After Gene's discharge in 1969 he coached the Navy boxing team in San Francisco until a man called Evel Knievel came to town. Gene's dad was doing a story on Knievel and made the mistake of asking if he would like to meet the famous daredevil. Three days later Gene had quit his job and gone on the road with him. Over the next two years, Gene was to be Evel's right-hand man, body guard, and setup man. The stunt business appealed to me because of the thrilling entertainment it provided the crowds and because it is devoid of phonies.
Stunt performance leaves no place for pretense.
Because of Gene's desire to be an entertainer and be in movies, he saw value in having a real image, the type people could look at and see was not phony. The time came for Gene to choose between going out on his own in the stunt business or staying with Knievel. About a month later Gene decided to leave Knievel, and go out on his own. He was back in Reno for a few days when a man invited him to a breakfast sponsored by the Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship. I'd go anywhere for food, so I accepted the offer.