Been to Joe’s house several times around ‘91 to fix his cable. He was never there, just his two Filipino housekeepers Jim and Elia. His house was like a museum with art and sculptures from around the world. I even trained a little bit at the gym in his guesthouse.
One Saturday l was in area and stopped by on a whim. His housekeeper Elia answered the door. She knew me and got Joe, who happened to be home, to come to the door. I said l was a big bodybuilding fan and just wanted to meet him.
He invited me in and we sat at the table in his backyard talking about bodybuilding and life in general. I have no doubt that Joe was a cutthroat businessman, but l can say that he truly loved bodybuilding. And he didn’t have to take the time to speak to a “nobody” like me, especially not for an hour.
He really did have that fucked up sounding voice that Samir used to imitate so well. He also had this nearly constant twitch in his right eye.
When l was getting up to leave, Betty showed up and Joe introduced me to her. She was actually very nice and gracious. She suggested Joe give me a year’s subscription to either M&F or FLEX. I chose FLEX of course. My first issue came in the mail the following month... 🙂
