Hulk Hogan: The Man, The Myth, The Legend

When FHM UK heard that Hulk Hogan was visiting Britain for the first time in 18 years, we tracked him down and found out whether one of the most iconic men of our lifetimes was worthy of the title, Living Legend.

The story of Hulk Hogan’s wrestling career is one that spans six US Presidents, has witnessed the fall of communism and watched Jacko go from black to white to dead. Not bad for a bloke with a handlebar moustache and a penchant for prancing around in crotch-hugging Speedos… Sure, he has an impressive CV: 12 world heavyweight titles since turning pro in 1977, holder of the record for the longest WCW world heavyweight title-reign (469 days), and a place in the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Hall Of Fame. But the truly amazing thing about Hogan, the one that sets him apart from his fellow spray-tanned, are-you-sure-you’re-not-on-steroids beefcakes, is that he has gone from being the star of the vaguely homoerotic pantomime that is pro wrestling, to being one of the best loved household names on the planet. Hogan’s visit to the UK was set to be a brief one, a three-date tour with his current organisation, Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling – cruising through Nottingham, Manchester and Wembley. And, despite not wrestling on British soil in nearly 20 years, demand was high to catch the man in action and tickets sold out within minutes. On his last visit, back in 1994, it’s mind-boggling to think the Hulk was 40. He had already appeared in Rocky III and Gremlins 2, and starred in fish-out-of-water comedy flop Mr. Nanny. Already made millions, squandered them, and made them back again.

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Now 58, Terry Bollea from Tampa, Florida, an aspiring baseball player as a youth, is not only the star attraction at the UK’s most popular wrestling organisation, TNA, but he’s become considerably more than that: instantly recognised across the globe, a man who’s transcended his chosen sport to become a true superstar and, dare we say it, a cultural phenomenon (shit, we just did). Ex-professional wrestler D’Lo Brown, who now heads up TNA’s talent development program, sums it up nicely. “Somehow Hogan’s connected to not one, not two, but several generations of wrestling fans,” he says, “and he’s connected in a way where there’s no rhyme or reason to it – it just works. Every time he goes to the ring, I – someone who’s in the business – watch, and wish I was in the ring with him, because it’s that powerful.” It took years of body slams, leg drops and a hell of a lot of ripped T-shirts, but the moment that Hulk Hogan was confirmed as a superstar was a pay-per-view event captured in front of a live audience of 68,000 and millions more at home, at Wrestlemania X8 in 2002. Having returned to the then-named WWF as Hollywood Hogan with a ‘bad guy’ make-over, he took on the most popular wrestler of his time, The Rock. Hogan was the one the crowd was meant to boo. Only that’s not how it went. The crowd not only cheered Hogan, but actually booed The Rock the whole way through. To this day, Hogan treasures that as one of the most touching moments of his career. The fans were still on his side, and always would be.

Hogan may have beaten Andre The Giant at Wrestlemania III, but here he is, facing defeat at the hands of the M1, northbound. Dixie Carter, the President of TNA, is concerned to say the least. And not just because she has a gold spandex-clad, chicken-legged Englishman standing in front of her. She knows that Hogan is the main man on the bill, which is why she personally saw to it that he would sign on the dotted line, and elbow drop his way onto the good ship TNA in the first place. “It’s unbelievable,” she says. “There’s not a place in this world that you can go where people don’t know him. I have worked with famous actors, musicians, all of that, but with Hogan it’s just on a whole different level.” In other words, the man still sells a lot of Hulkamania T-shirts.

In the ring – Hulk or not – the show is cracking on, with the crowd roaring every clothesline, bodyslam and suplex. Good guys Sting and the beer-swigging James Storm have found themselves outnumbered by baddies Kurt Angle, heavyweight champ Bobby Roode, and Bully Ray (now wearing a Steven Gerard Liverpool shirt to really rile up the home fans). The place is in a sweaty, beer-swigging frenzy, and then, in the midst of the madness, the spotlights flash across to the entrance ramp, Eye Of The Tiger rumbles out of the audio system, and Hulk Hogan steps out into the arena. As if every single member of the audience had realised they were sitting on a naked flame, the crowd launched itself to its feet as one. The Hulk slowly made his way down to his stage, high-fiving the fans who have sprinted down to the barriers to scream messages of support at him.

Walking up the metal steps into the ring and ducking under the top rope, he surveys the several thousand elated faces around him, before tearing his vest open from the collar down, as he has done so many thousands of times before. Even from the cheap seats, the signs that Hogan isn’t a young upstart any more are pretty obvious: red tracky bottoms pulled up to Cowell-esque heights; back wrinkles enhanced by a few too many sessions under a high-power sunbed; and he walks with a limp so exaggerated that it would almost be funny if it wasn’t a result of three decade’s worth of atomic leg drops and eight major back surgeries. But the charisma, the stage presence and the handlebar moustache are still there, and are as powerful as they ever were. Despite towering over everyone in the building, Hogan manages to put every single person he meets – from the arena employees to PR people and his fans – at ease. He speaks in a deep, heavy-metal voice that makes him seem younger than his 58 years, and every time he calls you “brother” – “sweetie” for the ladies – you hold him in just that little bit more awe. “They’re loyal,” says Hulk of his fans, acknowledging just how long he’s been away. “They made a decision a long time ago to be on my side, and so no matter what has happened in my career, or no matter what has happened in my personal life, they’re with me.” The emotion in his voice is genuine. “You can walk down the street and just feel the love and the respect that these people have. The energy and how excited people are, it’s just blowing our minds.” But surely, after all the surgeries and all the broken bones, he must just want to have a cup of tea and a nice sit down? “I’ve had that feeling before, but then I’ll drink a beer and that changes my attitude.”

Someone like Hogan, he means, who only has to hold his hand to his ear, tear off his vest, or indicate the way to Muscle Beach to turn a room full of sensible people into sectionable Hulkamaniacs. Someone like Hogan who, after a career longer than most stars of sports and entertainment, is still filling stadiums. Someone like Hogan: a gentleman, an icon, a brand, a bloody superhero. They say you should never meet your heroes. Unless your hero is Hulk Hogan.

60 years of Hulk

• 1953 – Year zero: The Hulk makes his first entrance; Terry Gene Bollea is born in Florida to builder and dance teacher parents.
• 1976 – Bass skills: Forms a band called Ruckus. They become a “local sensation” in the Tampa Bay region, with Hulk on bass.
• 1977 – Realises his power: Hulk’s physical prowess is spotted by two wrestling brothers at one of his gigs. Just months later he makes his ring debut as ‘The Super Destroyer’.
• 1979 – Baldy bits: Joins the WWF and is asked to pretend to be Irish and dye his hair red. His hair has already started falling out, so he tells the bosses where to get off. They don’t mind ’cos he’s such a charmer.
• 1982 – The big screen: With his career in full flight, he appears as the wonderfully named Thunderlips in Rocky III.
• 1983 – Marriage take one: Marries his first blonde wife Linda Claridge.
• 1984 – Hulkamania hits: In January he beats The Iron Sheik in an epic match at Madison Square Gardens. Fans can’t get enough of his awesome showmanship. Hulkamania is born.
• 1986 – Hulk in a cage: He wrestles King Kong Bundy in a cage in Feb on TV show Wrestlemania… and wins again, obvs.
• 1989 – Megastardom: Hogan is named the most requested celebrity of the ’80s by the Make A Wish Foundation for terminally ill children.
• 1990 – Triumphs: Wins the Royal Rumble in January.
• 1991 – Triumphs again: The next year he wins the Royal Rumble again, making him the first person ever to win it two years in a row.
• 1993 – He starts making beautiful music: Gunning for Christmas No.1, Hulk releases a cover of I’m The Leader Of The Gang which peaks in the UK at a mindblowing 25.
• 1994 – Hogan’s in trouble: Admits during a court case he has taken steroids since 1976.
• 1995 – He does a Jamie Oliver: Before Jamie was out of short trousers the Hulk had launched his restaurant, Pastamania, which serves up culinary treats such as ‘Hulk-U’s’ and ‘Hulk-A-Roos’.
• 1996 – Fighting the big dogs: Back for round two of his career, ’96 is a big year for Hogan, where he injures Randy Savage and fights Dennis Rodman.
• 1997 – He reinvents himself: Dresses in black and adopts the alter ego ‘Hollywood Hulk Hogan’.
• 2005 – Hogan may or may not have known best: His bizarrely addictive reality show Hogan Knows Best airs on MTV in July.
• 2007 – Heartbreak and sorrow time: In the reality show fall out his wife files for divorce.
• 2012 – Back in blighty: Hulk triumphantly returns to our shores for the first time in 18 years with new company, TNA Wrestling. Men cry. Women swoon.

Photography by Alex de Mora.

From the April 2012 issue of FHM India.