Bob Iger’s Grueling 4:25 a.m. Workouts Inspired LeBron James, Chris Paul
Bob Iger didn’t get to the top of the Walt Disney Company, one of the world’s most successful conglomerates, by taking a lot of time off.
The CEO rises at 4:15 a.m. every work day at his Brentwood, Los Angeles home and is on his punishing cardio machine, the VersaClimber, by 4:25 a.m. He spends up to 45 minutes on the apparatus, which many fitness fanatics won’t tolerate for more than 20 minutes. And that’s with one prosthetic knee.
Iger recently told his friend, Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul, about the grueling vertical workouts. Soon, Paul was texting Iger with a picture of himself and Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James working out on a pair of VersaClimbers. Iger has been at the workout religiously since discovering the contraption in a New York gym in 1994. He messaged his NBA friends: “Hey, I’ve been doing this for years.”
The Disney boss arrives at his fifth floor Office — decorated with a giant “Star Wars” chess board and a sculpture of the CEO as a Stormtrooper — as early as 6:30 a.m.
Iger’s job atop the 180,000-employee conglomerate requires a lot of time in the air, too. His staff recently calculated that he has spent roughly one year on Disney’s corporate jet. He has been CEO for 11 years and was COO for five years before that.
“I just had nine hours of flights on Sunday and Monday,” Iger said during his recent 90-minute sit down with Variety. “I can catch up on things. I can screen things. I can read things. I can satisfy my curiosity. I like it. It’s peaceful.”
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