Today kids its question & answer time with Riki yayyy Big F*#kn deal

Feb.9,2011  Ahhh what might have been. I had sat down started writing a big ass blog and then guess what? Before I could post it I deleted it on accident. I could tell you how it went though. It told my perspective on how....get this deep title........January is the September of my youth..... Deep huh? Come to think of it I will go back to that blog and post it later. I will also give the 1 month update on the list of 22 Things I will do in 2011

    So I could post something on this very rarely visited Blog page I asked you today via Twitter to ask a few questions. Nothing is off topic. Lets begin shall we

Out of all the stars you've interviewed in both Nascar and Music- who personally do you find the most inspirational?- Dustin Pari
Inspirational? Hmm off the top of my head I cant think of anybody now that would qualify as inspirational. I find inspiration from people that have overcome great adversity. Any person that starts from nothing to create something major on their own is inspirational. Speaking with Jerry Nadeau after his accident. I believe what Brian Vickers has been overcoming is inspirational.You have to be inspired by Rick Allen of Def Leppard .To be a drummer of one of the biggest rock bands in the world and lose an arm and decide Ya a drummer missing an arm I can still pull that off. That to me is inspirational. Or Thomas Rever the boy in Virginia who was born half man half carp. He wanted to run a marathon. His upper torso was much like any 13 year old boy but from the waist down  he had no legs just a scaly fish body leading to a big tail. It took him 3 hours to filp flop 2 miles and even though there were times when the cement was hot he would pick up a great amount of speed poor little Thomas never finished the Marathon or even 5 miles however he is still a big inspiration to me.

my hag tag needs a serious touch up (10 years old) who do you recommend for color ink? Diane in LA

I can only imagine a "Hag tag" is another name for a tramp stamp or a tattoo placed on the lower back. I assume you are not fond of your "HagTag" Yes I can tell you I have quite a few tattoos I am not fond of and I once went through laser treatment to have it removed. I will tell you. It hurt 10Xworse than a tattoo and if the job is really good you end up with nothing. A tattoo is not something you bargain shop with. Do you know how many times I have been offered a free tattoo ? I'm not sure real;ly but I know how many times I have said ok? NEVER

The artist that I recommend is Steve Godoy. It has nothing to do with Steve being one of my best friends. The truth is Steve is one of the best tattoo guys out there. He doesnt go out and hype himself trying for press. He is just a damn good guy with a foul mouth that can tell some good stories. He is at Outer Limits in Tustin CA. There are other artists I have used. Mark Mahoney at Shamrock is incredible and a new tattoo place opened in Studio City CA called Electric Victory.... Steve Godoy did this tattoo

 did you find your bird? - Indy voice

No I never found Voodoo. I still have his cages set up in my office and the living room. It's going on 5 months so maybe it is time for me to take the cages down,maybe not. I am so used to hearing him talk around the house. The silence is deafining  I never stopped looking and  it still hurts

 

 

 How is Badger feeling? - 4 greyz
What ya doing to me people ? Can I go back and talk about Carpboy? Badger has a heart condition and his breathing has been labored. He is on meds and it seems to me he is doing better. He really is an incredible dog. Purebred Australian Shepherd so damn smart. Ya I know everybody's dogs are the smartest well your wrong this time Badger is way smarter than your dog

 
Grammy sucks! -JunioJr
That may be the case but I never asked Grampy


how did you become involved in NASCAR? Caniac Nation
Perhaps it's because I was raised in the South. Ok Southern California. I have always had a passion for NASCAR. I am what some say fanatical. The sport did not come after me to see if I was interested in working with them. I went after NASCAR. One day I was walking down the bleachers and decided I AM GOING TO GET A JOB IN NASCAR. I worked my ass off and it was not easy. I never gave up and eventually worked my way in.The story is much longer and I'll tell you all another day.

you should answer all the questions in a video and then post that on your written blog. U haven't done 1 in a long time!-Angerlaa
Better yet in 3D. Truth is more and more I am developing the perfect look for someone that writes instead of cams


What was the best thing about hosting Headbangers Ball?-PsiAngelic
Lets remember one important thing. I am not a critic or a musician. I am a rock fan. I had the opportunity to work with every rock band ever. I also got to travel all over the world. Queensryche in England , Danzig in Germany,  Megadeth in Brazil  Michael Monroe in Japan.
What was the best thing about hosting the Headbangers Ball. I would say getting to host the Headbangers Ball

what's easier, interviewing rock stars or Nascar drivers? smkfan14 
I like interviewing anyone that listens to the question and gives an answer. I'll be honest with you. I honestly believe I am one of the best in the business. Of course I didn't start that way. I was horrible in my first years on MTV and deserved all the criticism I received. I hate attitudes in anyone. No big surprise a lot of Rock stars have Rock star mentality. These days a few of the drivers have a rock star mentality too. 2 drivers come to mind right now. The truth is and you may not like the answer. I prefer to interview drivers. A matter of fact it is one of my favorite things to do. If a driver believes he is doing me a great favor I wont interview him. I want to talk to the driver that listens to what I say then responds. I personally feel SPEED TV really missed the boat not letting me do in depth interviews with drivers. If your curious what drivers have been the best to work with
Tony Stewart tops the list. I dont ask him the same questions so I NEVER get a generic answer. Tony tells you exactly how he feels .

what's your best childhood memory? Angelaa
Sorry to say I really have a bad memory .Much of my childhood years I was raised by wolves so I would be forced to run through the Angeles Crest forest at night looking for food. At one point I lived in Van Nuys and remember hanging out when I was very young to watch the cars cruise by Van Nuys Blvd I remember watching Evel Knievel jump at the LA Colosieum. Most of my youth was spent skateboarding. I dont believe people realize the impact on youth the culture of skateboarding has had through the decades

 best concert ? David Malamut
 It is so hard for me to say best. I saw Supersuckers at the Roxy and Willie Nelson got on stage with them. Every rock band you can think of played my club the Cathouse. One night Guns n Roses played for hours at the Forum. My first punk show was Black Flag (Keith singing) Fear and the Germs at the HOng Kong Cafe. I could go on with every music genre too.You see I love muisc and dont want to pigeonhole myself in to one specific genre


I hate to stop now considering there are a lot more questions that I need to answer. I'll write them  all down and answer another time. Thanks again for playing along.
Now please donate some money to RunRikiRun for FarmAid
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Oh you did not know I have a few dark chapters. When Talk is just for Shock

Jan 17 2010. - Its funny if people knew nothing about me and only read my blogs I would be thought of as a pretty messed up guy. Ive learned a lot of lessons in life. Ive had it and lost it and I would not change a thing.For 7 years I would be on stage for Chevrolet in front of hundreds of kids. I had 6 year olds listening to me and I loved it Working with NASCAR I have worked with all ages and it makes no difference to me. Treat someone with respect and you will get the same. I have had many dark times in my life and I have been told that it is best to leave that in the past because it could hurt my chances working with certain networks. It was my past and I learn from my past and ........I'll stop back peddling now. Ya see kids many years back I was part of a very successful radio show called LOVELINE. It was Dr Drew and I.Taking phone calls giving advice for years. I have nothing but good memories when it comes to that show. At one point I felt like I needed to broaden my horizons and I left the highly rated show to create RIKI RACHTMAN RADIO on a newly formed talk station in Los Angeles.

The station was getting huge ratings 99% due to Howard Stern. I'll give you a watered down version.............. The Triple R began getting great ratings. It was my show and I had every guest you could imagine from Quentin Tarentino to Joe Frazier, any band, any actor, anybody with a story to tell. The station pretty much gave me the freedom to do what I wanted and I appreciated that.

True I did cause a lot of trouble. This was about 15 years ago First day on air we performed a live genital piercing. A few months later I stole the stations van that was used for live remotes and started broadcasting driving down the Sunset Strip. We created a hoax regarding a small reptile found on Mars that was so popular and believable that I once again got in trouble.

. Although I had been sober for over 10 years at the time I was having a hard time. It was not the  staying clean part  but dealing with the stress I had put on myself. I was never satisfied . .I was also in a relationship that at times was..........not  good.I was a wreck inside at home and work. Even with the ratings of my radio show on the increase I slowly started sinking into a grey state. I was (cop out coming) suffering from depression big time.

There were a couple of guys on the station that made it their mission to try to rip me to shreds when ever they were on the mic.They would attack me and my listeners because as we all know the bad stuff goes much further in the media.
The talk radio hosts who shall remain anonymous even though their names are Conway and Steckler went on and on. The final straw was
a line about the girl I was dating( did I leave out the part she had worked in porn) and how I should die and be damned to hell . It actually was much more evil than that.

Even though I have been working in the " media" for most of my life I have never thought of myself as a tv, radio guy. I never thought of myself as a celebrity truly Im just me with a rather unique job. When someone makes threats to me, threats that insinuate violence I take it seriously. I do not come from a place that teaches that radio threats are all parts of a bit. Its shock jockery. Anything I have ever said on the radio would be the same thing I would say in person. I am me on tv on the radio in the streets whether you like it or not.....

Everything had built up inside with the depression at home, the stress etc. I was feeling at an all time low. The  dj's continued to verbally assault me until I could not take anymore. I went to the station and beat the shit out of them.. I went to jail and was fired from KLSX.When I was released from jail  later that evening every news media was there and it was the lead story on the TV news. Today that would probably lead to my own reality show.......I have no ill will towards the Conway and Steckler team. They acted wrong and so did I. I saw them a few years ago and everything was cool. I wish them both nothing but the best..... KLSX fired me and I even understood that.

They did let me come back about 6 years ago and do my own radio show late Saturday night called "The Ball". It was great I played any kind of music I wanted. I had guests from Rob Halford to Dio to Scott Ian. I would play Black Flag, Slipknot, MC5,Supersuckers, Ramones,Faster Pussycat.Slayer,Pantera, Cramps Misfits damn it was fun .. I could play anything and I did..The pay was crap but I really wanted to do the show....The bummer was they had this idiot board op that would threaten me every night. A total clown. Being much smarter I knew violence was NOT the solution. I told the stations program director about the situation and he did nothing. This guy told me he wanted to clobber me, choke me out bla bla bla while he was sitting 5 feet from me right in front of my face while I was on the air. He was such a joke but had a plan he wanted me to hit him so I would get fired again...I didnt. The station would not switch him even though he made threats it went on for weeks. Lesson learned I walked away.  I quit and the station really didnt care anyways......... KLSX is off the air....I am not happy about it. I'm not sad....I feel bad for anybody that is out of work...Ive been there I know what its like. I love talk radio and wish there was a place on the dial for it........
 
During that time my finances began to dwindle so instead of waiting for the next big tv or radio job. I decided to go out and get a job..I started selling cars..I didn’t know what else to do. It was tough let me tell you.. Wearing a tie and having someone come up and ask if I was the guy from Headbangers Ball and my reply was “Yes can I show you this Jetta” Not only was the job very humbling but I was terrible. I ws not making any money but I kept trying….. I get frustrated with people that refuse to work. Do something hey even Starbucks has a health plan. It was so hard for me to come off a tv and radio show with a nice 6 figure income to start filling out job applications while I filed for bankruptcy.There used to be a pathetic radio host called  Tom Leykis and he heard that I was no longer on the radio so he began to attack and insult me on the air…Telling his audience what a loser I was because I was a car salesman after leaving radio and how I had to get a job. HEY PORKY most people have real jobs. Are they losers??? Is a loser a guy that had a huge show then had to get a normal job…I think a loser is a man that doesn’t work or at least does not TRY to get work.
 

Funny side note not long after I was at an LA KINGS exhibition game in Las Vegas… What were the odds. His seats were right in front of me 1 row down… It was pretty funny you could tell that he was really scared. Of me a 5’9 not so big guy…Gayle knew what my gut told me to do but I learned my lesson…I could not pay attention to the game because my blood was boiling…
Finally I tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around smiling “Oh hi”
I looked him dead in the eye not 3 feet from that enourmous head and said. “Tom do you have a problem with me something you wanted to say” He started squirming then answered. “ Oh no no no it was just radio I didn’t mean anything” He couldn’t even look me in the eye. “I thought so” I said not smiling… He then got up to leave…..He couldn’t even say it to my face…Couldn’t cop to it…..People it was really kinda sad……

 I was and am not ashamed. I am never too big to go get a normal job. I’m just not so good at it… Years passed and I never gave up. Obviously the past few years have been the best of my career and in this economy I am truly blessed to have lots of toys, a big house and a little more knowledge.

Yes I should have given you more detail but if I ever do write a book thats another dark chapter

Benefits of being a drug addict,plus Cathouse T winner,

Jan 7 2010 - Did I actually have a twitter contest just to lure you here to check out my BIG ASS BLOG. Sort of. I have a lot to spew on this one so I'm hoping you read it. First lets get the contest out of the way. On Twitter I asked you to guess how far I would run in 90 minutes. Closest to the distance would get a free CATHOUSE T. In 90 minutes I ran 9.3 miles so we have a tie with a guess of 9.5 miles TheHusbrat and DCXn24fan will each get a free Cathouse shirt from www.cathousehollywood.com I will DM both of you and get your info. I ended up getting lost and kept on running to get back. I ran a 1/2 marathon today 13.1 miles in 2 hours and 8 minutes. No that is not the norm for me and I could not be more stoked which leads me to the topic of
( you will learn I am very open on these blogs sometimes without thinking of the consequences )

Benefits of Being a Drug Addict- Here is something you may not have known about Riki. I dont mention it much but I am a drug addict and an alcoholic. I have been sober 22 years. The last time I used drugs or had booze was 1988. That's right not even a drop of beer since then. You might not have known that for several reasons. I dont talk about it and if youve seen me out you know I have done some pretty whacked out things in my day so you probably assumed I was high...NOPE. All through Headbangers Ball I was sober. If you heard about the story of me shitting my pants and being passed out on Hollywood Blvd that time I was drunk. I did stop at a very young age but I also started at a young age. Legend has it I was given joint at the age of 4. I tried cocaine when I was 14. One more reason you wouldn't think I was sober is I am the first one to buy a round for my friends. Some of my closest bro's drink a lot and act silly and I would not change a thing. I like to hang out with people that have a little buzz on and sometimes it makes me feel the same way. I dont preach sobriety however I am there when someone needs help. Hey if you have a drink smoke a little herb and it works for you thats cool.I wont ever put you down for it.. I just happen to be born with that addictive gene.

      Yes there really is a gene that drug addicts and alcoholics have. I will always have it so I can not drink or do drugs. That being said there are benefits of being a sober drug addict. You see that gene doesnt go away. It is always there and sometimes it manifests itself in other ways. I can not do anything half assed. I always want and need faster,better,bigger.
Today is a perfect example. I went for a run. I started running around 5 years ago. I have never ever been an athlete and didn't play sports so the whole running thing itself is still weird. I wanted to see how far I could run in 90 minutes. I have no clue the last time I ran that far but I will tell you it is years.

  90 minutes I had run 9.3 miles but I was still far from where I started. Some people would have just walked back but no I kept on running. When I got to the place I had started I was beat up and sore but had run 11 miles. Something I should be really proud of but no  my addict gene wouldn't let me. Hell 2.1 miles more and it's a half marathon. faster better  bigger so I kept on running. I could go on and on with how being an addict and being sober had pushed me on to greater tasks  some positive some not. I need a motorcycle and that will make everything right.......Then I need another motorcycle......I need a  faster car etc etc. more tattoos. I could go on but I am in fear that this sounds really preachy so I'll stop. So now you know a little bit more about Riki and there is a strong chance some of the things I write could hurt me in getting another job but if it does........That's just stupid......By the way I do party I just dont drink or do drugs...

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