Chuck Zito Interview at Sonny Bargers House

all right my name is Chuck Zito um basically I got started into the uh the fighting was my my dad was a professional boxer in the 30s and the 40s I remember him getting on his knees and teaching me how to box then when I was 12 years old I had my first uh ring fight at the Southside Boys Club in new relle New York and then from there of course I went into the Golden Gloves I was in the Golden Gloves four times and I remember remember it was my father's birthday January 30th 1973 I had my first uh fight in the Golden Gloves it was the first night of the golden gloves and I had the first fight so talk about pressure man a lot of pressure on me but uh I W up knocking the guy out in the second round so I won that fight wow do you was the other guy younger too or was yeah the other guy was a b big beefed up strong kid and uh I remember we we first round the Bel rang came out and he came out he had a little like a almost like a uh a Bojack style rushing kind of fighter and he hit me an overhand right and he hit me right on top of the temple I just backed up and I said at that moment I says what the [ __ ] am I doing here and then of course I hit him my uh I I threw a jab and he went down underneath it I knew I threw another jab I said the third jab I threw the jab I just stuck it out there I hit him upper cut boom went down the end of the first round so I got all my confidence back then the second round I knocked him out was your dad in your corner yeah my dad was in my corner he was uh also my uh my my trainer on my cut B case I got cut and I remember the first round he was don't worry about it everything's good he's not laying a glove on you I says then somebody better watch the [ __ ] referee because somebody's kicking my ass out there so so after your first fight what was there a rush that just said oh I got to keep doing this or well what I did was I I I I was an amateur fighter and uh uh I never turned Pro because I became a husband and father at 17 so it was kind of hard to uh keep fighting and uh working at the same time but I had a good good amateur record and I fought in the gloves four times and I went on the amateur circuit and uh of course I was working so they went my uh professional career I think I could have been a good fighter okay so you so you had the fighting and then all of a sudden something else happened in your life inspired you to go another Direction after yeah after as I was still fighting I mean I was only 12 years old when I had my first ring fight and then when I was um 13 years old I remember going uh 1967 I went in and saw Hell's Angels On Wheels starring uh sunny bargar and Jack Nicholson and basically Sunny bar inspired me to ride a motorcycle I went home I made a mini bike found an old Schwin bicycle I found a lawn mower on somebody's lawn there you know and I W up making a mini bike so you just borrowed the lawnmower I borrowed yeah I borrowed these things I made a mini bike I won't say where we got them from but uh it was all a sudden my neighbor was missing his lawn mow and somebody else was missing a swi bicycle so uh I made a mini bike and then I went to the local Army Navy Store Jack's Army Navy Store I paid $6 for a dungre jacket and I cut the sleeves off and I wrote the opposite of Hell's Angels I hand painted on the back of the jacket the opposite of Hell's Angels Heaven's devils wow and I rode around town on my new mini bike with my new patch on did you recruit anybody into that yeah there was a couple of us uh uh we had a mini bike a little mini bike crew and uh then one day riding around my neighborhood I passed this uh apartment building and saw this big Chopper sitting in the middle of the parking lot and I pulled up next to it and it was just I remember it just had long up sweeps and and it was just gleaming man it just uh you know rigid frame and and the apers and it was just wild something I I saw back in uh hellers on Wheels and all of a sudden I saw some guys zy what are you doing when bu the bike and I looked up it was this guy he was like 6'4 and uh he had a patch on with all metals and everything on it and I oh [ __ ] there's a Hell's Angel living in my neighborhood but what it turned out was he was in a club called the uh the aliens the Bronx aliens which was a big Club back in the day in the 60s and 70s in New York and uh they had aliens from all over the place uh of course the alien Nomads who basically became Hell's Angels uh December 5th 1969 they had Jersey aliens Bronx aliens Brooklyn aliens Staten Island aliens and there was a big Club back in the day and this guy was uh A club member so even though he's older than me like 17 I was I was 13 at the time he was 17 18 and uh we became friends so I used to watch him build his bikes and paint and and uh I learned from him how to build motorcycles and and how to paint and everything and we became friends and we friends to this day 48 years later wow so uh he uh also taught me the ropes and then when I was fighting I met uh uh the president of the Hell's Angels back then with Sandy Alexander the New York City Hell's Angels and he was a professional boxer and we used to box in the same gym gry gym on 14th Street and we used to spar each other we became friends I started going down to the clubhouse on Third Street I want the painting s's motorcycle other Hell's Angels saw me paint and uh I started painting their bikes and next thing you know became a Hell's Angel which was uh something for me to meet Sandy because these are the people that inspired me to ride a motorcycle Hell's Angels at Sunny bar do you remember your first time meeting sunny I remember uh Sunny was in like 1979 when I first got my patch and uh he came to New York City and I also met him at the uh USA 99 uh uh run it was his first run because he was in jail all time and it was my first run so he had something in common it was his first USA run it was so was mine and we met and uh here it is you know they almost 40 years later and uh I'm in this house doing an interview with you so yeah and we had a good time outside it was so peaceful out oh this is beautiful here man I can't believe it you know he uh actually Sunny went to jail out here in Arizona and he said he's going to come back here and uh he left Oakland to come to Arizona and it's beautiful I can see why but uh went to his of course went to the opening last night of a dead and five heartbeat so it was great to uh see sunny and uh ride with him again after all these years so tell me a little bit about The inad Five Heartbeats what was what were your feelings well the uh basically uh we'll go back we'll take that back a little bit because when I was sitting in that doin movie theater watching Sunny Bargo and Jack Nicholson and the Oakland Hell's Angels I was uh um I remember a scene that Sunny was leading the pack on a bay bridge with hundreds of Hell's Angels and it was just stuck in my mind and I remember back in 1982 we all rode to sturge South Dakota it was our first time there and hundreds of Hell's Angels pulled in and I was remember sunny and sandy was leading the pack and it was like deja vu all over again me being in that pack on a bay bridge that's what it felt like and sunny was leading the pack and it was a a proud day in my life so uh of course I was H Ang over 25 years and uh I W up quitting the club and it's 9 years already and here is uh you just being uh with sunny again it's great and seeing his movie last night was great so uh which was uh the book he wrote and and building bikes too yes that's what I do I build bikes uh uh uh that's what I was doing I was so close I was in LA building another motorcycle and um we were in touch and I decided to come here and uh spend the weekend with sunny and be a part of his uh be part of the legend the history making again what's the the story on the sons of Anarchy bike that you built oh well I built that bike uh basically I was in the Sons of Anarchy I was in a fifth season of the Sons of Anarchy uh after a big uh um Court battle with them so I was suing them for two years and the the ironic thing about it I W up working on the show so it it it was pretty wild man um uh I remember uh when I met uh Kurt Suter for the for the well it's the second time I saw him in the depositions and the second time I went to meet him was in a restaurant Bev Hills and he's friends with Charlie Sheen and Char he gave Charlie Sheen a sons of anak jacket so after my I dropped a law suit I met him and I W up going to the meeting with the uh sons of anakie jackon that Charlie gave me so he was saying well this could be bad or this could be good so he didn't know how to take take it but it was all good after meeting him I said you know what uh I want up liking a guy and uh he asked me if I wanted to be on the show so I dropped the uh buried the hatchet and and dropped the lawsuit and I wound up working on the fifth season of the sons of anery and I told him right there I said I guarantee you it's the fifth season you guys are going in the fifth season I guarantee you it's going to be the highest rated show you ever had not was it the only highest rated show in Sons of anak it was the highest ated show in a history of FX and you've got some other just absolutely amazing movies that you've been in what tell there so many things of course I uh how I became basically we go back and uh Hell's Angels opened the doors for me in Hollywood Sandy Alexander was a stunt man in a movie business and in uh 1979 they did a movie called Dead ringer with Shar meatloaf and he used 18 Hell's Angels for the scene and I was one of them and I caught the stunt stunt bug so I became a stunt man so it's thanks to the Hell's Angels and Sandy Alexander that that's what got me into business and I became a stunt man and stunt double some of the biggest actors you could think of and uh then of course I got my first TV series was uh on the HBO series Oz which was the best show they ever made and uh I used to tell The Sopranos I say Sopranos ever came eyes we' spank you guys so had a great time on that and of course I did a bunch of other movies and uh I was in over a 100 movies as a stunt man you never saw me in a movie you only saw my name at the end of the credits we made the other actors look good so of course uh then I got the sons of anari which is this is my look for the sons of anaki and uh which I from uh years ago from Cisco valderama he had the F man cheu you know so uh he inspired me for my look for Sons of anaki and you've also had an opportunity to be one of the the the biggest stunt or not stuntman but bodyguards in the industry tell us about some of the people that you well what happened was back then after I became 's angel I became a stunt man in 1980 I started my own bodyguard service called uh since my name was Charlie and Chuck and I was a Hell's Angel I call Charlie's Angel's bodyguard service and elizza Manelli was my first client and when people saw me with Liza it was just I never even advertised it was just word of mouth so from Liza I went to Sylvester Stallone and Mickey Rock and Sean Penn and Charlie Sheen and Angelina Jolie and pamel Anderson and Sher and the list goes on and on I bodyguard everything you everybody you could think of I became known as The Bodyguard to the Stars and I was in magazines and newspapers and uh uh uh uh TV shows and so I had a pretty uh lucrative business going on so what do you what do you think was your the most memorable moment being a bodyguard you know what every client everybody was just different everybody had their own character everybody had their own personality and I just uh enjoyed working for everybody and the thing about me they know that no matter what happen it stays there between me and them and I know it doesn't go any farther cuz you got to realize I've worked for people who were married whether was a male or female and uh the bodyguards the closest thing to them so you see a lot of things that you keep in your head and you don't you don't repeat it so they knew that they could always count on me and not worry about me writing a tell book or going on the you know current affair or TMZ or things like that so they know they never had to worry about that so so that's why they kept calling me back and till this day I still do bodyguard work if they call me if Shawn pen calls me I go if Charlie Sheen I go pamel Anderson I go so uh they know that the lips are sealed there there's so many people that would to love to do I mean even part of what you've done you know especially when you get into the movie industry and what what would you say to people as far as you wanting to break into something like that don't it's the hardest thing to get into and B basically even the stunt business it's clicks like there's a handful of stunt guys that always call each other like if uh uh if I was doing a show I would call you if you were doing a show you would call me so it's very hard to get into and break into that industry uh same with the acting I mean you just got to you know follow your dream don't give up and uh keep pursuing it uh you know somebody out there's going to like the way you look or or like the way act and just keep it up that's all I can say I mean it's just a hard business to get into and Hollywood's the biggest [ __ ] is in town so you got to keep up with that and they know that uh you know I never kissed anybody's ass in Hollywood so uh it's a little harder for me to work because I don't take any [ __ ] from anybody and uh there's been a few stories going around Hollywood a lot of people are scared to hire me so uh there's a few stories going around but uh you know what if you if you that's what you want to do you pursue your dream and you keep going and uh keep pushing and striving for that and it'll come we seen you uh on Howard Stern I mean he he is I mean talking about controversy and and wild and crazy and and uh what are some of the things you like about doing that show you know one thing I like about Howard he's a he's a self-made uh uh uh he became somebody that struggled and uh uh through the years he became the king of all media I mean he's the biggest thing in in in in the uh in in radio he became the biggest host there is uh now he's on this uh you America's Got Talent he's doing so many things but uh the great thing about Howard he loves me and I love Howard I mean uh every time I go on there which I've done a show probably 40 times already through the years and he just sits there and he says you know I just want to be chugo for the day I just want to be you man you know cuz you've done it all you've been there you've done that and uh we got along so well he gave me my own radio show so I have my own radio show called Chuck Zito's View and I just talk about everything in fact I going to have Monday night is my radio show we'll be talking about this interview we'll be talking about Sunny's movie his his Ranch and uh they say 20 million people listen to Howard 10 million people listen to me so that's that's a good uh percentage I think and uh we just talk about you it's just me I'd be me I talk about girls I talk about fights I talk about me going to dinner and I'll be talking about sitting in outside in Sunny's Ranch and looking the beautiful mountains so uh it's great and like I said I love Howard Howard loves me and he's saiding I had the best show on radio and uh he just says I want to be chugo the day that's it so you uh what what exciting things do you have coming up well I just finished two big movies uh one is called the home front that Sylvester Stallone wrote and produced and believe it or not I play the uh the president of a bike club go figure right so uh uh I play the president of the outcast motorcycle club and uh Jason Stam is a star and James Franco and Ona Ryder and Keith Bosworth and Jason Statham is one of my club members then I have my son and basically the movie opens up with me and Jason the first 10 minutes it's going to be a great movie it comes out in uh I believe September of this uh this year and I did another movie called reach me that syester Stallone is in Danny aello Thomas Jane uh Tom seore Danny tryo me and Danny are bank robbers we uh rob a bank so uh that's going to be all good so I have two big movies coming out this summer so you're not just behind the scenes anymore no no now I'm uh in front of the camera morning which I like you know instead of taking all the bumps and bruises for all these actors now I'm acting myself so and I said to myself I said you know what these guys are acting like I do every day and they're acting trying to be me so why not give it a try and boom you get an opportunity to do your own stunt or that's another thing uh you know I'm an actor who does my own stunts say I don't need to hire a stunt man I do my own stuff which is great so everything works out what about the the fight world still pretty active in uh yes I'm uh uh of course uh you know I'm a big boxing fanatic uh I know the history of boxing since the late 1800s all the fighters and Me growing up into the sport I never knew any other sport except for boxing and the martial arts so I became a martial artist when I saw Bruce Lee in the Green Hornet and uh I wanted to be just like Bruce so I went down to uh Aaron Banks uh Karate Academy and uh I started taking a white cran and tigerclaw Kung Fu and from there I went to uh Tommy May Karate Academy in Nelle and started studying Ishu Ishu karate and then Chu jiujitsu commit Jiu-Jitsu VR Jitsu and now I train with Professor henzo Gracie and Gracie Jiu-Jitsu in New York city so I still active I still fight I still just to keep in uh shape and yeah you're pretty Timeless yeah I think so yeah well you know what I think the thing is with me a lot of people know and I never I never drank in my life I never took a drug I never uh uh smoked a cigarette so I think that preserved me a little where uh even at my age I still look pretty uh pretty good I guess and I feel good I feel real good so we're still doing it we've been there done that and of course in 2002 I wrote my autobiography Street Justice and now I'm in the middle of my second book which should be done I'm hoping by the uh the end of the summer also what's the second book the second book is going to be where the first one picks up leaves off um it's going to be uh of course it started off with my life uh you know since I was a kid and then it ended with me walking my daughter down the aisle in 1998 so it picks up from 98 till [ __ ] 2013 and a lot happens from 98 till 2013 so we're going to call it a a a uh Angel and the bad girl and the great part about it I'm driving riding uh uh and not Angelina but I'm I'm riding uh uh pamelar Anderson on the back of the motorcycle and that's the cover shot oh wow so when you think about it you look it says angel and a bad girl and you think she's the bad girl but when you start reading you you find out it's somebody else we won't give away those secrets yet with with such an exciting life how do how would you narrow down one particular event or story or or time that just really sticks out that just you know really touches you well I said it before I mentioned it before one particular time that stuck out my mind and it and it was a great great time for me is when I followed Sunny Barger into sturge South Dakota riding behind sunny and 200 250 Hell's Angel it was that was a pretty uh uh uh memorable uh day in my life so I always remember that and like I said it was deja vu all over again watching like I was sitting there watching the movie and riding in that same pack that Sunny was leading yeah that's I remember that that was a memorable day and uh you know what we're still going we're still going strong I've been there I've done that and we're still going man so I'm sure there's more memorable days to come absolutely but I mean but that says so much when when you've lived such a full life and you've done so many things in that one particular moment tied in with sunny barer I mean I mean that's just true living legend you got to realize like said says sunny is the one who inspired me to become a Hell's Angel and uh I had I was uh lucky enough in my life that I was I had 25 years in the club uh even though I quit the club I mean I still friends with a lot of people and still being being with the legend himself and riding last night to his Premiere was awesome man what what's uh what's in the future for Chuck Zito oh what's in the future well if I had a crystal ball I could tell you but you know what just keep keep on doing what I'm doing and uh I'm blessed with so many so many friends and my family's always been behind me and um I'm I'm blessed with that and to have great friends like sunny I mean uh uh and still a lot of people in the club I mean uh it's like like I never left even though I I quit the club 9 years ago it's like I never left but uh uh we just keep pushing man you know every day is a gift you I have I have a sign on my my my bedroom door it says every day is a gift and what I don't do is take anything for granted anymore especially when I went to prison you know when they locked those doors behind me uh and they took my freedom away it was uh you know something man and I don't wish prison on anybody but uh it gives you a reality check man you know do you remember what it was like when you first stepped out yes uh you got to realize that I was uh extradited from Tokyo Japan I spent four months in a Japanese prison and uh but the day I got out you know what my mom my sisters and my wife and my daughter were there waiting for me and that was a big big uh big thing man I always remember that so like I said the family sticks behind you through thick and thin you know but uh still going strong you know every day is a gift and uh you know what we start start up with waking up in the morning and uh you wake up in the morning it's a good start man so uh just looking forward to every other day man and uh you never know what uh it's in the future maybe another movie maybe another uh a bike show who knows the the million-dollar question I ask everybody U if you could go back in time and change one particular thing what would you change one particular thing well like I said we had a crystal ball we could change a lot of things but uh I would probably uh not be around that day when I got [Laughter] arrested and waste six years of my life in prison so yo uh uh uh if we could do that you know uh uh we changed a few things but you know what I I I do it all over again man I just wish uh uh uh you know after 30 years of marriage I'm not married anymore and uh a lot of things happen in my personal life of course I would probably change that maybe uh be be a a better husband a father like I should have been instead of always uh you know being on the road you know between the movies and everything else and of course you know riding and the events we had so uh maybe I change a few things there every rose has its thorn Every Rose Has Its Thorn so you know what you live life and uh uh uh uh that's how you live man you go by and see all the obstacles you go through through life and everything else so uh so far I've had a great life and uh and I'm keep plugging away man I've done so many things I've probably done uh what another guy would take five lifetimes to accomplish I've done so far and I'm still going and there's no stopping me now I'm just going to keep keep going man you there's still a lot of fight in me that's whether I get knocked down I get back up and just go on to fight another day man yeah and you may get that that opportunity again with the the husband thing because I noticed last night during the movie there was a lot of the women that uh of all ages that were uh eyeing you up and down and I'm sure I'm sure it was Mutual too man you know cuz my eyes roam man so but I've uh been uh been lucky like I says I've been lucky and uh I'm I'm just so fortunate to have so many uh dear friends in my life and a great family and so many fans who who who who uh who love and respect me and that's a a good feeling it's a great feeling when you walk into an arena for a boxing event or or or the UFC or and people go crazy over you and uh that's a good feeling man yeah speaking of uh respect and in in like leadership and things like that some sum up Sunny burger for me a living legend that uh everybody uh one time or another should meet and uh he's the guy back in the day saw the vision and saw how big the club could be and he's probably solely responsible for the club being as big as it is today and uh and it gets bigger and bigger but uh and sunny reaches every every Walk of Life doesn't matter if you're a biker or or or a lawyer or a doctor I mean everybody looks up and respects hny and uh I'm just hoping to get the same you know respect someday than than than he gets and uh to me just being around him is is a great thing for me man he's a legend of me always was always will be and I have a lot to to thank Sunny for so if you could give your fans a a message what would that be first of all I have to thank them for uh being fans of mine and a lot of people look up to me and uh respect what i' I've done in life so far and uh and and I just want to let them know that the feeling is you know mutual and I love and respect them for for loving me so uh like I said before you know what if if you have a dream in your life just keep on pursuing it because it'll come true someday and uh don't give up you know fight and don't give up what's the best way for your fans to uh to show their love for you believe it or not and Howard Stern is the one who got me involved in his Twitter and the Facebook stuff I never ever thought I would be doing but I started doing that recently and and and and the response that I get from people and especially writing them back and they love it and uh a lot of them said oh this isn't the real chug Zito and everything else you know you don't how how to prove it but uh Howard Stern got me involved in that and I tweet people and I Facebook them and it's pretty wild so they could tweet me and Facebook me chug Zito of course and of course go on my website you chug zoo.com and uh see a lot of things and a lot of pictures of me and the friends of mine so but I want to you know show the love and the uh the sport they've given me and just let them know that I love and appreciate it them for it so and we're going to keep going we keep pushing man every day that's that's incredible I I uh I want to thank you for this this time and and and giving us an opportunity to to share part of your life because it like like you said I mean you you've been there and done that and there's not I've been there done that man a few times yeah and and the people that you work with are the A-list of the industry too I I work for the biggest people you can think of man from you know from you know Joe pesi to bino daero I mean everybody could think of it's probably who hav't I work for you could probably name those you know a few where like I said I'm just fortunate enough to to have done all these things in my life and again I have to thank the Hell's Angels for doing that because they're the ones who open the doors in Hollywood for me cuz if I wasn't a Hell's Angel I would still be from some kid from uh new relle New York man you know so uh and sand Alexander because like I said back in the day he was the man you know just like Sunny was and uh he died uh you know some years back but uh he was uh good Hell's Angel on his day well your your next event you're going to is a wrestling event I understand oh yeah yeah after uh after this event today I have a flight I have the Redeye going back after the Sunny's event and uh I fly back home which is New York of course and uh tomorrow is uh is WrestleMania and I was at number one WrestleMania one wow where it was Muhammad Ali was a referee Billy Mt was a timekeeper Liber uh Mr T Hulk Hogan it was great and uh I'm going to another WrestleMania event tomorrow and if people remember the old uh old wrestler Bruno San Martino they inducted him to the uh Hall of Fame and Arnold schwarzen is giving him the event so it's going to be a big big thing and the rock is back Dwayne Johnson and he's fighting John Cena and uh uh of course Brock Lesnar is back from the UFC and he's fighting uh Triple H it's going to be a memorable uh memorable uh time tomorrow and I'm going to be part of it the Rock and Cena any predictions well both they're both my friends you know and uh it depends because it depends who uh Vince McMahon wants to win so I think you'd have to ask Vince McMahon that that that prediction but they're both great friends of mine I know they're going to be uh give a kickass show tomorrow and I'm going to be part of it and I'll be part of that wrestling crowd and I know they're going to uh give me a big response when I walk walk out there and uh it's going to be good feeling tomorrow and be part of it something for the ladies out there blondes brunettes redheads hey man you know what uh it doesn't matter what your what what color hair you have uh me I'm not too particular you got to be beautiful tall sexy beautiful body besides that no just trying and uh keep meeting them and keeping them happy yeah okay you heard it ladies he's single yeah people think I'm this like Ladies Man and this and that and but you know what in my life I can remember on one hand how many girls I've been with and people don't believe that but I swear to God I count on one hand how many girls I've been with this week okay you had to there that I'm going leave you after seeing the way the women were looking at you last night when you I was thinking wow this is this is this guy's the strongest man in the world we try we try we try and please everybody okay hey my name is Chuck Zito and you're watching rock this magazine keep watching or [Music] else [Music] a

Channel: EricSalasProductions

Views: 2,251,618

Keywords: Chuck Zito Interview, DeadIn5HeartBeats, Sonny Barger, Howard Stern, HBO OZ, Sons Of Anarchy, Rock Thiz Magazine, Eric Salas Productions, Chuck Zito (Martial Artist), HBO (Organization), Interview (Ontology Class)

Id: pTM8-4lRAAU

Length: 35min 21sec (2121 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 23 2013