| Dave Draper |
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Malibu 1967 |
"The Blond Bomber" Born: 4/16/42 Height: 6'0" Currently resides in Del Rey California with wife Laree WWW.DAVEDRAPER.COM Professional Athlete, Actor, Author CHAMPIONSHIP TITLES Mr. America, Mr. World. Mr. Universe AUTHOR Your Body Revival: Weight Loss Straight Talk & Brother Iron, Sister Steel: A Bodybuilder's Book WRITER, MAGAZINE ARTICLES Santa Cruz Sentinel, Muscle & Fitness, Flex, Muscle Mag Int'l, Muscular Development, Ironman COLUMNIST IronOnline, Santa Cruz Sentinel "Mind and Muscle," OnTarget with Dave Draper, Muscle & Fitness, Good Times Entertainment Weekly MOVIE ACTOR Don't Make Waves, Lord Love a Duck, Three On A Couch, Walk Don't Run TELEVISION CREDITS Host of David The Gladiator, Johnny Carson, Merv Griffin, Beverly Hillbillies, The Monkees, Karen, Hercules, ESPN Feature Story, Red Skelton Featured subject: E! TV “True Hollywood Story” biography, currently in broadcast MAGAZINE COVER SUBJECT MAGAZINE ARTICLE SUBJECT WORLDWIDE EXHIBITIONS TOURED WITH Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sharon Tate (Film Publicity Tour), Elvis Presley, Frank Zane AWARDS Bodybuilder's Hall of Fame Member, San Francisco Film Commission Honoree, American Bodybuilding Award Star of the Decade, World Gym Lifetime Achievement Award, others Seminar Speaker &Public Service Appearances 100+ Appearances, DARE Program speaker, prisons, churches, fire & police departments, youth group homes, schools, senior programs C/O OnTarget Publications P. O. Box 1335, Aptos, CA 95001 (831) 466-9182 FAX (831) 466-9183 info@ontargetpublications.com |
| 1) What's your favorite Scripture? I remember years ago while driving for a delivery service I could entertain myself -- and lift myself high - all day reviewing memorized scripture. Now only two remain with clarity and bail me out regularly: Proverbs 3:5-8. Trust in the Lord with all your heart... and Isaiah 40: 28-31. Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God... Oh, yeah, then there's Philippians 4: 6, 7. Do not be anxious. But wait, there's more: Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling... Philippians 2:13 There beginning to come: Humble yourself before the Lord and he will lift you up... James 4:10 Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus... l Thessalonians 5:16,17,18 2) Who were your childhood heroes? I have not been big on heroes, ever. To be accommodating, I've reviewed a list from Trigger to Tarzan and Superman to the local police and firemen and no personal heroes appear. None among Willie Mays, Joe DiMaggio and their gang either. Tons of respect for deserving men and women, celebrities, athletes and adults in my limited horizons, but no heroes. My Uncle Johnny was real cool. 3) If you could meet anyone from the Bible, who would it be and why? John, "The disciple whom Jesus loved." He knew Jesus so intimately and witnessed the staggering events of His life and wrote boldly of Christ’s miracles and his divinity and offers us Revelations. I'd like to listen to him reminisce and there are a few zillion questions I'd like to ask him as well. 4) What is a typical day in your life like? In April of this year (2004) Laree and I sold our two World Gyms in Santa Cruz, California, after 15 years of TLC. We were spent, one might say. We now devote our time to internet-related projects that are associated with health, fitness and muscle building. Our five-year-old website, davedraper.com, is large and alive with a discussion board. We publish a newsletter, IronOnline, that goes out weekly, free to subscribers. These interests are both fulfilling and time consuming. I eat, write, train and tend to the affairs of living under the sun and thank God for all of it. Laree and I are currently adjusting to retirement from the gym biz and learning how to use our time more efficiently and thoroughly. I plan to make big furniture again. Laree is a talented publisher. 5) What Biblical figure do you most identify with & why? This question never crossed my mind. I'll have to improvise: Jesus, `cuz he was a carpenter and so am I. I'm slightly rebellious and I, as you, want to be like our Lord. Alas, I'm afraid that's where our identification ends. Simon Peter, sort of rude, arrogant and ignorant to match his oafishness, but he was respectful, determined, well-meaning and sacrificial until the heat was on. In time he turned out to be the rock and a true man of God. Paul. Thought he knew what life and truth were by what he read and was taught, and discovered he was way wrong when he experienced life firsthand before his Maker. What a revealing scramble it became after that: beatings, stoning, whippings, ship-wrecks, dungeons. Sounds like 40 years in a gym under the iron racks. King David. We have the same name, and everyone wants to be a brave warrior, I think. David made a lot of what some might call unforgivable mistakes and God forgave him and loved him dearly. He was a man after God's own heart. Wow! Samson had muscle and might, but was easily misdirected - weak when character was needed. He lost his might when he lost his hair. I notice I'm losing my might as I lose my hair. This might be merely coincidental or age-related and not spiritually rooted at all. 6) What trait do you like most about yourself? I praise God for my riches - skills, talents, capabilities, friends, Laree - but there is nothing I like about myself. I used to like my quiet self-control until I found out it was neurotic insecurity and introversion. Oh, well. Determination, maybe, is the least obnoxious trait in my overnight bag, mangy bull-dogged determination. 7) What trait do you least like about yourself? This question is a little more up my alley. I'm cheap. I prefer to call the characteristic prudent, and attribute it to the fact that I've always been poor, which I prefer to call impecunious, because poor sounds so... poor. It seems there has never been any money within my reach, though I've extended my arms (by the contraction of my hefty triceps muscle) on a few occasions. And my grip's not bad, either, full-finger-extension wrist curls being a regular part of my arm training, but there's been nothing to grasp: air, promises, straw, dumbbells and barbells. We tithe happily. 8) How have you been able to represent God in your sport? I fail miserably as an evangelical voice, but I have and will continue to praise God Almighty in magazine interviews, before live audiences and TV cameras. Often I am extensive in my praise and often my extensive praise is omitted. Despite the sinner I am, I try to represent God by my actions and words in the private and public arenas. The IOL newsletter is written to encourage healthful living and muscle building, while discouraging wrong living and dissipation. Readers have e-mailed us asking if we are Christians as it is evident by what we say and how we say it. When closing the weekly newsletter, I am brazen and include "God's speed and strength... Dave" or "Go with God... DD." Going beyond that risks losing an audience I am able to positively influence and possibly soften for another more direct witness. I trust Christ for that work. 9) If you could change one thing in your sport, what would it be? It would be nice to see the drug use suddenly disappear from sight and memory. It would be nice to see physical culture rise as a motivator and monster muscle and oversize breasts decline as the purpose behind the very cool activity of muscle and strength building. Dream on. 10) If you were to die today and go to heaven, what would you like to hear God say? Come, sit by me, my son. |
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Well, there you have it! THE Dave Draper! We cannot thank Dave enough for taking the time to participate in our interview and hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as we did! God bless you Dave & Laree! |
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| Visit Dave at www.davedraper.com | |
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