Obama was one of the fittest presidents of the United States to ever be in office, known for playing pickup basketball and watching his diet. But does this former president like ice cream?
Barack Obama doesn’t really like ice cream. He used to like ice cream, and infrequently enjoys some today, but after working at a Baskin-Robbins in his teenage years, he lost his preference for it after eating too much of it.
Read on to find out more about Obama’s first job, as well as other unexpected past jobs other celebrities had.
Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream
Obama’s not the biggest fan of ice cream today, and not because of an allergy to dairy, though lactose intolerance rarely stops people from enjoying the sweet treat anyway. He used to love ice cream back when he was a teenager working his first job at Baskin-Robbins.
He worked scooping ice cream cones for the chain while living in Honolulu during the summer before his senior year of high school, the first job Obama ever had. It even inspired his Summer Opportunity Project, aimed at getting teens into their first jobs for real-world work experience that teaches them responsibility and hard work, and helps them in the long run.
He recognizes the value of the job now, more so than when he was working there, as he reflected on his life in the 2016 announcement of the project. “As a teenager working behind the counter at Baskin-Robbins in Honolulu, I was less interested in what the job meant for my future and more concerned about what it meant for my jump shot.”
“Scooping ice cream is tougher than it looks. Rows and rows of rock-hard ice cream can be brutal on the wrists,” he wrote, explaining his attention to his ability to play basketball.
He credits his first job as a part of his life that helped him succeed, as he became a city organizer, a lawyer, a lecturer, senator, and eventually President of the United States. “My first summer job wasn’t exactly glamorous, but it taught me some valuable lessons… Responsibility. Hard Work. Balancing a job with friends, family, and school.”
Obama started the project in hopes that teens will be able to have “a chance to contribute to their communities with the help of a local employer.” As Obama explains, “That’s what my first job did for me all those years ago.”
In his explanation of the project also comes why he doesn’t like ice cream as much as he did before. “While I may have lost my taste for ice cream after one too many free scoops, I’ll never forget that job–or the people who gave me that opportunity– and how they helped me get to where I am today.”
And though Obama claims to have lost his preference for it, there are still many pictures circulating of him enjoying a cup or a cone of ice cream in posts like this one or this one.
Odd Celebrity Jobs
Obama was not the first renowned public figure to start his working career with an odd job, and he certainly will not be the last. What are some other unexpected jobs celebrities had?
Pope Francis held several odd jobs before getting to where he is today. In his youth, he tested chemicals at a lab, swept floors as a janitor, and worked as a bouncer at a bar before dedicating his life to his religion.
While trying to get a foot in the door of the music industry, Mariah Carey worked at many different places and was even a hat checker at one point.
Many celebrities took on odd jobs before their careers started. Kanye West worked at Gap, Rachel McAdams worked at McDonald’s, Christopher Walken was a lion tamer, and more.
Check out the YouTube video below to learn about the first jobs of other celebrities.
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