GENE SIMMONS: 'I Love Cake. Cookies, Chocolates, Cake. It's About As Much Fun As I Can Have With My Pants On.'

November 6, 2025

KISS legend Gene Simmons knows what it's like to live like a rock star. In the latest episode of the Men's Health video series Gym & Fridge, the 76-year-old music legend takes us into his home, opening up about his favorite foods, why he never drinks alcohol, his workout philosophy, his secret to longevity and more.

Select quotes from the episode of Men's Health's "Gym & Fridge" featuring Gene Simmons are below, and the full video is available at this location.

On what's in his fridge:

Simmons: "Nothing that you see in here — the salads — describes my taste buds. The wifey puts all that stuff in, 'cause my druthers: hot fudge sundae, a good backrub, and shut the f* up. I don't really care if it's pasta or shmasta, or foie gras and anything with a French name…I really don't care. I love cake. Cookies, chocolates, cake. It's about as much fun as I can have with my pants on."

On what his diet is like on tour:

Simmons: "When in the middle of a tour, it doesn't matter. I'd eat cheesecake every day because I'm wearing 40 pounds of armor, seven-inch platform heels — each one of the dragon boots probably weighed, I don't know, eight to 10 pounds, a leg, a foot. You don't have to do anything. Within two hours, you will be exhausted. The amount of calories burned on stage…you know, it's like a heavy workout. And so I could eat anything. Strangely, I wouldn't be that hungry, after you exert that pressure, but I'd crave sweets. So, in the morning, big egg white, maybe a little steak, toast, coffee. And then nothing until about three, four o'clock in the afternoon — a little pasta for some carbs, and then hit the stage. And then coming off the stage, cake. I woudln't even have to eat it, I'd just rub it all over myself."

On what his diet is like now:

Simmons: "I have to watch it. You know, my girlish figure and everything. And the older you get — I'm 76 now and do I look good, shit. The problem is your metabolism; it slows down like a tick tock of an old clock. So, at 76 I can't have as much as I like.

On why he doesn't drink alcohol:

Simmons: "I don't drink. I never have… The rock world is filled with losers, idiots. Actually, I think it goes back to my mother. She was a survivor of Nazi Germany's concentration camps at 14 years of age, and I never wanted to break her heart. I'm her only child, so this idea that you could be a loser, not be able to earn a living, and destroy yourself. I mean, she'd give her life to prevent anybody from hurting me, but it's okay for me to hurt myself? It's like crazy. No."

On his workout philosophy:

Simmons: "As I mentioned, I'm 76. Just walk. And you don't have to do miles and miles. There's the 10,000 steps they tell you about. We're all genetically different. Just try to stand more than you sit the whole day. That's all you'll need."

On whether he has any back pain from decades of performing in crazy shows:

Simmons: "Genetics is a really unfair thing. I've never had surgery, any back problems, I've never had a massage in my life. I don't get aches and pains. I know people don't believe anything I say, but I don't give a…."

On the deal with his iconic tongue:

Simmons: "I was in seventh grade. I remember it was Stella, and it might have been Irene. I don't use their last names — they're probably grandmothers by now, or dead. And I was always the tallest one in the class, so they turned around in the middle, 'Do the crazy thing they could do.' And I thought it was, sort of, making a funny face. So I'd stick my tongue out, like if there was a little food. They would both make sounds like turkeys that are about to go to the chopping block and have their heads chopped off. And then, of course, I'd get in trouble."

On the secret to his longevity:

Simmons: "The secret of long healthy life really has to do with taking the long-range point of view. I've never been really gung-ho about doctors, except for the fact that I am the doctor of love. They call me Dr. Love 'cause I've got the cure you're thinking of… But [my wife] Shannon is wise. I'm an idiot compared to her. The entire family is healthy, like nothing you've ever seen, because she insists on getting yearly head-to-toe MRIs… The biggest problem with your dental care, your health care, your anything, is waiting too long. You've got to check yourself. Go to the doctors. Too much is better than not. When you're watching this, pick up a phone, make an appointment, and keep doing it every year. You can never start too early, and it can never be too late."

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