Fabio Looks Back at Infamous Goose Incident on a Rollercoaster 25 Years Ago: 'I Could Have Died' (Exclusive)

Fabio looks back at the moment that went viral — long before we had viral moments. And he says most people still have the wrong story. “He never hit me goose.”

In an exclusive chat with PEOPLE, the romance cover star, 65, recalls the time he was injured by a goose while riding a roller coaster 25 years ago on March 31, 1999.

“I tell you, it was a miracle. I know that. For a goose, for anything that hit you at nearly 80 miles an hour, and to leave you with just a stitch, I tell you, it was a fucking miracle. And for that day, I started living life to the fullest,” says Fabio. “I could have died. I could have lost my sight. But I just cut myself.”

Today we know Fabio — born Fabio Lanzoni in Milan, Italy — as something of a pop-culture curio. Maybe one of those you know, but you’re not quite sure how. Or why. But make no mistake, no one owned the ’90s quite like the Italian-born model turned romance novel cover star. He posed for 1,300 of them, his hair always in the air, his muscles always shining. His name was also on a dizzying array of things: hair care products, fitness videos, posters, a clothing line at Sam’s Club. He became further immortalized in films like Dude, where’s my car? Spy Hard and Death becomes her and on shows including Step by step and A guiding light, often playing himself. And, of course, there were those I can’t believe it’s not butter. (He was also on the cover of PEOPLE in 1993 with the one-word headline: FABIO.

But exactly 25 years ago, his name, and at least part of his legacy, became inextricably intertwined with the 12-lb. migrating Canadian geese.

Fab’s now infamous incident occurred while he was at a paid appearance at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia, to celebrate the inauguration of a new ride, Apollo’s Chariot. Seated in the first car of the vehicle for the inaugural ride, which was being filmed, Fabio sat with a group of women who were all dressed as Greek goddesses. But when the ride returned to the start, Fabio was found with blood pouring from his nose. Pictures of that moment went around the world with the headlines: Fabija got hit by a goose!

Fabio says the goosebumps marked “the beginning of ‘fake news’ because everyone said I was hit by a goose. But I know I was hit by a piece metal.” Fabio continues: “It wasn’t a bird. Bird, I tell you, she broke the camera. But they never released the video.” He says it’s a 25-year-old mystery. “You know, the video tape disappeared.” (And, it’s worth noting, the goose died.)

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Fabio after rollercoaster incident in 1999 Steve Earley/Virginian-Pilot/AP Fabio explains what happened when he was hit by a goose on a rollercoaster: ‘It was a miracle’

In 2021, Fabio opened up about the incident while appearing in the final PEOPLE of the ’90s podcast.

“So the rollercoaster goes down at 80 miles an hour, 80, 85 miles an hour, across the lake and back up and then upside down… So what happened was there was a bunch of geese over the lake. I’m talking hundreds . And one was sucked in,” he explained. “I saw this very close. The geese hit the video camera. What happened was the goose hit the video camera. The video camera broke. At 85 miles an hour.”

“I saw metal go by and I cut the tip of my nose. … So when I came out, my face was bloody,” he continued.

Fabio Lanzoni.

Tommaso Boddi/Getty

The king of romance Fabio opened up about finding love — and staying sexy — at age 62

Fabio said he was rushed to the hospital after the ride and it didn’t take long for lawyers to get to him about the incident.

“Now, let me tell you, during that time every single law firm in America, three or four big law firms, came to me and said, ‘Fabio, that’s going to be the first easy four or five million dollars of your life.’ I said, ‘No,'” he explained, adding, “I said, ‘No, that’s the principle. I was doing my job. I’m not going to sue them. I accepted the job. I signed that contract.'” Fabio says he was paid to appear, but he was never offered a settlement.

He also noted that it remains a mystery what happened to the video of the ride. “My manager at the time said, ‘Oh, let’s see the video.’ Well, the camera was never found. The tape was gone. It was never found.”

But, says Fabio, today he found out what he did later. “They made a slide on the path of migratory birds.” He heard that days before the inauguration of the riding, men were employed to shoot down the birds. “They realized they made the slide on the flight path of the geese.” He says he realized that every day should be lived to the fullest. “And I do, every day.”

Having recently turned 65, Fabio is now semi-retired. “I have the most beautiful life, I’m healthy, I’m in good shape, I eat well, I exercise every day.” And yet, he says his modeling days are behind him. There will be no more romance novel covers. “That should be a big payday,” he says with a laugh.

But the collector of sports cars – he currently has 31 in his collection – and dog father of eight Rottweilers, is thinking about television. “Remember that show Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous? With Robin Leach. I want to do something other than the better version, with the most beautiful of everything, you know? Cars. motorcycles and yachts. Beautiful places, resorts, islands, you know, amazing places around the world. The most beautiful watches. The most beautiful of all. Because people always love beautiful things. I know I do.”

With that in mind, does the former king of romance currently have a special someone in his life?

“I’m free as…bird,” he says.

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Source: HIS Education