Rock legend Gene Simmons is opening up about aging and what he calls the “finish line” of life. In a candid new interview, the 76-year-old reflected on how he approaches each day, saying he believes people lose something important when they begin to slow down as they get older.
“Use it or lose it,” the rocker said on the June 25 episode of Bill O’Reilly’s We’ll Do It Live!podcast. “Get up every day and pump that heart. A lot of people, a lot of seniors just give up, it’s over. But I think they’re missing the point.”
“Don’t you speed up instead of slowing down? If I see the finish line, I’ve only got two, three, a year left. You know, you speed, what are you going to do, sit on your thumb and wait to die?” he asked. He went on to share what he thinks will become of the people who choose to spend their final years this way.
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“They won’t be able to sleep at night. They’ll get heart troubles,” he said. “The best thing to do is keep pumping that heart, kiss a pretty girl, eat a good meal, sleep a good night’s sleep, and get up at the crack of dawn the next day and just keep moving.”
Simmons’ comments come just eight months after a car accident left him hospitalized. At the time of the crash, Simmons told authorities that he’d fainted before colliding with a parked vehicle, according to E! News. He was hospitalized briefly before being sent home to rest.
For Simmons, the idea of the “finish line” isn’t about stopping—it’s about how you choose to run the race. For the KISS member, slowing down isn’t an option—no matter how old you are, or how close the “finish line” might seem.