Chuck Zito

Thank you for having me.

Well, it's not finished yet. We just had the premiere at Mar-a-Lago last week. We're going back to the change a few pieces in it.

Because so many people are interested in it. Like, you know, Netflix and Amazon Prime, so many people. So I was told by one of the networks to just, there was a couple of repeats in it. So we're going back to drawing board and tighten it up. And we're going to have a premiere in April in New York.

So it'd be perfect then.

Yeah, well...

Thank you. All right.

That's a myth. That's not true. That goes along with everybody. Of course not.

It's a motorcycle club. Guys who get together, ride motorcycles.

Well, you have to, there's a hang around process, then a prospecting process before you become a member. So you have to know someone to hang out first and then prospect and goes down the line.

Well, in the United States it is, but overseas, a lot of guys couldn't get Harleys. And then now a lot of guys I've heard are using, some guys are using Indians and some guys BMWs. But back in the day when I was there, it was all Harleys.

In the Bronx. I was born in the Bronx, then moved to Brooklyn.

Well, no, no. You were young in that? Actually, when I say I lost my dad, it was when they got divorced.

Then my dad lived to 78 and he died in 1998. But when I say I lost my dad, it means that when they got divorced, I was always looking up to my dad and I tried to follow in his footsteps, being a boxer and everything. That's what I say. I should have made a little clearer on the thing because people think I'm 12 years old and I lost my dad. I know, it was sweet.

Even my sister says, what do you mean?

Oh, absolutely.

My father was a great fighter back in the day in the 30s and the 40s. Years ago, guys had hundreds of fights. My father had 228 fights. back in the day in a 12-year career. And won most of them. He won a lot of them, absolutely. He lost 20. But he used to get paid $10 a fight. Now today, they're making $400 million in one fight.

Yeah, James Braddock, yeah. There's great fighters like Floyd Mayweather. He's 50 and old, but he's fighting like 28 years. There's a guy named Harry Greb back in the day. Floyd went 50-0 in 28 years. Harry Greb went 52-0 in one year.

So it's a big difference.

Yes, of course. Growing up with my dad and his... You know, I was living in the Bronx on Barretto Street and Hunts Point at the time. And it's even in my documentary. I was five years old and this guy Butch, like from the Little Rascals, used to beat me up every day. So I went crying home to my dad one time. He said, don't ever come crying home to me.

He's going to teach you how to defend yourself. So he pulled out his trunk and he had all his, you know, his gloves and his robe and his headgear and everything in there. And he put the gloves on me. You know, the gloves went up to my elbows. And he got on his knees and started teaching me how to box.

Yeah. So.

And the respect.

I've, I've trained eight different styles of martial arts. I first, after seeing Bruce Lee and the Green Hornet, I said, I want to be like Bruce. So I went down to Aaron Banks karate studio in New York city and started taking a white crane and tiger claw Kung Fu with Mr. Chin.

Every time I saw someone like Steve Reeves, I think the greatest body, I saw him in Hercules, Hercules Unchained. I said, I want to look like Steve.

Superman. Mighty Mouse.

Yes.

All right.

I was boxing for a long time. Uh, after seeing Bruce Lee, of course, like I said, I started taking martial arts and I've trained eight different styles of martial arts. I went from, uh, uh, white crane and tight claw Kung Fu to, uh, Chiquita Jiu Jitsu, Kamiti Ryu Jiu Jitsu, BNS Jitsu.

I never heard of that. And I trained with, uh, uh, Enzo Gracie in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. So.

Well, you know, I also did Japanese jiu-jitsu, which is a form of everything, you know, ground, grappling, boxing, everything. But Brazilian jiu-jitsu, let's face it, the ones who brought it to the octagon, you know, the Gracies, you know, they first brought it here before, you know, Fatidis bought the UFC and Dan White became president.

So it was guys like John Milius, the director, he designed the octagon. And a guy named Mark Davey who had the tough man contest back in the day. So it was those three, the Gracies and Art Davey and John Milius started the UFC.

So he asked me how long would it take you to knock me out. I said, it'd be over by now. It already would have happened. Yeah, yeah.

I was just, uh, you know, it was, we, we got along real well. And we were, uh, I was his bodyguard in 1992. And, uh, we went our separate ways and I didn't see him till six years later. And he came in with Mickey rock and like five guys and, and scores. I was having dinner. I'm familiar with scores.

That was back in the day. So we had a little argument and, uh, You know, I felt bad because I got so much publicity from somebody else's misfortune.

He just said something to one of the attendants in the men's room when he was in there. Said disrespectful. So I went up to him.

You know what? It happened.

29 years ago. Almost 30 years ago. But I like to talk about it.

Of course. Of course. I mean, you know, you got to, you know, back up your words. So and that's what happened.

But it took 17 years for us to talk again. So we're friends now. And like I said, it happened so long ago.

17 years later, yes.

I was actually at a Floyd Mayweather when he fought Pacquiao, Pacquiao-Mayweather fight. And Floyd got out of the ring, went to his family first. I was the second one he came up to. He hugged me, and they had the camera on me. So Jean-Claude was home with his daughter and son. Bianca. And he goes, that's Chuck Zito. She goes, yeah. He goes, invite him to my documentary. Not documentary.

Invite him to my movie. He just came out with a new movie. So I went and we saw each other. And he says, thanks for coming. I said, thanks for inviting me. And we hugged and kissed each other. And it was over. After 17 years.

Yeah. So we're friends.

I hate to bring it up because it was so long ago.

It's not your fault.

Everybody could think of back in the day. Liza Minnelli was my first client. She's amazing. So, of course, being around Liza. When I met President Trump, we were at the same restaurant, same clubs, and of course we became friends, and we've been friends over 40 years now.

Oh, that's great. She's hysterical. That was amazing.

Yeah.

Yes, a lot of doors, a lot of doors. And she was doing a play called The Rink with Chita Rivera at the Martin Beck Theater years ago. So everybody came to see Liza. I mean... You know, Elizabeth Taylor, Liberace, Don Rickles, you know, Robert De Niro, everybody. You know, Al Pacino, everybody came to see her. So they had to go through me to get to her.

So, of course, I met everybody and we all became friends all these years.

You know what? Everybody had their own character because everybody says, who was the best one you worked for? Everybody had their own character and their own, you know. their own way and so.

Well, I know. Well, they were all, you know, superstars at the time. But, you know, you're a superstar.

Well, everybody was nice to me. I have to admit it. That's good. So if they weren't, then we took it to the next level. But I remember I used to wear rings when I was in a club on every finger. And I was Liberace came in and we were comparing rings.

Yeah. Yeah.

This is actually Elvis Presley's exact copy of Elvis Presley, TCB.

Taking care of business in flesh.

And I got to show it to you. Okay, thank you.

It was. His is in the Graceland, of course, but that's exactly the same. I had it made in gold and everything like his, the original one.

Yeah. That right there. But I would never. Yeah, but if you needed to.

That's a boxing glove. That was my father's ring.

So...

I bodyguarded for Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Mike Tyson. Wow. They could take care of themselves, but they're not in a position to get involved with somebody. Of course.

Look what happened to Mike on the plane and everybody else. Yeah.

Look at Floyd. He walks around with 10 guys. I mean, you don't want to get sued.

Now I know why he hired me. Is he not a great guy? Yes.

He's brilliant. He wrote Rocky back in the day and nobody could do it but him. He was brilliant. He came with the franchise, Rocky, Rambo, Expendables. He's just a great guy and very talented and a great writer.

She's, you know, she's the queen of rock and roll.

She started at 15 on Runways and then broke off and did Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. All of her music is still Turn Up the Dime. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. She does all the music for my documentary.

Well, you know, every, like I said, everybody I worked for, we had a great relationship and we became friends. Like, like I said, Liza was my first, uh, my first client, uh, Sly Sloan became my friend. We became good friends. And I just asked these people if they would, uh, come on, do my documentary. And not, not, not one hesitation. Everybody came and, uh, and did it. And, uh,

I spent four months in a Japanese prison.

Wasn't, wasn't good, but I was locked down 23 hours a day.

Then I came back here, but, uh, The worst prison in the United States is like a country club compared to Japan.

Yeah. That was like my first time in jail. I said, well, I hope that not all the prisons are like this.

Yes. Okay. I was indicted for making a telephone call to a guy who sold a pound of methamphetamine. I never made the phone call. I was in British Columbia making a movie called Year of the Dragon. I showed them my receipts, my phone bills, everything. But they wanted me because at the time I was the president of the club and my club, you know, Hells Angels Nomads.

And the government wants you, they're going to get you.

Of course, they want you to, you know, talk on your friends and all. Of course, you know, I wouldn't. And I wound up getting a phone count is four years. The judge gave me 10.

Well, I had a few problems with some people, and every time you have a fight, they transfer you because they didn't want retaliation. Shock. So I had probably 10 good fights in prison.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Like I said, I went to his trials and we've been friends for a long time. And what they've done to him, you could never... I would never imagine it in a, you know, a hundred years that they could do that to a former president and one who's, you know, running now.

We met at a, basically, we met at a restaurant at first and then I was with Liza and they, they've been friends for a long time. And of course, 3054, we saw each other. So everybody used to go there back in the day. Everybody, you know, somebody was always there. So, and I used to work also at Cafe Central. And every, no matter what night it was, you'd see 10 actors there.

You know, Eliza Minnelli and Bruce Willis was the bartender.

Yeah. He used to make me eight creams.

Before he was a big star. Sure, sure. And everybody was there. Eliza Minnelli, Cher, Peter Riegert, Treat Williams, John Goodman. Yeah. De Niro, Pacino, Joe Pesci. Everybody used to go to Cafe Central.

Always.

I saw him.

He is so great. I mean, I am so blessed and honored that he did it for me. You got to realize he's the president of the United States, the most powerful man in the world, and he opens and closes my documentary. He's loyal. So I am so honored and humbled that he did that. And he's loyal.

Because he was getting railroaded, and I wanted to stick up for him. I stick up for my friends, and I want to show my support and, you know, support him. I mean, they charge him with all these, you know, phony charges and everything, and we know that. So, and we know, I don't care what they say, when he was at that trial, was fixed, you know, when he- The 2020 election? Absolutely.

You do not believe it. We all went to sleep. President Trump was winning. We woke up and Biden was a president who never campaigned.

So it was all fixed. I say that, and I still say it.

Oh, I was there. I was at the... Mar-a-Lago? No, I was in Washington for when he won, of course. Oh, yeah. And I was just... I mean, we're all just... He's, as far as I'm concerned, he's the greatest president we ever had in the United States. He, you know, promises and keeps it. And he's just great.

yes so how you know about tough guys i call him a savage because he is uh who any other president or anybody else who we get shot they'd be under that counter there and that he got up he's wait wait when he put up fight fight fight he's just i mean there's nobody like him he's just so so nothing fazes him i mean uh And they tried. And you know what?

When I'm crazy, it gets me that people say it was staged.

You know what? Corey Campatori lost his life shielding his family. That's right. The other two guys were shot also. And they think he's going to say, do me a favor, just nick my ear.

It's ridiculous. It's ridiculous. And that's how some people think. And that's what gets me infuriated. It's such an insult. I mean, it is an insult. And people stole. A lot of them, he's doing... the first hour he was elected. I mean, he started signing the orders and, and he's going to change this country around back to where it was.

Oh, well, you know what? He's, he's the same guy to me, but he's just so strong. Like I said, he's resilient. He's nobody like him. And, uh, I love the guy. I mean, I'd do anything for him, but, uh, We've never had a president like him. And you got to realize, years ago, I never got involved with who was the president. Who cared? It wasn't until President Trump. It was the first time I ever voted.

First time. I never cared before. And until the day he became president, I mean, all those other people, all those woke people, all those phony people out there, they didn't like him. But... Like I said, I never cared about who was president before. But they talked since the day he became president. They have not stopped talking about him.

Every day you heard President Trump, President Trump, and everything else. But as far as I'm concerned, he's the greatest president we ever had. And he's for the American people and America.

Thank you. Nice to meet you.

You remind me of me because you say exactly what's on your mind, no matter who likes it. I'm the same way. I'm honored. I've been a fan, big fan of yours for years.

Thank you for having me again.