Hulk Hogan Recalls How Being in a Rock Band Helped Him Beat His Fear of Wrestlers and Get in the Ring

The late, great Hulk Hogan is arguably one of the most well-known wrestlers in the history of sports entertainment. He wore the World Championship belt in some of the biggest wrestling promotions in the United States, including WCW and WWE. However, most don’t know that before he laced up his boots for the first time, the Hulkster wanted to be a rock star.

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Rock and roll changed everything for Hogan. In a 2014 interview with Vice, he revealed that he was “scared to death” of wrestlers when he was a kid. However, being in a band that drew a crowd of wrestlers helped him get over his fear and try a new career.

Hulk Hogan on How Rocking Out Helped Him Become a Wrestler

In the interview, Hulk Hogan revealed that he took all the best members from the best bands in his high school to form a band called Ruckus. They played a set made up mostly of rock and roll covers and a few original songs in Tampa and Clearwater Beach, Florida. The band’s shows drew several wrestlers.

“I was a huge wrestling fan. As a kid, I was scared to death of them because back in the day, wrestlers were very protective,” he recalled. “If you called wrestling fake, they would punch you in the face,” he added. “All of a sudden, I started playing in this kick ass rock n’ roll band, and a couple wrestlers came in to the show. Then, a couple of nights later, even more came in, because they had told each other that there was this kick ass band,” Hogan explained. He went on to say that the beautiful women who came to Ruckus shows were a big draw for the wrestlers.

“Before I knew it, there was a bunch of wrestlers at our gigs. These were regional wrestlers who would wrestle in Tampa, Miami, Orlando, and Tallahassee. So, they’d come back to Tampa every night, where we would be playing until 3 AM,” Hogan recalled. “Finally, I got enough guts to start talking to Oliver Humperdink, who was managing Superstar Billy Graham, and I told him I wanted to try out to be a wrestler.”

So, if he had never rocked out with Ruckus, Terry Gene Bollea never would have become Hulk Hogan.

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