by Christian Duque
Who can forget President Ronald Reagan telling Russian Premier Gorbachev
tear down this wall, Mr Gorbachev” speaking of the Berlin wall and the Cold War. Students of history know there was so much more involved than merely making that statement. There was power behind that statement, there was half a century of direct and indirect conflict between two world superpowers. And although these two superpowers never engaged in frontal combat, they battled militarily and ideologically through a series of proxies on pretty much every continent on this planet. But what brought about the final victory? Well it was a number of different players and a variety of different events that collectively helped bring about the victory of one side and the defeat of another.
The power of western culture was perhaps the strongest weapon in the Cold War. This culture encapsulated a number of different disciplines. For example, no one can deny the power of rock and roll. From the 1950s onwards, this style of music with its various different genres and sub-genres brought about tremendous change. In the United States it was used to fight the Vietnam War, to loosen the grip of censorship, to women’s rights and more. Then, of course, there was Hollywood. Who can deny the role that American movies have played on politics, fashion, culture? No one can deny that. Even at the height of the Cold War, Soviet kids and adolescents in the Warsaw-Pact nations were watching the Karate Kid, or the first Rocky, or etc. I mean the list goes on and on. They may not have agreed with capitalism and they may have been proponents of communism, but the crane kick was the crane kick. But what about wrestling? No not Olympic wrestling, but the wrestling that was on tv? Sure, it was a “fake sport,” right? But who could deny the cinematography, the storylines, the costumes, and the music? Who was at the forefront of that style of entertainment? Hulk Hogan. Hulk Hogan was the man and indirectly helped bodybuilding. Hogan indirectly helped bring about the defeat of the Soviets. I kid you not. Hulk Hogan did so much more than merely wrestle on television. He was responsible for so much more.
When news broke that Hulk Hogan passed away at just 76 years of age it sent shockwaves throughout the bodybuilding world. Even though he never competed in physique-based sports, his role within the gym, the muscle game, and pushing forward the muscular physique were undeniable. Bodybuilding fans have always had a soft spot in their heart for professional wrestlers and vice versa. The late great Ric Drasin, who had a show with IronMag TV, talked about the bridge between those two sports. Even though very few people know about bodybuilders outside of the shows and the gyms, to professional wrestlers, bodybuilders were (and are) like superstars. We have seen it go back the other way with people like Triple H and The Rock being involved in bodybuilding. In fact, Ric had a couple of programs on IronMag TV and often talked about how if it were not for wrestling, he never would have been discovered. He found wrestling first and as a result of that and the friendships he made within that realm, he was able to get acting jobs. He also was able to stack that with bodybuilding, meaning that he was able to get the best of both worlds.
Later towards the late 1980s and early 1990s, we saw Vince McMahon who is responsible primarily for promoting wrestling and for profiting off with Hulk Hogan, try his hand at bodybuilding. With the World Bodybuilding Federation they tried to do the same thing with bodybuilding that they had done in wrestling. The storylines, the costumes, the music, and the fanfare were repeated. Even though that federation was short-lived, the interest was undeniable. And even though Hulk Hogan was not part of the WBF, he was most certainly a proponent of bodybuilding from within the ranks of wrestling throughout his entire career. Because wrestlers like bodybuilders needed high protein diets, needed to be shredded, and also needed to keep themselves in tiptop shape.
Bodybuilding and powerlifting, as well as other strength sports, were an important part of Hulk Hogan’s life and that of many wrestlers. But unlike bodybuilding where strength doesn’t really factor in when it comes to competing at a show, it most certainly does in wrestling. Even though wrestlers are basically working on a script and are cooperating with each other, you have to realize that Hulk Hogan had to lift Andre The Giant, who weighed well over 500 pounds. Not only did he have to pick him up, but he had to body slam him. That’s a feat that most bodybuilders couldn’t shake a stick at. In fact, most powerlifters and strength athletes couldn’t do that, either. You’re talking about not just lifting a weight or a bag of sand, but a living breathing human being. And even though that living breathing human being isn’t really fighting you, there isn’t a heck of a lot that he can do to assist you, either. Essentially it’s dead weight. And a wrestler has to body slam it. Imagine how much that must have taxed Hogan’s joints, his muscle fibers, his bones, his spine. People don’t think about that. And I can promise you that the time that he did it for the TV cameras wasn’t the first time he ever did it. These guys probably had to practice this behind closed doors many times. because wrestling is a lot like acting in movies or plays. What the audience sees, is the final product. They don’t see all of the trial runs and rehearsals.
The passing of Hulk Hogan was very difficult to comprehend. People aren’t supposed to die at 71 years of age. Especially celebs whose panels are under a microscope. How did this legend just drop dead like that? I don’t mean to be so callous but my father lived till he was 100 years old and he was in amazing shape until he was 98 or 99. Grranted my dad didn’t wrestle for 30 or 40 or 50 years but nonetheless it’s just mind boggling to me that somebody would pass away at 71 years of age out of nowhere. Plus the Hulkster hadn’t wrestled in quite a few many years and I like to think he was taking care of his health and getting his blood checked regularly. He always looked healthy and it seemed like he was not living recklessly like so many wrestlers in their prime do. Perhaps the damage had been done. I don’t really know and I can’t speak with any level of certainty about any other man’s health background, but sometimes no matter how healthy you live and how healthy you eat, if you have a family history or a preexisting condition, nothing you do can change the cards you’re dealt.
What I wanted to say with this article isn’t so much that Hulk Hogan died, but how much Hulk Hogan did while he was alive. One of the most important things that he did in my opinion was help shape culture. That is a very, very important contribution to society. What did he promote? He promoted eating healthy, taking vitamins, believing in God and loving your country. Those are all excellent attributes. And to a lot of kids that grew up in households without a father figure, the Hulkster on TV may have played a far more important role than you think. When you’re a little kid and you’re starving for some kind of direction – maybe the wrestler on tv – is that shining light to get you through the darkness. I know it sounds a little melodramatic and maybe it sounds hard to believe, but maybe it sounds hard to believe to a person reading this who grew up with a father their whole life. There are not a lot of positive role models on TV nowadays, but there were back in the days of Hulkamania. Back when Hulk Hogan was wrestling – especially in the late ’80s and early 90s – I think he served as a pretty good role model for millions.
All in all, I think that Hulk Hogan grew wrestling, he definitely helped bodybuilding and strength sports, and he most definitely helped shape Western culture. Thanks to the internet and the availability of his videos and matches, more people will find out about Hogan. YouTube is free and will probably remain that way for years to come. Now that’s not to say that each video won’t have 10 or 20 ads, but if you can live through the ads, you can see some pretty amazing content that doesn’t cost you a cent. And I think that Hulk Hogan will live on in the hearts and minds of countless people. I think his legacy will be kept alive and strong. We definitely lost a hero when we lost the Hulkster. But even after his passing, there is no doubt in my mind that Hulkmania will continue to run wild wherever it goes!
As always, I hope you enjoyed reading my article, here, at IronMag. I look forward to reading your feedback in the comments. Please be sure to copy and paste a link to this article on all your social media feeds. It will surely generate lively conversation.
