Incredible Hulk brilliant Lou Ferrigno bygone claimed that Michael Jackson was asleep by the weight of his massive debts.

The amateur and bodybuilder had been training his pal Jacko for his backbreaking 50-date London tour.

And he said the alone acumen the accompanist was activity aback on date was to bright his $400million debts.

Ferrigno, 50, revealed: “He was beneath amazing stress, so abundant I anticipate it asleep him. He was $400million in debt. In the past, he had backed out of accomplishing alive shows but this time he was beneath the gun. The debts put a huge ache on him.”

The brace aboriginal met through a alternate pal in 1995 and Ferrigno recalled: “Our acquaintance had a agglomeration of guests over. Michael was there and I was alien to him.

“The acquaintance had a gym and I absolved over to it and Michael kept staring at me. He was acting absolutely shy. Eventually we got talking. Michael bare to get accessible for his HIStory apple tour, so I told him to alternation with me.

“He came to my abode in Santa Monica and that’s how I became a abutting friend. He was great, a nice guy, absolutely sweet. He was affected about bodies staring at him, bodies affecting him, absent a allotment of him.

“But he let his bouncer bottomward back he was with me. There was no show.”

The brace met several times over the afterward years and in April Jackson asked Ferrigno to advice him adapt for his London improvement concerts.

The amateur would appointment his busy Bel Air abode three times a anniversary to put Jacko through his paces.

“He had undergone a five-hour medical in February and had anesthetized with aerial colours, but he capital to be fitter,” said Ferrigno.

“So I would go to his abode with an inflatable exercise brawl and 3lb dumbbells. He did not like the dumbbells. He said he didn’t appetite big amateur and big anatomy like me.

“I laughed and said, ‘Michael, there’s no way you will get big amateur from 3lb dumbbells.’”

Stick-thin Jackson was absurd to get them through his beggarly bistro habits either.

Ferrigno said: “He ate alone one meal a day, consistently in the evening. He’d deathwatch up and not accept annihilation for the accomplished day, and back he did eat it was consistently vegetarian.”

The accompanist additionally had a camp dress cipher for their sessions.

“He wore whatever he put on aboriginal thing,” said Ferrigno. “So if he put pyjamas on he would abrasion pyjamas for the blow of the day. But it was consistently with a clothing jacket, that was the Michael Jackson signature.

“Sometimes back we formed out he would booty his anorak off and he looked angular and motivated.”

Ferrigno said the 50-year-old’s fettle was convalescent all the time.

“I was with him until the end of May and he was fine,” he said. “There was no assurance of biologic use and his adaptability was improving. That was important as he was a little bound in assertive areas. He hadn’t danced for so long.”

Jacko consistently admired to assignment out while alert to music – The Beatles and the Mamas & the Papas were accurate favourites – and Ferrigno appear the allegorical ballerina alike accomplished him the Moonwalk during breaks. “We talked, had conversations about activity and altered things,” he said. “There was no security, no bodyguards, cipher around. He didn’t appetite anyone about back he formed out. We took approved break and he would appearance me his ball moves. They were awesome.

“He was accomplishing allotment of his routine. He was still in abundant appearance dance-wise. He was still as acceptable as 15 years ago.

“Michael accomplished me the Moonwalk. I’m affidavit to clandestineness though, I can’t accord the secrets away.”

Despite his banking problems, Jacko seemed in acceptable spirits, according to his friend.

“He was actual happy,” said Ferrigno. “He acclimated to be abandoned back I aboriginal saw him but he was actual blessed because he had his children.

“I fabricated him beam a lot and he was a absolute prankster. He was consistently arena jokes on me.

“He acclimated to alarm me and pretend he was addition alleged Omar. He would pretend to be my stalker.

“He would allocution on the buzz in a bearded voice, absolute deep, adage things like, ‘I apperceive area you live’ or, ‘I apperceive what you’re doing’.

“I said, ‘Michael, I anticipate this is you’ but he kept abstinent it.

“One time he came to an action-hero assemblage I was accomplishing and he was dressed as some affectionate of monster.

“He had a abounding monster-style face affectation on and cipher knew it was Michael. He came up to the table and was authoritative awe-inspiring noises. I aloof ample it was some guy who was into Brilliant Trek, but afterwards I begin out it was Michael Jackson.

“He capital to beard himself so that he could airing about and not be recognised. He was a adolescent that never grew up.”

Ferrigno, who attempt to acclaim as the rage-filled Incredible Hulk, claimed that he and Jacko had similar, affronted childhoods.

“We had agnate fathers,” he said. “When we were growing up, we had a lot of affliction and anger. He did not accept a adventitious to accomplish accompany and became actual self-conscious.

“He eventually overcame that. His escape was music, abundance was to become a aerobatics champion.

“That’s why we were so acceptable together, he got to be a kid again.

“That’s additionally why he created Neverland. It was not aloof for accouchement to visit, he capital his own Disneyland.

“He capital to accept fun, but capital to do it abroad from the cameras.”

Ferrigno said he aftermost saw Jackson three weeks afore his death.

“I saw him at the end of May back I was accomplishing some shows on the East Coast,” he said. “We were meant to get calm a few added times afore he went to England but again I heard on the account that he had anesthetized on.

“I acquainted terrible, I was shocked. I anticipation it was a joke. It acquainted like a amazing loss. It about acquainted to me like 9/11. It befuddled the accomplished world, Michael Jackson aloof bottomward dead.”

Ferrigno will be at the Staples Center in LA tomorrow back the apple remembers Jackson. “The canonizing is activity to be huge,” he said. “Maybe bigger than Princess Di’s.”