Growing up; there were four action stars that inspired me. In order: Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jean Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren. They are the reason I got into fitness, got into fighting (Boxing, then Tae Kwon Do and am now back to Boxing) and of course the film industry. I had lunch with Schwarzenegger early this year (when I covered the set of THE LAST STAND ) and that was an honor in itself.

But meeting JEAN CLAUDE VAN DAMME was an even bigger deal for me. Before I get into that; let me share with ya my brushes with Van Damme over the years.

-When WAKE OF DEATH was to be shot in Montreal, Canada; I was cast as a Russian henchman that was to get his ass whooped by Van Damme. Man was I excited! This was it! A dream come true! Fighting Van Damme onscreen. But alas, something went wrong, director Ringo Lam left the show and the production moved to Europe and wound up being directed by producer Philippe Martinez. To say I was bummed about that would be an understatement.

-One year at the Cannes film festival, my friend’s sister was interviewing Van Damme and he invited me to the event. Sure, it wasn’t acting in a film with the man, but better that than nothing I thought. Sadly, my cell phone company cut my line with no warning and no reason (fuck you Rogers) before I could get the location of the interview. So I missed out. Again.

-I was in a club in Cannes for Van Damme’s birthday party. I saw him here and saw him there and that was it. The most memorable thing from that night was: 60$ for a Rum and Coke. Ouch!

So when I learned that Van Damme was once again in Montreal to push The Expendables 2; I couldn’t pass it up. So with some help (Thanks Big B!), I nabbed a one on one interview with the guy. I had my questions ready (I know Van Damme’s career like the back of my hand) and was eager to finally shake the hand of one of the individuals who inspired me so much growing up. First thing Van Damme told me when I walked in was “You’re in good shape, are you a fighter?” I told him yes. He asked “MMA?” I said no and told him I had done Tae Kwon Do and was still boxing today – and that was that on that. Dude connected with me and off he went! I didn’t get to ask JC one of my questions as what was supposed to be a 6 minute interview, became an engrossing 40 minute conversation (much to dismay of the people waiting to see him after me). I loved every second of it. So yeah, it was pretty surreal for me and I came out of there happy as a pig in shit.

This meeting was perfect timing for me. Being that we are presently in pre-production for my action film BILLY TRIGGER (one that I wrote, will star in and am co producing), meeting Jean Claude Van Damme could not have happened at a better time. I now feel even more jazzed than I already was. So thank you Alliance and thank you Mr. Van Damme! One childhood dream – off the list. Off to the next one! You don’t get if you don’t try, try and keep trying, till you get… or die trying…:)

PS: Look for the conversation to go live on JoBlo.com.

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