The Life of a Freed Gladiator

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  • Опубліковано 8 тра 2024
  • When they were done fighting, Roman gladiators pursued many careers...
    Go to sponsr.is/cs_toldinstone and use code TOLDINSTONE to save 25% off today. Thanks to Curiosity Stream for sponsoring today’s video.
    My new book, "Insane Emperors, Sunken Cities, and Earthquake Machines" is now available! Check it out here: www.amazon.com/Insane-Emperor...
    Check out my other UA-cam channels, @toldinstonefootnotes and @scenicroutestothepast
    Please consider supporting toldinstone on Patreon:
    / toldinstone
    If you're so inclined, you can follow me elsewhere on the web:
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    Chapters:
    0:00 Reaching retirement
    0:38 Leaving the arena
    1:59 Infamia
    2:30 Exhibition fighters and referees
    3:32 Trainers
    4:16 Curiosity Stream
    5:29 Bodyguards
    6:07 Legionaries
    6:47 Farmers and priests
    7:14 Political careers
    8:21 "Friends" of wealthy ladies
    9:07 Elusive antiheroes

КОМЕНТАРІ • 176

  • @toldinstone
    @toldinstone  5 місяців тому +16

    Go to sponsr.is/cs_toldinstone and use code TOLDINSTONE to save 25% off today. Thanks to Curiosity Stream for sponsoring today’s video!

    • @MariaMartinez-researcher
      @MariaMartinez-researcher 5 місяців тому +1

      I presume this is the winner title...

    • @CAP198462
      @CAP198462 5 місяців тому

      You really started something with that “thinking about Ancient Rome”, video. Congratulations, you’ve got a meme!

    • @Mr.Death101
      @Mr.Death101 4 місяці тому

      Can you do a video on the later years of gladiator battles and how it ended or when it stopped or who stopped it and why. Thank you

  • @PoliticswithPaint
    @PoliticswithPaint 5 місяців тому +488

    It's funny that almost all of these career-options still hold true for former athletes nowadays.

    • @bossman5370
      @bossman5370 5 місяців тому +24

      i reckon if i had a time machine i would establish some kind of punditry career for myself. every wednesday and sunday at sunset in the forum.

    • @QuantumHistorian
      @QuantumHistorian 5 місяців тому +36

      @@bossman5370 You'd have stiff competition. Gossiping about public life seem to be the de facto career of all the Roman elite.

    • @jakegarvin7634
      @jakegarvin7634 5 місяців тому +17

      Sports are exactly the same between then and now the only difference is nowadays athletes don't specifically die on purpose

    • @grant.5345
      @grant.5345 5 місяців тому +17

      @@bossman5370 If I had a time machine, I would probably die of a wound highly common in the Roman Empire but is easily treatable in the modern day.

    • @BleachDemon707
      @BleachDemon707 5 місяців тому +4

      SILENCE CHECKMARK 🙄

  • @TheDevice9
    @TheDevice9 5 місяців тому +322

    While I think about ancient Rome daily, like any normal man, I did not know until now that there were referees in gladiatorial combat.

    • @thatoneguy5856
      @thatoneguy5856 5 місяців тому +22

      Same. I thought sport referees were a more modern thing

    • @TheDevice9
      @TheDevice9 5 місяців тому +24

      @@thatoneguy5856 Yeah... now I'm curious just what the rules were.

    • @micshaz
      @micshaz 5 місяців тому +23

      Though the concept of a referee (in the modern sense) is quite wild to imagine, remember that pankration (greek olympic wrestling) pre-dates the roman empire by a day or two, was practiced in a competitive setting with a scoring system.
      Of course there were rules for most combat sports; people don't want to literally coin toss their lives every single time and i'd imagine there were plenty of career "gladiators" (and similar professions) who had good careers and never actually risked their life

    • @josephpercente8377
      @josephpercente8377 5 місяців тому +2

      Hourly

    • @toastedt140
      @toastedt140 5 місяців тому +2

      ​@micshaz Yeah the olympics are widely recognized as the beginning of professional sporting standards. Long Jump, Wrestling, and Pankration have rules carved into older temples. There were even diplomatic incidents between some city states because of disagreements over rules.

  • @LilyLinko
    @LilyLinko 5 місяців тому +45

    Last time I was this early, Augustus was still Octavian

  • @dumoulin11
    @dumoulin11 5 місяців тому +73

    "or duelled in the Sacred Grove of Aricia for the crown of the priest-king of Nemi." I had to check this as it really sounded like a line straight out of a fantasy novel.
    Turns out to be a fascinating bit of history I had never heard of. Thank you for that.

  • @mamo4678
    @mamo4678 5 місяців тому +24

    Sounds like the best analogy would be that they were like the adult film stars of their day -- often desired, often famous and even at times rich, but also highly stigmatized!

    • @ewetn1
      @ewetn1 2 місяці тому +5

      Thats a really great analogy.

  • @CHETinnit
    @CHETinnit 5 місяців тому +12

    That painting of the gladiator and his fam got me!

  • @daveweiss5647
    @daveweiss5647 5 місяців тому +73

    Id like to know more about these duels to become "priest king" and the cult it refers to... another great vid like always!

    • @CountSpiffula
      @CountSpiffula 5 місяців тому +14

      Thats one of the grand mysteries of the period. JG Frazer wound up writing an eighteen volume encyclopedia of magic and superstition from research he did trying to get to the bottom of the myths surrounding the Rex Nemorensis.

    • @LCfreeze
      @LCfreeze 5 місяців тому +1

      @@CountSpiffula I was trying to find what you were referring to - did you mean The Golden Bough? According to Wikipedia it’s up to 12 volumes in some editions, so not exactly eighteen but still very voluminous. Thanks for the pointer 🙂

  • @98Zai
    @98Zai 5 місяців тому +27

    3:14 This mosaic is amazing! A video about famous or especially well preserved mosaics would be cool!

  • @whynottalklikeapirat
    @whynottalklikeapirat 5 місяців тому +6

    “See you later, Gladiator - after a while Aedile”
    - Caligula and the Comets.

  • @bonto117
    @bonto117 5 місяців тому +5

    @ToldInStone, you make my favorite historical videos. Your books are fantastic as well.

  • @bigdogzone3177
    @bigdogzone3177 5 місяців тому +10

    Gladiators died in the arena as a result of injury or rarely fight to the dead if they were condemmed . Gladiators did not die on daily basis as they were expensive to train and maintain and were more of an investment.

  • @jifrei
    @jifrei 5 місяців тому +5

    Excited to watch this one, loved the content for years

  • @cascadianrangers728
    @cascadianrangers728 5 місяців тому +7

    Thanks for plugging your book. I ordered a copy, and I look forward to reading about Elagabalus, hes my favorite

  • @DeLong1
    @DeLong1 5 місяців тому +15

    love your content ive learned so much from this channel!!

  • @BeardedGuy_Tawhid
    @BeardedGuy_Tawhid 5 місяців тому +4

    Living until 99 in the ancient world is quite a long lifespan I would imagine

  • @SobekLOTFC
    @SobekLOTFC 5 місяців тому

    Keep up the wonderful work, Garrett 👍

  • @blacksage2375
    @blacksage2375 5 місяців тому +51

    Imagine petitioning the Emperor to nerf an armatore class because say the retarius spear is too long for PVP balance and they keep dominating the meta.

  • @ChaosInCali
    @ChaosInCali 4 місяці тому +2

    Lol i like how at 7:03, you put “demonetized” to censor the private parts of the gladiators in the relief 😂

  • @iEatCheese33
    @iEatCheese33 5 місяців тому +5

    Subscribed immediately after seeing this video. Well done sir!

  • @theprotagonist8755
    @theprotagonist8755 5 місяців тому

    Thank you toldinstone! Here here! For he is the great scribe and orator! He quenches us lay men that thirst for knowledge from ancient rome. God speed noble man godspeed

  • @rickb3078
    @rickb3078 5 місяців тому +3

    Four fifths into your new book and I am much enjoying it. Highly recommended. Thank you

  • @TheRealForgetfulElephant
    @TheRealForgetfulElephant 5 місяців тому +3

    Thank you Garrett

  • @NemanorTheAlmighty
    @NemanorTheAlmighty 5 місяців тому +9

    Also love your books, wish you voiced them on audible!

  • @mysteryY2K
    @mysteryY2K 5 місяців тому +8

    a video on graffiti in ancient Rome would be absolutely fascinating!

    • @Frisbieinstein
      @Frisbieinstein 4 місяці тому

      Easy to find.

    • @mysteryY2K
      @mysteryY2K 4 місяці тому

      @@Frisbieinstein well of course because now he has a video on it. the video did not exist when i made this comment. and even though there are videos about ancient graffiti, i wanted to hear TIS' take on it

  • @H.G.Halberd
    @H.G.Halberd 5 місяців тому +4

    damn, so many things are speculated about marcus aurelius that are completely outside his usual character

  • @525Lines
    @525Lines 5 місяців тому +8

    Buying the farm is a euphemism for dying but getting a farm so you won't need money anymore was a thing until very recently. I'm sure gladiators and ex-slaves would find a small estate with farming land a good place to retire.

  • @michaelrredford
    @michaelrredford 4 місяці тому +1

    Thanks!

  • @michelleeden2272
    @michelleeden2272 5 місяців тому +39

    The new thumbnail is a huge improvement over the AI-looking thing that came before.
    Thank you. Aesthetics matter.

    • @captain531
      @captain531 5 місяців тому +3

      get over it

    • @TheRealForgetfulElephant
      @TheRealForgetfulElephant 5 місяців тому +8

      @@captain531dam captain he is just giving his opinion

    • @roelin360
      @roelin360 3 місяці тому

      ​@@TheRealForgetfulElephantopinions aren't worth of respect just because they're opinions, it matters what they are. However, I do not agree with the person you responded to either.

  • @skrillozedd
    @skrillozedd Місяць тому

    I love these videos, very interesting! I started cracking up at the "Demonitized" labels 😂 great work, i appreciate you putting this content out 👌

  • @jeffswail8446
    @jeffswail8446 5 місяців тому +4

    Perhaps Juvenal referred to "the sons of gladiators" in the equestrian order as an aspersion on the morals of their mothers?

  • @bodawei425
    @bodawei425 5 місяців тому +37

    Apart from the always interesting and informative content of your channel, I really appreciate that you don't use those cheap AI images like so many other YT channels do: you always use high quality illustrations.

    • @LongFatJohnston
      @LongFatJohnston 5 місяців тому +6

      dude, I saw I at least one cheap AI image. Eagle eyed viewers probably noticed more.

    • @crazydave247
      @crazydave247 5 місяців тому

      The voice is AI

    • @bodawei425
      @bodawei425 5 місяців тому

      @@crazydave247Don't think so

    • @LauraS1
      @LauraS1 5 місяців тому

      @@crazydave247 No, that's actually Dr. Garrett Ryan's real voice. I think the reason it might come across as AI generated is because of the phrasing he uses, the way he pauses and where he pauses in sentences, and other vocal modulations one learns when one becomes a public speaker (such as politician, professor, news anchor, or other career in which public speaking plays a prominent role).

  • @Kyle_Schaff
    @Kyle_Schaff 2 місяці тому

    1:40
    You did it again. These visuals are hilarious

  • @uncledan2u
    @uncledan2u 5 місяців тому +1

    Original voice, original pictures. Nice storyline. Well-done 👍👍👍

  • @michaelporzio7384
    @michaelporzio7384 5 місяців тому +11

    The Romans did not have movies, special effects and CGI to depict violence, they only had the real thing. How many movies and video games of today feature people meeting violent death? We are really no different. Question: if a "wild beast" won its match, what happened to it? I'm sure there were some pretty good lions, tigers and bears ("oh my") that survived their matches.

  • @shaundavenport621
    @shaundavenport621 5 місяців тому +3

    There are many excellent paintings used in many different videos depicting Gladiators. A works(book) showing as many of these paintings as possible would be very interesting to myself.Is anybody aware if any author has put a collection of these works of art together??

  • @TheKoolbraider
    @TheKoolbraider Місяць тому

    There's a very funny example of gladiator training in the movie "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum". One master was showing how to swing a mace (?) and brain the other fighter. Bad result? Next! More slaves were lined up awaiting their turn as target.

  • @coolandgood1010
    @coolandgood1010 5 місяців тому +9

    I'm surprised to learn that even freeborn retired Roman gladiators were infame?! I though they continued to be celebrated like how modern athletes are today!? Why would Roman gladiators be so celebrated while active gladiators then looked down upon once they're retired? Great upload.

    • @machirim2805
      @machirim2805 Місяць тому

      The best modern analogy for gladiators I think would be adult film stars. Celebrated and popular, and they can get rich, but their line of work is stigmatized (to the point that many say that they wouldn’t date an adult film star). So stigmatized that they cannot escape from its stigma even when they get into new careers. The fact that it’s scandalous if a teacher is revealed to be an ex adult film star proves this.

    • @coolandgood1010
      @coolandgood1010 Місяць тому

      @@machirim2805 Interesting perspective! Thanks for answering..

  • @thebeatles114
    @thebeatles114 5 місяців тому +1

    Your channel is the best history channel on UA-cam, in fact it's a lot better than even the documentaries on TV, your content is award-winning stuff!

  • @mm-yt8sf
    @mm-yt8sf 5 місяців тому +7

    were any gladiators so good looking they'd be consistently put in low risk matches? or were they too far away from the audiences to be seen in detail (and would have done better if there had been television)

    • @mememan2344
      @mememan2344 5 місяців тому +3

      There has probably been corruption all throughout history. That's exactly how it works with favorites in boxing even now.

    • @RustyShakleford1
      @RustyShakleford1 3 місяці тому

      Ofcourse they would probably pick a crowd favorite and purposefully let him keep winning to keep the people happy

  • @TamDNB
    @TamDNB 5 місяців тому +1

    Literally just finished watching gladiator. Serendipity at its best

  • @doc_matter
    @doc_matter 5 місяців тому +1

    We are appreciating the new visual style!!!

  • @Sercil00
    @Sercil00 4 місяці тому +1

    It's a really depressing fate. First, you fight and fail to defend your home, losing friends and family and becoming enslaved. Then, you are forced to fight countless battles against other slaves like yourself, possibly even former comrades who were enslaved alongside you. The likelihood of you dying or getting seriously wounded is high if you slip up even once, and if not, you're still doing it to other undeserving slaves. But even if you're really, really good and lucky, you may be released... but now you're at the bottom of the social hierarchy, possibly too crippled to work, poor, and a lot of your few opportunities entail going back into the arena.

    • @RustyShakleford1
      @RustyShakleford1 3 місяці тому

      Basically likke modern day contact sports most sports leave men crippled depressed and addicted to alcohol

  • @BOBICKA66
    @BOBICKA66 5 місяців тому

    This video has changed it’s title and thumbnail so many times it’s making my god damn head spin

  • @CornPop309
    @CornPop309 5 місяців тому +2

    You should do more longer form content please, alot of your video titles sound interesting but too interesting for just a 10 minute video!

  • @jojobizadTRASH
    @jojobizadTRASH 5 місяців тому

    That's a lot of Jean Leon Gerome paintings.

  • @deanb4799
    @deanb4799 5 місяців тому +2

    Did anyone else see "Freed Alligator" at a glance? 😂 AND I clicked on it because I wanted to see how freed alligators live😂

  • @paulkoza8652
    @paulkoza8652 5 місяців тому +4

    After visiting the arena at Nimes, France, which has a great museum dedicated to the gladiators, the exhibits there state that the gladiatorial contests eventually died out. Was this due to the bloody nature of the events, or perhaps due to the rise of christianity in the west, or the cost of sponsoring these events. I don't know. But, according to the exhibits, gladiatorial combat died out way before the end of the western empire.

    • @copperlemon1
      @copperlemon1 5 місяців тому +4

      Christianity was a major factor, though I'm sure the costs also played a role, in the west especially. Major Christian figures strongly condemned the games for the gratuitous violence and pagan elements. Other spectacles, like chariot races, would continue even under Ostrogothic rule and for much longer in the east.

    • @Nadia1989
      @Nadia1989 5 місяців тому +1

      Definitely Christianity, but it also could've become too expensive to organize. Even though gladiators were from the lowest tiers of the empire, you need housing, food, training and fighting gear and coaches.

  • @sandracardoso2602
    @sandracardoso2602 5 місяців тому +1

    I know this has nothing to do with this video, but I have a sugestion: the restoration on the sistine chapel done in the 1980s and '90s

  • @antoniomoreira5921
    @antoniomoreira5921 5 місяців тому

    If anyone's interested in Traditional Roman warfare I strongly recommend Schwerpunkt's videos series

  • @f_youtubecensorshipf_nazis
    @f_youtubecensorshipf_nazis 5 місяців тому +2

    My ex wife calls mine demonetized too...

  • @Silentbob515
    @Silentbob515 5 місяців тому +1

    A minute long ad on curiosity stream? k sure

  • @JelMain
    @JelMain 5 місяців тому +3

    In many ways, their career options are those of retired Special Forces

  • @sumazdar
    @sumazdar 5 місяців тому

    dziękuję

  • @tomholroyd7519
    @tomholroyd7519 5 місяців тому +1

    2:20 ... and ACTORS?

  • @RealJohnSlinkman
    @RealJohnSlinkman 5 місяців тому

    Early bird gets the knowledge

  • @thuydoan7496
    @thuydoan7496 5 місяців тому +1

    Imagine freeing a mass killer onto the streets. No wonder Rome became extinct.

  • @recursor9469
    @recursor9469 День тому

    It's interesting that Gladiators could be awarded mansions by Emperors but were not allowed to be elected to office or enlist as legionnaires.

  • @jmackman
    @jmackman 5 місяців тому +1

    toldnstones getting into them ai pics now. not sure what i think about it

  • @nathanielscreativecollecti6392
    @nathanielscreativecollecti6392 5 місяців тому

    Me who collects coins: 100,000 sestertii? Dang I could retire 3 times over on that!

  • @theletterw3875
    @theletterw3875 5 місяців тому +1

    Trained other galdiators to kill commodus, obviously.

  • @EchoInTheKettle
    @EchoInTheKettle 5 місяців тому

    Was that the lick?

  • @StormKidification
    @StormKidification 5 місяців тому

    Infame (one who commits infamia) is still an extremely typical insult of Rome to this day!

  • @cuttwice3905
    @cuttwice3905 5 місяців тому +1

    "Demonetized" instead of the word "Censored" is a fine, but depressing, touch.

  • @TR47
    @TR47 5 місяців тому

    They changed the thumbnail and title about 5-6 times. :P

  • @iainballas
    @iainballas 4 місяці тому +5

    If I was a rich roman, I'd hire a couple gladiators as personal bodyguards. Just the reputation alone of them would be enough to stop most from attacking, and the idea of basically having two champion heavyweight boxers hanging out with me all the time would be icing on the cake!

  • @obsidianjane4413
    @obsidianjane4413 5 місяців тому +1

    @10:27 You really go demonetized for showing that drawing?

  • @infinidominion
    @infinidominion 5 місяців тому +2

    They gladiated

  • @wilsontheconqueror8101
    @wilsontheconqueror8101 5 місяців тому +1

    I wish Ridley Scott had used the actual Roman categories of Gladiators instead of dressing his like characters from Road Warrior!

  • @olsaaan
    @olsaaan 5 місяців тому +3

    Would it be possible to do a video on stereotypes in Rome and their neighbours as well as derogatory terms used for people from different cultures?

    • @williamharris8367
      @williamharris8367 5 місяців тому

      I would think that such a video would draw much criticism from the cultures being negatively depicted.
      My ancestors, for example, were Germanic but not necessarily uncivilized barbarians -- even were they so described/considered by the Romans.

    • @olsaaan
      @olsaaan 5 місяців тому +1

      @@williamharris8367 Yeah but that's the point of the video. It's history, not the videomaker's opinion.

  • @user-fo9gt5ri8f
    @user-fo9gt5ri8f 4 місяці тому +1

    And now we have the UFC

  • @Oldwhiteguy
    @Oldwhiteguy 5 місяців тому +1

    Gladiators then were much more interesting than ones of today.

    • @nowhereman6019
      @nowhereman6019 5 місяців тому +2

      Idk, Mike Tyson is an incredibly interesting person.

  • @Adrfhrhg
    @Adrfhrhg 5 місяців тому

    What is the title of the painting in the thumbnail?

    • @InterestingFindings
      @InterestingFindings 5 місяців тому

      Gladiator Fight During Meal At Pompeii by Francesco Netti 1880

  • @ToddiGreat-le2qu
    @ToddiGreat-le2qu 5 місяців тому

    This guy could do " Rick Steves Europe " with a minimum of practice !

  • @user-eb9kw9ks6v
    @user-eb9kw9ks6v 5 місяців тому

    1:00 Every time I hear this bro, it's always wholesome episodes. (Except for what he did to the Jews.)

  • @tylerbrickman
    @tylerbrickman 5 місяців тому +1

    Ryan, you scared me. I thought that was the other R word 😅

  • @TAEYONGISMYFATHER71
    @TAEYONGISMYFATHER71 3 місяці тому

    1:23 no nosew

  • @Sundance94
    @Sundance94 5 місяців тому

    How about Russell Crowe who became emperor

  • @truthinesssss
    @truthinesssss 5 місяців тому

    👍

  • @Staingo_Jenkins
    @Staingo_Jenkins 5 місяців тому

    Video interaction

  • @bobar57
    @bobar57 5 місяців тому

    I clicked this wondering about wolf and jet

  • @Arkharskullson
    @Arkharskullson 5 місяців тому +20

    Please Garrett, try not to use AI. I think it detracts from the otherwise superb quality of your videos.

  • @randomvintagefilm273
    @randomvintagefilm273 5 місяців тому

    I thought they retired to Romania 😮

  • @Nightscape_
    @Nightscape_ 5 місяців тому +2

    Now I want to watch some MMA.

  • @prestonhanson501
    @prestonhanson501 5 місяців тому

    I'm sure it was like being a retired football player

  • @oni-one574
    @oni-one574 4 місяці тому

    LOL - DeMONITIZED bars, hilarious.

  • @gringott12
    @gringott12 5 місяців тому +1

    SPQR

  • @milksteak-
    @milksteak- 2 місяці тому

    subarutus crosstrekus

  • @fu2201
    @fu2201 5 місяців тому

    How did they do childbirth?

  • @agapitoliria
    @agapitoliria 5 місяців тому

    2:15 I had to laugh here, actors?! I guess artists being treated like crap is not some modern phenomena.

  • @mikew3194
    @mikew3194 5 місяців тому

    Executioners, undertakers, gladiators, and those dirty liars known as 'actors'

  • @vicn0244
    @vicn0244 5 місяців тому

    Do we know what percentage of gladiators was freeborn? Or rather, gladiator by choice?

  • @DSAK55
    @DSAK55 5 місяців тому

    Product endorsements

  • @cascadianrangers728
    @cascadianrangers728 5 місяців тому

    Oh man I would have loved being a gladiator. I am uniquely skilled in both fighting and looking really good while doing it. I wouldn't want to live to retire. I would want to die for the crowd. Who better to die in front of, and where could be better to die? Alone as a sick old man, or young and good looking, a fine weapon in your hand, hearing 100,000 people screaming your name in excitement?

  • @florinivan6907
    @florinivan6907 5 місяців тому

    'rumor alleged' this sounds like gossip feeding on insecurities.

  • @marcusaurelius5576
    @marcusaurelius5576 5 місяців тому

    Lived through death matches and survived to the age of 99? Is that possible without modern medicine and vaccines?

  • @David-wn8uy
    @David-wn8uy 5 місяців тому

    Allotta boinga.

  • @choukichigaijin
    @choukichigaijin 5 місяців тому +1

    Gotta wonder if Rome was always about choosing the strongest. So the ladies getting with the gladiators was more about producing physically strong offspring. Mental strength coming from the strongest teachers of their standing. Not necessarily a scandal at all.

    • @choukichigaijin
      @choukichigaijin 5 місяців тому +1

      Bloodline was passed by recognized heir. They probably didn't have the same attachment to genetics that we do.

    • @choukichigaijin
      @choukichigaijin 5 місяців тому +1

      Marriages were different too.

  • @ronaldolio76
    @ronaldolio76 5 місяців тому +7

    Hi Garrett I really enjoy your content but as others have noted, the A.I image doesn't suit this channel, it may seem like a small thing but it stands out because everything else is so good, the image has many mistakes, The spear doesn't fit his hand The shoulder armor makes no sense the cloak is wrong his index finger is huge and more. it's no where near the quality to represent your channel. I know it makes your job easier but I'd rather see a picture of you with a wig on and red towel around your neck than A.I generated oddities. Thanks for the great work take care

  • @kyleanuar9090
    @kyleanuar9090 5 місяців тому

    Arnold Schwarzenegger