Arnold cuts ties with The Arnold Classic...

[THE BOUNCER]

I fear that this will mean that the Arnold Classic will go to shit just like all the other pro shows seem to be doing. I realize Arnold has a job to do now and some may not agree with me but he was a bodybuilder first damnit! I feel like he is kind of abandoning bodybuilding (his one time true passion) for politics. Kinda makes me sad.



Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has quietly severed his financial ties to the premier bodybuilding event that bears his name -- the Arnold Classic -- amid concerns about his outside business connections to the dietary supplements industry.

The governor decided last week to cut his financial ties with the Arnold Classic, a major sales forum for dietary supplement products, and its Ohio- based parent firm, Classic Productions, Schwarzenegger spokesman Rob Stutzman said Friday.

The decision follows a move to end a $5 million-plus contract with two leading bodybuilding magazines, Muscle & Fitness and Flex, which rely heavily on supplement advertising and are published by American Media Inc.

"To make it clear, just like the (American Media Inc.) deal, he's not going to take anything from the Classic anymore either,'' Stutzman said. While Schwarzenegger will still headline the event and continue his high-profile role there, the financial side is "just not worth the headache,'' he said. "He doesn't want any distractions.''

The amount Schwarzenegger earned from the Arnold Classic is unclear, but his decision on the event effectively cuts another monetary link with the sales and promotion of dietary supplements, an issue that has dogged his administration since he vetoed a bill last year that would have banned some dietary supplements among high school athletes.

"I think the governor has realized over the past week that receiving outside income as a sitting governor is problematic,'' said state Sen. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, author of the bill Schwarzenegger vetoed. "He seems to realize that being an elected official is different from being a movie star.''

The latest development came to light after The Chronicle questioned why the governor changed the way he accounted for the income from the Arnold Classic on his most recent economic disclosure form.

Because of the reporting changes, dietary supplement-makers like Muscle Tech, Prolab and SportPharma, listed by name on his 2003 financial disclosure statements, disappeared from the 2004 forms -- even though they continued to pump money and advertising into the Arnold Classic.

Both Stutzman and Paul Wachter, the governor's chief financial adviser, said Friday that the differences in accounting between Schwarzenegger's statements of economic interest were not an attempt to disguise the governor's financial dealings, but merely to reflect recent legal changes in his relationship with his former partner in the Arnold Classic, Jim Lorimer.

The governor's 2003 public statement of economic interest lists three specific income-producing business entities and trusts -- Oak Productions, the Santa Monica firm established to manage his movie-related images, intellectual property rights and products; Main Street Plaza Inc., his Santa Monica-based real estate holdings; and Classic Productions Inc., Schwarzenegger's partnership that has produced the annual Arnold Classic.

The filing for 2003 indicates that Schwarzenegger's Classic Productions specifically received income from dozens of major dietary supplement-makers and retailers, such as GNC, Labrada Nutrition, Optimum Nutrition, VPX and Pinnacle.

But those sources are no longer included in the governor's statement for 2004, the most recent on file. Instead, Classic Productions is now merely listed under the umbrella of Oak Productions as an income-producing entity, with no further details provided.

The changes came even though Schwarzenegger's high-profile role as a salesman for body-enhancing products and an industry icon was clearly on display at this year's 2005 Classic in Columbus, Ohio. The governor was mobbed by thousands of fans at the March event, and for nearly three days made the rounds, visiting booths and posing for photos with product sponsors, hawkers, fans, athletes and buyers.

But Wachter said the accounting change was made to accurately reflect the period after Schwarzenegger's election, when most of his assets there were moved into a blind trust and he shifted from a partnership to a "license deal'' with Lorimer.

"In the old days, he got a handshake that basically he owned half of the (Classic Productions) deal,'' Wachter said.

This year, the governor received what Wachter said was a "license fee'' from Classic Productions to Oak Productions -- though he acknowledged that "our income is all the same stuff, obviously ... it's the booths, and the television money, whatever they get.''

While Schwarzenegger's latest filing may meet California's economic reporting requirement, it ignores the intent of the rule, critics say.

"When I was on the Fair Political Practices Commission, we talked a lot about 'piercing the veil,' '' said Tony Quinn, a GOP consultant who was on the commission from 1976 to 1981. "If you have income, you have to show where it comes from.''

While the 2004 statement of economic interest shows that Schwarzenegger is still receiving income from Classic Productions, that money is now being paid to Oak Productions, his wholly owned company, rather than directly to the governor.

"By adding that new level, you effectively hid the source of those funds, " said Larry Noble of the Center for Responsive Politics. "If you can hide the source of money, it's as good as if you had no disclosure at all.''

Wachter said the criticism is unfair.

"It never dawned on us to think about things like hiding something, because we were so concerned about doing everything legally. The No. 1 overarching concern is to follow the rules, which are extremely complicated,'' Wachter said. "We've really tried to do a good job. ... I think we have.''

Both Stutzman and Wachter stressed that Schwarzenegger will "absolutely'' continue to attend the Arnold Classic, but they insist, however, that he will do it as a labor of love -- and not for money.

"The fact is, when somebody spends from 1965 to 2005, which is 40 years, in which he has never stopped promoting the bodybuilding industry and the business, he doesn't give a s -- about the money,'' said Wachter. "It's not about the money. It never was. It never is. It never will be. ... the fundamental principle is the guy loves this whole thing.''

sfchronicle.com.

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URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c...MNGGRDSN161.DTL

[GearTripper]

he's still just as much involved... just not financially. he has more money then god anyways.

[Stonecold54]

Originally Posted by GearTripper

he's still just as much involved... just not financially. he has more money then god anyways.

I heard god was broke....he filed for even more tax breaks with the Govt.

[THE BOUNCER]

Originally Posted by GearTripper

he's still just as much involved... just not financially. he has more money then god anyways.

im not so sure. we will have to see if next years Arnold will be just as good as years past. Will he still go to Colombus for 3 days and take pics with people for free? Somehow I dont think so. We will just have to see.

[house1]

he is like any other politician -- a fucking sellout -- fuck him and those like him --

[THE BOUNCER]

Originally Posted by house1

he is like any other politician -- a fucking sellout -- fuck him and those like him --

it just hurts a little more when it comes from arnold. now he is talking bad about bodybuilding in flex mag.

[GearTripper]

he seems too eager to please the "common folk" these days with his new career. i just don't get it.

[THE BOUNCER]

Originally Posted by GearTripper

he seems too eager to please the "common folk" these days with his new career. i just don't get it.

Remember when he first came into politics? he was calling people girly men. now it seems that he has turned into the girly man..

[Shibby]

Originally Posted by THE BOUNCER

now he is talking bad about bodybuilding

I missed that. Is he condeming the sport all together?

[THE BOUNCER]

Originally Posted by Shibby

I missed that. Is he condeming the sport all together?

No, just talking shit about steroids and supps and all that. Just trying to distance himself from what he once did and once promoted.

[Cory]

Originally Posted by THE BOUNCER

No, just talking shit about steroids and supps and all that. Just trying to distance himself from what he once did and once promoted.

He has to, B, if he wants to be a conservsative republican.

[beefcake]

I don't think his influence on the arnold will be gone. I just read an article where he stated he wants to get bodybuilding back to where it was in his days. Where it was about aethestics just as much as mass. He says he having the judges penalize the bb for having bloated stomachs or disproportionate physics. I doubt someone that's trying to change the sport that much is going to just drop it all together.

[THE BOUNCER]

Originally Posted by Cory

He has to, B, if he wants to be a conservsative republican.

you never have to step on the hand that feeds you. you do realize that the only reason he was able to come to america was because Joe Weider brought him here. he may want to be in politcs but in the process he is slapping bodybuilding in the face.

[house1]

Originally Posted by THE BOUNCER

you never have to step on the hand that feeds you. you do realize that the only reason he was able to come to america was because Joe Weider brought him here. he may want to be in politcs but in the process he is slapping bodybuilding in the face.

agreed

[Cory]

Originally Posted by THE BOUNCER

you never have to step on the hand that feeds you. you do realize that the only reason he was able to come to america was because Joe Weider brought him here. he may want to be in politcs but in the process he is slapping bodybuilding in the face.

I agree that he should not bash what and where he came from, but at the same time, people's priorities change in different stages of their lives. You may be doing something totally different in 30 years and be wondering WTF you were thinking when you were doing what you are doing now.

[Pumpdogg]

It was only a matter of time before he sold out... Hate to see it happen, but it is the reality of politics...

PD

[THE BOUNCER]

Originally Posted by Cory

I agree that he should not bash what and where he came from, but at the same time, people's priorities change in different stages of their lives. You may be doing something totally different in 30 years and be wondering WTF you were thinking when you were doing what you are doing now.

its alot more then just saying to yourself, "what was i doing back then", this is something that gave him the reason for being in this country. this is something made him. without bodybuilding you would not know who arnold is. you cant just look back and forget about something that has made you.

[Primal Instinct]

Lots of times one's loyalties are lost when one enters career politics.

[Cory]

Originally Posted by THE BOUNCER

its alot more then just saying to yourself, "what was i doing back then", this is something that gave him the reason for being in this country. this is something made him. without bodybuilding you would not know who arnold is. you cant just look back and forget about something that has made you.

You are right, B! I can't argue with that.

[Shibby]

Originally Posted by Cory

I can't argue with that.

really? lol