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72 || CELEBRITY MAGAZINE || MAY-JUNE 2017How did your foundation EGBAR, %u201cEverything%u2019s Gonna Be All Right,%u201d get started? When I was going through that difficult time after my dad had passed, I said it can%u2019t get much worse than this. My attorneys would put that on my gravestone because I was always saying that phrase, even when they were sure I wasn%u2019t going to be able to unbury the company. I found the guy who made EWOKS for Lucas%u2019 films in L.A. and told him that I must create a goodwill ambassador for EGBAR and bring the slogan I was using to life and start a not for profit environmental educational and clean up foundation. I told him I needed a mascot, and that it had to be big, green, lovable, and strong, and somewhere between a bear and an alligator. He actually used me as the model, and I even have a picture of him putting foam rubber all over me and creating the nose and mouth and the feet. Today, thirty years later we have 40 walkabouts around the world, have given away probably about 150,000 EGBAR stuffed animals, and our foundation has done all kinds of disaster relief clean-up. We are helping sponsor the whale conservation efforts in Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii, bird conservation plans and habitats, and have aquariums and clean ups all over the world. Nearby, in Huntington Beach, we helped the Bolsa Chica wetlands stay open, and we work to help protect the endangered species there. One of our nicest and newest additions is that we built and sponsored a mobile environmental education center that goes into inner cities with tide pools and creatures and videos to teach about what happens downstream when you pollute. It%u2019s a great way to educate kids who may never get to the beach, on what it means to be environmentally conscious. We also sponsor the SEA Lab, where they have a touch game for kids and teach them how to become leaders. A great example is one of the girls who I started with at the SEA Lab is now the director of the Bolsa Chica wetlands, and she said the time she spent with us actually changed her life course forever.How does Viviana and Amore for Dogs inspire you and your work? Viviana has this passion for doing the right things by animals and taking care of dogs, and she puts so much time and effort into doing an excellent job. She is not just sending money, but she is going to see people, meeting dogs, and visiting kennels to see what%u2019s happening on their ends. She puts her hands on the dogs from beginning to end, and it%u2019s like my business the way she approaches it. Recently, Viviana found the dog trainer, Paul, who is just like the dog whisperer, and we%u2019ve watched him at work. We are getting together with him and planning on spending more time with him to help dogs on death row to see what we can do to take them out of that situation and find them homes. It feels like an extension of everything I%u2019ve ever done with EGBAR foundation, and this time with dogs.I%u2019m very excited about our newest creation. I have a reputation for entertaining my troops, and I%u2019m an absolute ambassador for fine red and white wines. When I was on the road for 45 weeks a year for 25 years, I would take my guys out every night to a good dinner, so I have built up quite a collection of wine and food knowledge and have many friends up in Napa Valley. I have a guy called the bounty hunter who has a connection with all the grape growers and the best wineries, and we worked with him throughout the whole process to create our first wine, a Chardonnay, which we are ready to debut this summer, called Blonde. We are in the final stages of approvals and we plan on using the wine for fundraisers for Amore for Dogs. I found it to be a very enjoyable thing to do. Viviana and I are very proud of it and excited to make it a part of the baskets and giveaways that we plan on doing.Photo Credit:Viktorija Pashutawww.pashutaphotography.com