7 Questions with Hulk Hogan

First, 5 things you should know about Hulk Hogan: 1) His name is Terry Gene Bollea and he was born August 11, 1953. 2) Before Hogan officially started wrestling, legendary trainer Hiro Matsuda sarcastically asked him, “So you want to be a wrestler?” then purposely broke Hogan’s leg (this, according to Hogan). 3) At the height of his reality show, Hogan Knows Best, which portrays his family life (or a version of it), the Hulkster allegedly had an affair with his daughter’s best friend, Christaine Plante (this according to what Plante told the National Enquirer). 4) In the 1980s, he was the most requested celebrity of the Make a Wish Foundation. 5) He’s also currently the host of the new American Gladiators.


Zimbio: So how you doing after this last year of personal troubles?
Hulk Hogan: Me? Oh, I'm cool bro. I had a really rough time because I didn't know [what to do] after being married 23 years. We never had a fight, right? You know, when you love somebody unconditionally, you have differences of opinions, you go back and forth but I never had any idea that our marriage was in trouble. When I said "for better or worse" and "'Til death do us part," I was serious about that. I had no idea that some people might not be as serious. So when I got hit with the divorce, I didn't see it coming. I had a rough time. I got hit with it right on American Gladiators last year, but when the show was over and I had nothing to do, then I went ughhhh. I really derailed. A bunch of things happened. I met some people, prayed to God to be happy and started doing something I love to do: reading. I was handed this book on a plane. I was complaining to some guy, complaining, "Oh, life, my God, me, me, why, poor me." That type of thing. This lady handed me this book called The Secret. When I read it, man, it hit me like a ton of bricks.


Zimbio: Wow, so The Secret really works?
Hulk Hogan: Yeah, bro, it did. Then I became aware that the only moment to live is right now. The past is over, the future's your salvation but the only moment we have is this one with you and me. That's all there ever is and all there ever was. As soon as I became aware of the present, that I was friends with life, I walk in the spirit of God, it all changed. I just went WHAM. I was around somebody that was always depressed and had a bunch of personal issues and other type issues I don't really want to talk about. I pray to God someday they'll be fixed, but you don't have to miserable. Life is beautiful, life is worth living, there are good people everywhere. As soon as I realized that, well, I'm doing fine now. My daughter understands that you don't have to be around negative people, hating. "I hate the world, I hate the air, I hate the sun." Realize there are nice people and the world's beautiful. My daughter understands that now, my son Nick, with all the stuff that he's going through, he understands that. So we're doing great. We pray every night for my wife. I unconditionally love her to death. I just pray to God she gets better.

Zimbio: What does it mean when Hulk Hogan "derailed"?
Hulk Hogan: I was around a very, very negative attitude from another person and I just did everything I could to try to help save them, keep them from crashing and burning, keep them from hurting themselves in so many different ways I can't really say here. I was going, "Oh my God" and I was obsessed with trying to help someone. First off, the person has to want to be helped, which I finally realized. It's hard to take care of yourself when you're going, "Oh my gosh, how am I going to help them? Forget about me." So that's what happened. You just can't save the world. You can only try. I tried and tried and tried and right before it got as bad as it could get, I had to switch gears. On a personal level, my wife filed for divorce. That was the day I realized that's a serious move. That's not just like a little teeny fight over where we're going to dinner. When someone files for divorce, that means they don't want to see, be with you or talk to you. That's what it means to me. So when that hit me, probably a week of my stomach going this way and my heart going this way, finally I realized I had to regroup. I was standing on the set of American Gladiators when I found out. I said, "Whoa. It's time for me to step up and either be a man or not be a man." I decided to go the positive way. So that's what I meant. I was derailing. I was derailing trying to save things that couldn't be saved.

Zimbio: What's been the most useful part of The Secret?
Hulk Hogan: This guy James Ray, he's become a good friend of mine. He threw something out there in the book and it really hit me. I can't remember what page it was on, a little more than halfway through the book. It's like you've probably got things in your life that you're really proud of. You've probably got things in your life which you're not so happy with. The question I would like to ask you is when would NOW -- you say the word now -- when would now be the right time to change your life? I said, "You mean, I don't have to wait 10 more years to be depressed still? I could change that right now with the right kind of thing and become positive?" That's when I became grateful. The happier I was with my son being healthy, my daughter being healthy and praying for my wife that she becomes positive and gets out of the mental torture she's going through. As soon as I was grateful for the things I have, you attract more of those good things when you're in that high vibe.

Zimbio: Hasn't that always been your philosophy though, with the saying prayers, training eating vitamins?
Hulk Hogan: It has, bro, it has, but I was unconscious. When you're unconscious, things happen by accident. God and the law of attraction and the law of gravity are always working whether you know it or not. I was positive, I've been that way, but I was unconscious. "Training, prayers and vitamins," I was throwing out all this positive stuff, so like things attract. The law is attracting wealth and success and celebrity, but I really didn't know what I was doing. Then I had some major stuff like I quit wrestling, went home and tried to save somebody on a personal level, which I couldn't do. Then I got negative and things started spiraling out of control. Then all of a sudden I became aware, I became conscious and I realized that instead of just throwing out things randomly that you actually understand how this stuff works. God wants us to live in abundance mentally, spiritually, physically and materialistically. He wants you to live in abundance in all areas. Now that I understand this, I realize it's a real law like the law of gravity. It's scientific. I can use it to my advantage. It's not like snake oil salesmen hocus pocus. Now I'm aware and I'm conscious. You have a chance and a choice to be happy. You have a chance and a choice to make the right decisions. Life's all about choices. Do you want to be happy or do you want to be miserable? Uh, let me think. Now I'm aware. That's my whole deal.

Zimbio: Does it take hitting bottom to have that epiphany?
Hulk Hogan: No. For some people it doesn't. For me it did. I can talk with you for about eight hours about this. Some people are happy, high vibe people. They're aware, they really intentionally do things. Some people vibrate on a lower level, around negative stuff, and sometimes it takes something like we've talked about. Or, sometimes it just takes somebody that gets sick and tired of being sick and tired like me. Pray for happiness and pray for health and what you think about, you bring about. It's like the genie says, "Your wish is my command." If you say, "I'm sick and tired of being late, I'm always late, I'm late every day." Well, guess what? You're going to be late. It's a real law, like I said.

Zimbio: Now what would you do if you got involved with another negative person?
Hulk Hogan: All the people on the set of Gladiators have the same mindset of me. The gladiators, the people who work there, they're all real positive, they all understand this. It's really cool. I walked into a great atmosphere. The American Gladiators show is just full of these positive people. That's why when they talk about the show, there are endless possibilities. There's a reason the show is so good, it's incredible. It's exciting. I'm sorry, I talk too much.

Q&A by Fred Topel