Steve Austin]

Yep. What hasn't changed is me pushing as heavy as I can every single day as best I can.

[Michael O'Hearn]

That and stop right there. Just because it goes right back to the sentence you just got finished saying 30 seconds ago. Dude, every time you go in a gym, you show up to do business, and it's your passion, and that's kind of your Zen zone, is you getting your thing on. And people ask me all the time about motivation. And you're hearing it from Michael Hearn. So I want to point it out. He goes in with the mission. He sticks to it. He's one of the. He's probably the most consistent guy I've ever known, along with John Cena. He's fanatic, too, in a good way.

[Steve Austin]

Yep.

[Michael O'Hearn]

So please continue.

[Steve Austin]

So, yeah, I'll go into the gym every day and lift as heavy as I can for that.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Those heavy doubles, though, you train one body part a week.

[Steve Austin]

One body part.

[Michael O'Hearn]

One body part a day. Once a week.

[Steve Austin]

Once a week. And I'll go as heavy as I possibly can. And it's the ranges of motion is full range of motion. I always start with basically a compound movement, and then I'll do secondary. So to give an example, I'm still squatting today like any other day, like I did when I was 10 and as heavy as I possibly can, and I just kill it. And then I'll do secondary work, which is very minute now. This is how things have changed, is this. I do less now because I realize it's so much more about going in the gym, doing the best you can with the least amount of work and getting the hell out instead of these guys that go in there going, I trained legs for four and a half hours and I'm a badass. But then in time, you got to go to five hours and then six hours. I try to always cut back and go to the most. Like last year. I'll give you an example. Last year, I only did squat, bench, and deadlift all year. Didn't train arms, didn't train shoulders, didn't train anything just for a test of myself to see how much I can maintain by just doing those three exercises. Really the whole year, I guess pose the whole year I was dieted down and I photo shoots and nobody even noticed the difference. So it's the point of. Even with that little bit of work, I still maintained the body.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Yeah. But those three big lifts were.

[Steve Austin]

They're great lifts. Again, but that's not a bodybuilder.

[Michael O'Hearn]

No, you're 100% right.

[Steve Austin]

And I guess posed every single weekend.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Yeah.

[Steve Austin]

So again it's just me understanding this. And it's one of those things is education can take you only so far where experience takes you the rest of the way. And the experience has shown me less is more mostly when it comes to lifting and recovering. And I get better gains now by recovering and eating right. Mostly because we're older and not skipping out on sleep or this. That and the other thing.

[Michael O'Hearn]

You've got great genetics, but have you had to cut back on the carbs as you've gotten older?

[Steve Austin]

No, no, no. This. One of the big things about this is that I always take time during the year to get back to the foundation and that is that gas tank needs to be filled to the to the brink and you got to be able to force that body metabolism to take in all those food again. I believe that full fully so many. And so everybody.

[Michael O'Hearn]

You know this but calorically you'll take yourself back up to what then?

[Steve Austin]

5,6000. And take myself off of cardio completely? Yeah, yeah, I'll take it. I'll take it.

[Michael O'Hearn]

That.

[Steve Austin]

But I'm also. I'll train the best I can to work that off and stay down. But yeah, I try to get back to a foundation or calorie intake to where I can take food away and slice back up.

[Michael O'Hearn]

What are some of the. I don't want to say tricks or. Well, me and if I'm talking. We're talking about trade secrets. Trade secrets. That's what we always called it. You said dry out.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah.

[Michael O'Hearn]

So when you get ready for a shoot and you're really trying to. That, that, that look where your skin is crisp and your abs are popping. Right. Like are you just. Are you manipulating water?

[Steve Austin]

Combination of both. So I will do a depletion of carbs and get flat as a pancake. And I've actually done something throughout my career is I realize by looking more visually appealing to the mass gets me more work. So I'll flatten out even for photo shoots to where I don't look like this guy that's completely veined out and massive and these traps hanging up over the ears and stuff. I'll actually flatten out to where I look like more of an average guy. And then that way society can look at it and go, oh, that's appealing. That's not too much. I like that. Then I'll put the carbs back in, drop the water, fill out, tighten up, and then I'll look like I'm 30 pounds heavier, dude.

[Michael O'Hearn]

One of the things I've always appreciated about your physique is your body fits right into the classic era when Arnold and those guys were training, which to me, that's the best era. I know many of your friends who are competing today. I can't believe he's saying that. But I like those classic physiques that turn. To me, that's kind of like where your physique is. Would you agree?

[Steve Austin]

I think so.

[Michael O'Hearn]

I mean, unless you're gonna go back up to 305.

[Steve Austin]

No, it's one of the things is. Is one of the main things I agree with is that when we grew up, we wanted to be comic book heroes, or at least I did. I wanted to look like them. But the one thing that they did that the guys today can't do is the comic book character still looks athletic. He still looks like he can function.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Right.

[Steve Austin]

And the bodybuilders today don't look like they can function and stuff. And that's the one thing that I. I try to stay with where I'm gonna. I'm gonna show him something. I just did a shoot.

[Michael O'Hearn]

I guess it's that aesthetic look.

[Steve Austin]

That's my last photo shoot. That was up in Hollywood, just on a hill.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Oh, dude, that's awesome.

[Steve Austin]

That's that whole black and white classic.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Looks like it's 50 years ago, right?

[Steve Austin]

Yeah, right. And then I like that because at the same time, that guy can go into a gym and destroy the gym, but also can put clothes on and go walk a carpet and look decent.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Dude. Let's talk a little bit about. I think we were talking earlier, before the sound was rolling. Gym etiquette. Yeah, dude. What has happened? You've been a gym rat your entire life? I've been going. I never was a bodybuilder, but I train like a bodybuilder. My job was a professional wrestler, and I just try to stay in shape. But, you know, I remember the last time I was in Gold. It's been years since I trained there. I need to make a comeback. We got to get me in shape. Come back. So anyway, did you guys hear that?

[Steve Austin]

Do you hear that?

[Michael O'Hearn]

You know what?

[Steve Austin]

We're just going to make sure this clear that Steve Austin is going to start working with Mikey as soon as he's healed. We're going to get him dieted down to training.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Check us out. You know that where the flat benches are and there's a dumbbell rack there on that one wall. Everybody does flat dumbbell benches there or whatever, triceps and then there's that tricep push down machine back behind that. But anyway, so there I was a couple years ago, and there's a flat bench there and a guy's got his towel and water on the bench and he's training on the bench next to the bench with his towel and water on it. So I politely asked him, I said, hey, dude, you mind moving your towel and water so I can use this bench? And he looked at me like I just fell out of a dog's ass. He gave me the stink guy and was offended that I actually asked him to move his water and towel so that maybe I could get a pec workout in too. And so get these people over here, they don't rack their weights. You got to put your stuff back, dude. If you take it off the weight rack, put it back on the weight rack. What has happened to Jim etiquette, Mike? Is it gone now?

[Steve Austin]

Here's something that people. Yes, I train at 4 in the morning because it is the time where there's no way, nothing, nothing will ever get my workout in the way of it. Right? What can you do from 4 in the morning till 6 in the morning? Nothing. There's no business you can do. There's nothing. The only thing you're missing out on is sleep. The second biggest thing is because it is frustrating to be in the gym. It's frustrating to be in the gym today, in today's day and age because of the fact that all the guys are running with their shirts off. Everybody's bouncing around doing hip hop, you know, on benches and stuff. And it's like I just want, I just want an old school with a power rack and just, you know, nice little place that I can just sit there and do my squats and stuff. Where today it's crazy and it's, it is a different world. You can't, you know, you're doing something heavy and you're doing deadlift, man, I swear to God, I was doing a deadlift the other day and this is early too. I'm like, oh, come on. Doing a deadlift. And this guy walks right in front of my face, ass in my face. And I'm like, are you kidding me? That's, it's. Yeah, yeah. So, yeah, that's one of the things.

[Michael O'Hearn]

My ass about is Jim. Etiquette has died, you know, back in the day, you know, you know, you help a brother out if it needs a spot or something like that. Put your stuff up, don't leave your stuff laying everywhere.

[Steve Austin]

It's probably worse for me because of the fact that I grew up with martial arts and, and the discipline of respect of just individuals. And I've always learned to walk behind a person. If you're going to cross paths, go choose to go behind them, not in front of their face. It's just something that I believe is respectful just to. Even if the person isn't in the gym, I'm just talking about shopping malls or anywhere. It's just something I grew up with and in the gym, yeah, it's just mayhem. And I just, it's, it's frustrating to go in there for my second workout during the day because I got to go back, back in there and I just watch this and I'm like, wow, this just so changed.

[Michael O'Hearn]

So did you mention if you're getting up at three and you're trying to, what time do you go to sleep?

[Steve Austin]

I, I am in bed by 8 o', clock, asleep by 9. I'll get 6 hours. 9 to 3. 9 to 3. So by the time you have your first drink, beer, just chilling with the Mrs. And stuff, you're going, Mike's going to sleep right now. That wimp.

[Michael O'Hearn]

So what are you doing?

[Steve Austin]

Text me. Send me a text at 10.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Second workout, cardio.

[Steve Austin]

Usually cardio or a small body part if I miss something during the morning.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Train abs every day.

[Steve Austin]

You know what, I train abs twice. Here's the thing with abs. If you train your arms, your arms get bigger. If you train your abs well, most people say tightens up and your waist gets smaller. I disagree. I believe the abs grow, you're developing a muscle. So I will let them atrophy most of the year. And then a month out from big, big, big photo shoots or guest appearances, I'll over train them and I'll only train them for about a month.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Dude, you got a 29 inch waist, right? 30 max. In contest condition?

[Steve Austin]

In contest condition, it's 29 and a half.

[Michael O'Hearn]

See, that's insane.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah, but it's because of the fact that I, I don't train them to make them mask, you know, these monstrous abs.

[Michael O'Hearn]

But you got good core strength through all the deadlift and all the heavy squats.

[Steve Austin]

Yep. The connective tissue out of all the.

[Michael O'Hearn]

In bodybuilding, your favorite physique of all time, Flex Wheeler.

[Steve Austin]

I know he's.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Dude, I was the same thing, right? I'm normally going to say Arnold, but I was researching you, and all of a sudden I saw Flex in his prime, and I was like, holy smokes.

[Steve Austin]

Before, before. Right before he had to get even more size. Like the year he lost to Dorian, my belief is he should have won it. I love Dorian and who he is, but I think that the Mr. Olympia at that time mostly should have been a guy that was not just gifted, but genetically gifted to where he had no. His elbow is so small. It's as small as my wrists and stuff are as small as my girl's wrists. And to have that kind of muscle mass around it. He was a comic book character, and it was the most beautiful physique I ever saw on stage and in the gym. And, yeah, when I go back to.

[Michael O'Hearn]

The old Arnold footage, I think, man, that's just all time, classic physique. But again, in researching you, I was looking at Flex. I was like, man, dude, that was off the charts. Off the charts. Unbelievable.

[Steve Austin]

Unbelievable.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Strongest guy you ever trained with.

[Steve Austin]

Oh, geez.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Strongest guy you've trained with every strong guy that they're in the last 25 years.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah, I would. Wow.

[Michael O'Hearn]

A group of them. Stan's got to be there.

[Steve Austin]

Stan, definitely. Stan, definitely. Gosh, I. Emotionally, I could say there's. There's guys that just emotionally are just beasts. Like, Stan is a beast. Emotionally. There's guys that are stronger. God, I can't even think of who's.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Did you ever go to Sacramento and hang out with Smelly at all? Super training.

[Steve Austin]

I'm gonna go up there. I'm gonna go up there and train. I got some guys coming down, like Chris Duffy and those guys I'm going to train with, and these guys are beasts. The fun thing for me is that I've been around. Here's one of the things that's really the big thing right now is doing collaborations with other people. And people keep asking me to do videos with this guy or that guy. I think they forget that I'm at a stage where I want to learn something. I want to get something from that person. I just want. I don't want to work out with them. For the fans, I understand that they want me to do that, but for me, I need to like, with me and CT, it was. It was about two guys from 30 years ago that battled and doing it again now that for me was awesome for me. And Stan is. I have so much respect for understanding who he is as a. As a full person outside of the business, you know, outside of the gym. He's just good businessman, a good father, all that kind of stuff. So I don't train with everybody. They asked me to do it. But like Smelly, I want to go up there and hang with Smell because I love smell. And I've known him since he was doing wrestling.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Yeah.

[Steve Austin]

You know, so I've known him and Chris Bell was one of my first powerlifting training partners back in the early 90s when he moved here. Yeah, man. So it's. It's one of the things. I'll go up there, I'll train with them. I'm gonna be training with some, some incredible beasts coming up, power lifters and stuff. But besides that, man, I'm just gonna try to do something that I've never done before and try to get down to 229 pounds. Ripped to the bone.

[Michael O'Hearn]

So what made you come to this decision?

[Steve Austin]

I want to see how strong I can be and how much strength I can retain, but getting down to a size that I haven't been forever. Just for more. Classic. Classic.

[Michael O'Hearn]

When you go to your website, which is michaelhern.com, it's a picture of you walking out on stage. Was that a guest pose or was that competition?

[Steve Austin]

That was guest posing.

[Michael O'Hearn]

My question is, what were you weighing on the stage?

[Steve Austin]

257.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Dude. That was 257.

[Steve Austin]

That was 257.

[Michael O'Hearn]

And you want to go down to 229.

[Steve Austin]

229.

[Michael O'Hearn]

You were pretty damn shredded. That's not as shredded as I've seen.

[Steve Austin]

You, but I mean, yeah, this will be ridiculous, but it's just one of those things. I want to see what I can do and how much I can change.

[Michael O'Hearn]

When's the last time you weighed 229? 20 years ago.

[Steve Austin]

No, you were having that 229.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Dude.

[Steve Austin]

You have to go back to the bone. No, I. I think probably 22. When I won the natural universe, when I was 22, I won that. Well, that was 227. Yeah, it was 227.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Okay, spell it out for the listeners of Modest before we wrap this thing up. Keys to staying fit. As far as just a basic lifting program, you got to give them a workout.

[Steve Austin]

But they want to hear the secret. The secret pill or Something like that?

[Michael O'Hearn]

No, just. Just how you stick to your nutrition, I guess. What I'm asking you to speak one more time about the consistency. Because, dude, that's what you're a model of and that's why you look so damn good. From the first time I met you when you was a kid till now, you've been able to maintain this physique I get. People ask me all the time. So there's no magic pill. Well, we all know there's stuff that you can take, but that's not what we're preaching. You got to put in the work. So just speak about the work and the diet.

[Steve Austin]

I say a couple things, didn't.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Yeah, I'll go off the wagon. I'll drink beer for five days. Dude, I just screwed myself because that's five days. I mean, that's probably 15 steps back. I just backtracked rather than move forward. I still made my own progress. So speak to that because people ask me all the time, you're the man with the physique.

[Steve Austin]

I'll say this, the magic pills or whatever people are taking is great and it works, but it's short lived. That's something I never wanted to be. And since I was teenage years till now, it's something I want to do is be able to go throughout life like this because the only thing we get is time. Right? That's the most expensive thing there is. So I understand that. It's the consistency that I do every day. And the biggest thing for that is this. If you don't have a goal or a motivational point, it's. You're not going to maintain it. And something I try to tell everybody is that it's got to be more. And Josh Barnett, you know Josh, love it. So there was a time where I didn't deal with my dad's passing and my mom passed away. And then everything came up. I was trying to be the tough guy, you know, when my dad passed, all right, I'm gonna continue on. Life goes on. And then my mom passed and I crumbled and I crumbled to the point where, I mean, I was, I was done. And Josh called me up and he says, I get it, I understand. But now do this. And this is the actual moment when I realized how much more important a motivational or drive or hope is than anything else. He said, do this now for your last name. And at that moment on that conversation. So I owe this to Josh. I guarantee the reason why I'm better today is because of the fact that he said that. And that triggered something in me. And I said, okay, I'm holding onto that. And having that goal and the representation of who I am for my family and for my mom and dad is what pushes me through today. So anybody listening? Get the goal. Get whatever it is that drives you. Why you want to get in shape? Don't get in shape for a show. Don't get in shape because you want to get something that's so meaningful that you wake up every morning. You don't have to wake up at three in the morning, but something that says, today I'm going to go train, today I'm going to eat right, whatever it is. So that's. Consistency is key. Before anything else, consistency is key.

[Michael O'Hearn]

You look like a million bucks in the gym. You're one of the strongest guys in the gym. You've had what, almost a three decade run?

[Steve Austin]

Yeah, 87. So next year will be 30 years in the magazines.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Most embarrassing photo shoot or most embarrassment embarrassing gem moment.

[Steve Austin]

God dang, man. I can't even think of it right now. Oh, wait a minute. I know. Television wise, they butched it and edited and everything. So I was flying back and forth in New York doing the romance covers and stuff and Entertainment Tonight was here. This is freaking great Entertainment Tonight. And they start doing an interview and they do a pre interview and I kill it and I'm like, all right, I got this shit.

[Adam Carolla]

Mm.

[Steve Austin]

So then they start doing the actual interview and they running the cameras and everything and they start talking about, okay, so, you know, you're the romance guy. So what is it about you that got you romantic and all this stuff? Well, I got these four older sisters and it just went downhill from there. They're like, what, four older? What to do? And yeah, it was the most terrible interview of my life. And when we got done, they kind of looked at me go, great, awesome. And glad the contract was signed with Topaz Books at the time because by the time that interview hit Entertainment Tonight, you know what was on?

[Michael O'Hearn]

What?

[Steve Austin]

Here's the Topaz man. Hi, I'm Mike. Done. That was it. That was it.

[Michael O'Hearn]

They cut the whole thing. I gotta ask you about the. Before you. The romance novel shoots.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah.

[Michael O'Hearn]

How is that you there is just you and a girl or a woman, whatever.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah.

[Michael O'Hearn]

So they taking pictures.

[Steve Austin]

Oh, gosh, she's looking at me. No, it is basically it's. You put on the costumes because the romance covers are actually paintings of the actual real photo. Which is so cool because I, I remember I tried to buy the first one back then. And I was like, yeah, I'd like to buy my first cover post, you know, painting.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Yeah.

[Steve Austin]

Oh, that is $17,000. You know, I'm a 21 year old kid. I'm like, I ain't gonna pay 17,000. But yeah, you're doing a photo shoot, you get the costumes going and then you just start kind of just moving like it's an actual romance cover. And girls are. Here's the thing, this is my opening. It was an opening for a young kid because you're a young testosterone boy and you're 21 and you got this girl and she's kind of like all over you and grinding you and kissing you and all this and that.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Great, Good, good.

[Steve Austin]

That's beautiful. Keep going. Yes, sexy, sexy. Okay, cut. And the girl would just stop and walk away. And I'd be like, well, just. What just happened?

[Michael O'Hearn]

Holy.

[Steve Austin]

So that was the opening to. Yeah, those girls can turn it on. New York models.

[Michael O'Hearn]

So it's. It's not all what is cracked up to me. It's work.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah, it's work.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Frustrating.

[Steve Austin]

It was more frustrating. Yeah, that's basically.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Hey, what do you got coming up next?

[Steve Austin]

I'm traveling. I'm traveling every week. I'm off to Dallas next, doing the fitcon seminars, lectures where we're going Dallas and then back here, then New York, Rochester, back to Houston.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Is that all guest posing or just lectures?

[Steve Austin]

Yeah, lectures, appearances, seminars.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Lecture on. I know you do some motivational stuff, but would that be nutritional and workout or what?

[Steve Austin]

You know what, it goes anywhere and everywhere. I don't have a set thing like this. Last weekend or two weeks ago, I was in Maine and we did a big stand up lecture and stuff and it turned completely into motivational, motivational, goal setting. And we didn't even get into the workouts and training. We had the whole crowd going and it was, it was actually one of my favorite lectures because we really talked about family and the importance of time and life and making the best of it. So it was cool.

[Michael O'Hearn]

You make a living with your body. You have for forever, basically. But at the end of the day, you want to look like a million bucks. So you want to look good, you want to feel good. So if you're out there listening to my podcast, you got to want it like as bad as Mike does. I like to look pretty good. Take to the level you did or you do. But the bottom line is, man, if you want it, I mean, that's what you got. You got to want it.

[Steve Austin]

I hope they. I Hope they understand this. If they want it, they can have it. Because here's the biggest thing that I find. Is it that with social media and everybody knowing everything, you know, they're the smart. Everybody's the smartest person in the world. Of course, for some reason. And especially for some reason. Yeah. And Muscle and Fitness did a. And I love this. Matt Tuttle did a story on me in Muscle and Fitness just a while ago, and how he opened it up was. It was. It was great because it was something I didn't even see is that people shut down the possibility of being better. People shut down things and it's like they look at me and go, no way. You're, you know, you're closing in on 50 guys you don't even know.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Herschel Walkers.

[Steve Austin]

You don't even know Herschel. Herschel's 46, and what does he look like? Freaking dollars never lifted. Yeah, but it's, it's the. It's. People shut down the possibility of what can be. And for some reason, you and I travel around and everybody, you know, after 21 has bad knees or bad this and that. You put your body through trauma, you've kicked some ass. So there's reasons why you have some owies, but the common Joe that works 9 to 5 shouldn't be so achy. You know what I mean? And so I hope everybody understands that you can achieve something. So.

[Michael O'Hearn]

And if you want it, you got to go get it. You go get it every day at 4 in the morning. And with that being said, you got anything else you want to plug?

[Steve Austin]

Thanks. Strong snacks. Protein gummies. Pretty badass. And they didn't bring you any. I will get you some when you and me start training.

[Michael O'Hearn]

All right. Brought me a sweet long sleeve baseball ball shirt, but you didn't bring me any protein.

[Steve Austin]

I got. I got you some of my clothing, baby.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Bastard.

[Steve Austin]

Everybody's gonna hate you for that. And then Icon Meals. Thank you for taking care of food. And I would like to say Frog Fit.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Oh, look at.

[Steve Austin]

He brought some strong snacks.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Got him.

[Steve Austin]

I love it. Frog Fitness is a piece of equipment I'm not a sponsor or an athlete of. I am part owner, which is a piece of equipment. We're gonna bring you. We're gonna bring one today, but we didn't. Because you're recovering.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Yep.

[Steve Austin]

We're gonna bring it down in a couple months when you're ready to go, and we're gonna put you on this thing so you and the wife can train at home.

[Michael O'Hearn]

All right. There you go.

[Steve Austin]

I Love it, man.

[Michael O'Hearn]

All right. Michaelhern.com on Twitter, he's Mike O'. Hearn.

[Steve Austin]

Michael Horn. That's it. And when are we gonna start training?

[Michael O'Hearn]

I gotta get over the shoulder.

[Steve Austin]

You doc. As soon as your doc says we'll be back.

[Michael O'Hearn]

Bigger, faster, stronger. I don't know about all that. I'm hanging out. Michael Hearn, we're signing off. Thank you, Mike.

[Steve Austin]

Thank you.

[Michael O'Hearn]

All right, everybody, give me to go home. Q. It's time to wrap up his podcast and ride off into the sunset. And I'm glad this is the close of the show because my yard guys just showed up. They're running the mower, they got the blower. Everything's gonna get loud over here, but at least it's on the back end of the podcast and not on the front end. Here we go. I'm gonna give you guys something to watch. I always do on this podcast. And I found a couple of badass videos, and all you got to do is go to Michael Hearn's website, michaelhern.com dude has loads and loads of videos on his website. It shows you all of his workouts. There's a chest work out there for you, and he walks you through all of the reps, gives you a couple of tips, and shows you how he does it. Now let me give you this, my takeaway from my conversation with Mike o', Hearn, because I don't want you guys sending a bunch of hateful emails to Questions@Steve AustinShow.com say, Steve, are you crazy? There's no way that guy can be clean. There's no way he can be natty or natural. Amen. Let me say this. Michael Hearn has premier genetics. Michael Hearn works his ass off. Michael Hearn is absolutely religious and meticulous with his nutrition. The dude lives, eats, and sleeps the healthy lifestyle. But bodybuilding, heavy weights, and the dude doesn't drink absolutely anything. So you form your opinion of whether he's natural or not. We cover that subject in the podcast interview. So don't sit there and email me a bunch of things to say there's no way the guy can be clean. You are able to form that opinion on your own. And that's the way I'm going to leave it. I enjoyed talking to Mike. He's a friend of mine. I've known him for shit, 15, 20 better years, and every time I've seen him, he's always looked the same. So if you think he's on something, that's on you. All I know is he's one of the hardest working guys in the gym, day in, day out. And that's all I got to say about that. Hey man, all those badass T shirts I got you can find at broken skull ranch.com if you want to buy some beer and get it shipped to you. Broken skull ranch.com if you want one of the baddest pocket knives on planet Earth, you can get the cold steel Broken skull [e-mail] everything you need, Steve Austin is at brokenskullranch.com and if you come to LA, hang a left out of the airport, go down to El Segundo and get you a nice cold glass of Broken Skull ipa. This is indeed the best IPA in the United States of America. I firmly believe that. And tell them Steve Austin sent you. And one more thing. Coming this May 21st, El Segundo Brewing Company is celebrating their five year anniversary. They've been around for five years and I can't remember the name of the event. The El Segundo. Whatever it is, there's something that means the number 5. El Cinco. El Cinco, El Segundo. Anyway, the VIP session is from 11 to 1. I think those tickets are already sold out, but they'll be celebrating all day. They brewed a special IPA, I believe, using five different hops to celebrate the five years that they've been in business. So stop by the brewery. It's going to be a badass time. You can catch that badass ipa. We just busted open a brand new batch of Broken Skull ipa. It will be flowing along with all of their other award winning beers and it's going to be a good time and I appreciate you guys supporting the sponsors of the podcast because they're the ones that let me do this for you free twice a week. So big thanks to ddpyoga.com Austin and the ddpyoga now app. Big thanks to 5fourclothing.com use the promo code Austin to sign up to get 50% off your first box. Big thanks to Onnit. Go to Onnit.com Steve to take 10% off your order. To Truecar, to Uber and of course Amazon, who have been supporting this podcast since day one. Folks, if you guys want to support the show, I'd appreciate if you use my Amazon links when you buy anything off Amazon because they kick back a couple of bucks to the podcast to help us pay our production costs. You can buy whatever you plan on buying and you will help out the podcast in the process. It does not cost you anything extra. I am not asking for a handout, but if you want to help a brother out, you can find my Amazon links by going to podcast1.com clicking on the killer Deals button in the top right corner of the page and then hitting the Steve Austin show button. Amazon links for usa, UK and Canada. If you bookmark, it's the easiest way to find it in one step. And always know if you use those links, you help out the show. We keep doing these things twice a week for free and that's the bottom line. Hey folks, keep listening. The 62nd AP news headlines are coming up next. I'm talking to Arianne Andrews coming up. Well, I'm talking to her tomorrow. I think it'll be on the Tuesday podcast. Looking forward to talking to WWE Cameron if you follow her on Twitter. Until then, my name is Steve Austin and I will catch your ass down the road.

[Steve Austin]

Download new episodes of Steve Austin Unleashed every [e-mail] that's podcastone.com.