Massachusetts native Jay Cutler with his perseverance and hard work became one of the most accomplished bodybuilders of the last three decades. The fan-favorite bodybuilder dethroned Ronnie Coleman and became the only Mr. Olympia who avenged his loss to win back the title in 2009. However, the three-time Arnold Classic champion didn’t have a smooth journey to the top as he was the underdog for quite some time. In the latest episode of his podcast, Jay Cutler recalled a memory from early on in his bodybuilding career.

During a Cutler Cast episode, the four-time Mr. Olympia spoke about meeting John Wick actor and Hollywood superstar, Keanu Reeves. While the place where Cutler saw Reeves was world-famous, he might not have expected the actor to be there.

When Jay Cutler walked inside the Mecca of bodybuilding

During episode 70, the bodybuilding icon recalled his experience of walking into “Gold’s (Gym) Venice for the first time in ’93.” The four-time Mr. Olympia revealed how he felt and what he saw. While most bodybuilders train for two or three hours for each session, Cutler didn’t want to stop. “I spent six hours, seven hours in the gym that day,” revealed the 49-year-old.

In 1993, Jay Cutler was a promising bodybuilder who had won competitions like the 1993 NPC Teen Nationals (Heavyweight). Hence, he was in awe of getting the opportunity of training at the Mecca of bodybuilding. Established by Joe Gold in 1965, Gold’s Gym was home to legends like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Franco Columbu, Frank Zane, and countless others.

Cutler recalled seeing the “who’s who walk in there. I saw Flex Wheeler and I saw (Christopher) Cormier.” However, Cutler also saw “actor after actor,” come in for a workout throughout the six to seven hours he spent there. “Keanu Reeves was training there at the time, and it was just like, this is California,” said the bodybuilding legend.

While the former Arnold Classic champion expected bodybuilding legends to be at Gold’s Gym, he didn’t expect to meet actors like Keanu Reeves. “Dreams are made on the West Coast, in California, right?” said Cutler during the podcast. It might have been surprising for Cutler because while today’s superhero movies have compelled many Hollywood actors to become buff, the genre was not popular in the 90s. However, the John Wick actor is no stranger to lifting weights. 

How an action hero trains

While Keanu Reeves hasn’t donned a superhero costume yet, the actor has undergone years of rigorous training. Keanu Reeves has starred in many action movies, especially ones involving martial arts. The actor has played the lead in the iconic Matrix trilogy and four John Wick films and has learned martial arts like jiu-jitsu, judo, and other hand-to-hand combat styles.

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Besides martial arts, he also does most of his stunts. However, to pull off spectacular action sequences convincingly one can’t ignore strength training. Hence a bodybuilding style training regimen in the gym has also been part of the actor’s overall training routine.

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What did you think of Jay Cutler’s story of meeting Keanu Reeves on his first day of training at Gold’s Gym? Let us know in the comments.