As you probably know, George Foreman is a two time World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, but did you know that he is also a successful businessman, an ordained minister, and the founder of a youth club in Houston, Texas? Maybe you’re wondering why we mention George Foreman here at Jackie Chan’s website. The reason is obvious to those who have been reading our news lately: Jackie is collaborating with George Foreman as the Asian spokesman of the George Foreman Grills (the Lean Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machine). George was here in Hong Kong in April 2007 to film an infomercial with Jackie, and since this was the first time that the two had worked together, we thought it would be interesting to find out how a world class boxing champ and an international superstar felt about each other. We asked them similar questions and here are their answers! [Interviews conducted by Fibe Ma.]

Interview with George Foreman

1. What do you think of Jackie?

I think Jackie is a phenomenon, taking the martial arts to another level and even with all his seriousness in his movements, he’s added a comedy part to it – he always keeps his smile.  With Jackie, you can love the martial arts and love the guy as well. I like it. He’s always in good movies.

2. What’s your favorite Jackie Chan movie?

Rush Hour. Yeah, that’s my favorite.

3. You went from being a professional athlete to being a businessman. Which is more challenging?

Business. It's a challenge because when I was a boxer, I had six weeks to prepare for a boxing match, and then six months off. But in business, every day you have to wake up scared but you have to get up and do it. The business is more challenging.

4. You mean you have to worry about your business every day?

Yes. Every day, twenty four hours. But in boxing, once you’re done with the boxing match, you can just go to the beach! But not in business. There’s no enjoying life anymore; there’s a worry factor every day.

5. Now you have moved into another stage of your life. First stage you were a sportsman and boxer and now you are a businessman. Which do you like more?

Well, I couldn’t have had one without the other. I mean, I couldn’t have had this business without my boxing. I love boxing; I was born to do it. It was the only thing I’d gotten into and felt like I could do better than anyone in the world. So my first love is for boxing, but the business is more challenging.

6. Tell us about your clothing line.

Yeah, I’m really happy about the George Foreman Comfort Zone clothing line. I just got involved with Casual Male [a big and tall men’s clothing retailer in the United States], but now I intend to venture out even more so and make it a successful clothing line. I’m really more anxious about that than anything.

7. Where did you get your original idea for the clothing line?

Well, being an athlete, everybody wants to dress nice, but big guys just can’t seem to find nice clothes. The clothing line ended up being so successful that even the smaller guys were saying “I want to be in George Foreman clothes too!”

Note from Fibe: Speaking of George Foreman’s clothing line, our lovely webmaster Katharine came out from nowhere and asked Mr. Foreman whether he had plans for a George Foreman clothing line for tall women. Mr. Foreman’s reaction was as though someone had just read his mind. He smiled and said “Yes, that’s what I’ll consider next!”  So Katharine can put on George Foreman’s ladies clothing sooner or later!

Interview with Jackie Chan

1. What is your impression of Mr. Foreman?

Before I met George Foreman, I thought that a world class boxing champion would be a very tough guy. When I listened to him talk to reporters today at the press conference, I found out that he had a great sense of humor! Then, when we were filming the commercial, I noticed that even though he’s not a professional actor, he seemed to have a natural talent for acting and for knowing where he was supposed to stand and move to on the set. I started thinking about whether I might have a role for him in one of my movies sometime in the future. Maybe I will ask him to make a guest appearance someday. George is a very nice man. He is a minister and has to talk to many people and it seems to come naturally to him to be friendly and to treat everyone around him nicely.

2. Are you a fan of Mr. Foreman?

Oh definitely yes! I first heard of him when I was young. I always watched my favorite boxers on television. I remember that as George got more famous, whoever he fought against couldn’t make it to round 3 because George would knock them out in the first or second round. As I remember, I think the most exciting match was between Foreman and Ali. I guess no one is invincible! Even though Foreman lost sometimes, I still think he is the greatest. All of my friends who watched boxing with me agreed that he was a great boxer and we all figured that if we were ever hit by him, we would be knocked unconscious!

3. You are an actor as well as a businessman. Between the two, which do you think is more challenging?

Well, both of these give me big challenges. As for business, I never studied to be a businessman, so I am getting on-the-job training. When it comes to business, I’ve learned not to completely rely on others. We have to depend on ourselves for every single detail of business, so it’s very difficult. As for filmmaking, it’s a piece of cake for me, but that doesn’t mean there are no challenges. Since things are changing every day and there is new blood and new ideas all the time, how can I stay in the film business if I don’t work hard?

My schedule is full until 2009 and there’s a lot for me to do and to learn during this period. With moviemaking, the troubles and worries are spread out over a year. A movie opens first in Hong Kong, then Taiwan, then maybe Malaysia. We worry about ticket sales and wonder if the audience will like it. We start to think about ideas for the next movie. But in business, it’s every day, day after day. You open your eyes in the morning and start thinking about business. Has a contract been signed yet? How is the business going? What about the business in Australia, in Korea? Why didn’t I get a report about today’s business status yet? Both filmmaking and business are challenging to me. Some people say I can’t handle it, but I will make it happen. I still have the ability to accept challenges and I work hard to learn what I don’t know.

The difference between Mr. Foreman and me is the two careers we have. Mr. Foreman entered the business world after he retired from boxing but my two careers have been proceeding simultaneously. For me, time is the biggest challenge. All I can say is 24 hours per day is just not enough for me. In the past I used to spend a long time making a movie, and then I’d relax a month or two to brainstorm some new storyline or search some new places for movies. It’s different now. Sometimes my business meetings last from the time I wake up in the morning until evening. Some have even lasted until 3 or 4 in the morning! Sometimes during these meetings we will talk and talk for hours and nothing will get accomplished. Other times we will meet for just a little while and get a lot done. People are always asking me to get involved in different business ventures. Someone recently thought of me when they were looking for an Asian representative to promote healthy or green products. This made me very proud.

When I first started my business career, I would just ask my assistants to look at whatever I was dealing with. Now, as my businesses are expanding, I have to find professionals to oversee things. So there are a few foreigners working in my office now and later on I will probably hire more people from overseas to manage some of the other projects for me.

I’m learning how to manage a business, but my movie career is still my favorite. If I retire from the movies someday, I hope my staff won’t worry about being unemployed. I would like them to continue to work for me in another field, for example maybe as distributors of my products. Many people have said to me, “Hey Jackie! Do you still need to work so hard to earn money? You shouldn’t have to worry about making money anymore, right?”  I can answer these questions by telling you that right now what I am doing is not about making money. It’s about interest, challenges, and responsibility. What kind of responsibility? Well, there are many people that have worked for me for many years and if I retire, what will happen to them? I think about my assistants, for example. If I retire, maybe they can work as managers for my coffee shops or a branch of Segway. If I hire new staff to manage my businesses for me, how do I know I can trust them? I trust the staff I have now. Many have worked for me for over 20 years. I have faith in them. So, you see, right now I am challenging myself but I’m also working hard for other people. Maybe in five years, everyone will see our webmaster, Katharine training the newcomers in Jackie’s Coffee Shops located in New York or see Fibe on a tour of inspection of the Segway branches located in Hong Kong.  Ha-ha-ha!

Text and photos ©2007 The JC Group. All Rights Reserved.

Back to top