Product Details
My Life Outside the Ring

My Life Outside the Ring
By Hulk Hogan, Mark Dagostino

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Product Description

Hulk Hogan, born Terry Bollea, burst onto the professional wrestling scene in the late seventies and went on to become a world wrestling champion many times over. From humble beginnings, this giant of a man escaped a pre-ordained life of dock and construction work in Port Tampa, Florida, to become one of the most recognizable celebrities on the planet. He did it through sheer will, grit, determination, and a drive to always go over the top and do more than what others thought possible. From the outside, his story was one of a charmed life—he was at the top of his career, had a wonderful and loving family, and a lifelong fan base who worshipped him. Of course he had his up and downs—including hints of steroid abuse and his falling out with WWE and Vince McMahon—but it’s been the last two years that have tested Hogan more than any other in his lifetime.
In 2007, while riding the massive success of his VH1 reality show, Hogan Knows Best, his son Nick was involved in a tragic car accident that left his best friend in critical condition. Then Linda, his wife, left him after 23 years of marriage, his beloved daughter Brooke blamed
him for the breakup and his son went to jail. The tabloid media had a field day. When unflattering jailhouse conversations between him and his son were released to the press the tabloids were in a frenzy. The sudden turmoil and tragedy surrounding Hogan took its toll. He fell into a deep depression, seeing no way out, until one fate ful phone call.
In My Life Outside the Ring, Hogan will unabash edly recount these events, revealing how his new found clarity steadied him during the most difficult match of his life—and how he emerged from the battle feeling stronger than ever before.

I was right there leaning on the side of the car with my hands when I finally saw Nick—my only son—folded up like an accordion with his head down by the gas pedal. “Nick!” I yelled. I could see he was alive. He turned his head, he stuck his hand out, and gave me a thumbs-up. For a second I was relieved. Then the chaos set in. The noise of engines. Sirens. A saw. Para - medics pulling John from the passenger seat. So much blood. I can’t even describe to you how panicked I was. The police and firefighters surrounding us seemed panicked, too. The firefighters started cutting the side of the car open to try to get Nick out, and I’m still standing right there when I hear my boy screaming, “No, no, no, stop! Stop! You’re gonna cut my legs off. Dad! Just unbuckle the seatbelt. I can get out!” So I reach in and I push the button on his seat belt, and Nick just crawls right out. His wrist was broken. His ribs were cracked. None of that mattered. He was gonna be okay. But not John. John wasn’t moving.
—from MY LIFE OUTSIDE THE RING

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #787 in Books
  • Published on: 2009-10-27
  • Released on: 2009-10-27
  • Original language: English
  • Number of items: 1
  • Binding: Hardcover
  • 320 pages

Features

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Whether it was in the ring during his decades-long wrestling career, or in his home during his popular reality show, Hogan has spent most of his adult life in front of the cameras. But for this memoir, Hogan hoped to open up about everything in his life, and it's hard to argue that he didn't succeed. From his days as a high school outcast in Florida to his ascension as perhaps the most popular wrestler of all time—it was like the Beatles or something, he writes—Hogan pulls no punches along the way. The first half of the work is fascinating, as he chronicles his first exposure to wrestling, which ended in a broken leg, along with his openness about steroid use and other drugs. Once his wrestling career ends, however, the book devolves into rather uncomfortable reading. Hogan writes exhaustively of his destructive marriage and his wife's alcoholism, and details his subsequent affair. But the most cringe-worthy passages come in his unabashed defenses of his son, who served nine months in jail for his role in a car accident that permanently injured his friend. The spiritual enlightenment that Hogan experiences in the final chapters does little to brighten the mood by the time the final page is turned. Wrestling fans will enjoy Hogan's honest look at his career and the history of the business. But the exploration into the rest of his personal life proves to be more depressing than uplifting. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

HULK HOGAN is one of the most sought-after, instantly recognizable celebrities in the world. He is a twelve-time professional world wrestling champion—six titles with WWE and six with WCW—and the winner of the Royal Rumble in 1990 and 1991. He has appeared in several movies, including Rocky III, was the co-host for NBC’s American Gladiators, and is the executive producer, judge, and host of Hulk Hogan’s Championship Wrestling on CMT. Hogan is a frequent guest on every major talk show, such as Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Larry King Live, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Live with Regis & Kelly, The Today Show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and The View.

Customer Reviews

A man who has grown in 6 years5
This is Hulk's second book and it is interesting to compare this one with his previous book Hollywood Hulk Hogan from 2003.

In the first book, we got a lot of wrestling stories and we also saw a lot of Hulk's life glossed over and certain events minimised to a great extent. Admittedly the book was written with the backing of the WWE so there was limits to what could be written.

In his latest book, we see very little wrestling discussion and much more of a real look at Terry Bollea the man rather than Hulk Hogan the wrestler.

Hulk has had a bad last few years with the injuries from his career starting to take a greater toll on him, his son being involved in a major car wresck that left his friend permanently injured and sent Hulk's son to jail for 8 months. There was Hulk's divorce and the subsequent financial punishment that he faced with the divorce and the lawsuits coming from the car accident.

Hulk was a nearly beaten man by 2007.

In this book, Hulk tells us of his feelings leading into his issues and then how he slowly but surely climbed out from the troubles to become a better man. He sets the story straight on the rumours that were circulating about him and his conduct in the last few years.

Has he glossed over some things? Maybe, maybe not, but considering the amount of things that he discusses in this book (drugs, marital infidelity allegations, thoughts of suicide etc), he hasn't left many stones unturned at all.

This is a far better book than the rather ordinary 2003 book. Hogan lets it all out in My Life Outside the Ring and one gets the feeling that you have read a quality book.

Recommended.

A Great Book, Not Just for Wrestling Fans5
If you're going to get the full Hulk Hogan experience in book form, I strongly suggest reading "Hollywood Hulk Hogan," his other autobiography, before reading "My Life Outside the Ring." Where "Hollywood" really tells it's tale is in Hogan's career in professional wrestling - from having his leg broken by Hiro Matsuda, to working for Vince McMahon, Sr. in the WWWF, making Rocky III and eventually returning to the WWF with Vince McMahon, Jr. and creating what is known today as Hulkamania. "Hollywood" features a more robust retelling of these events but "My LIfe" quickly glosses over some of the more memorable points to appease the hardcore wrestling fans.

Reading "My Life" discusses more of Hogan's childhood, his infatuation with the professional wrestling scene, the day he met his former wife Linda, and the events after his son's famous car accident. If you've done any following of the released prison tapes, read any tabloid newspapers or heard any rumors of Hulk Hogan in passing, "My Life" does its best to set the record straight and provide cold, hard facts. Even if you're not the wrestling fan that tunes in week after week, "My Life" is a great read about the life of one of the most memorable celebrities in recent history.

A Really Bad Autobiography That Turns Into an Ad for "The Secret"2
This poorly-done autobiography reveals a man who forgets much of his past and tries to spin a lot of negative things he has done into positives. Hulk Hogan is is full image rehab mode here--trying to make himself look like a shy, gentle soul who now has grasped New Age spirituality. It starts out bad and only gets worse after son Nick has an accident and Hogan begins to complain about everything in his life, all the while preaching that he is staying "positive" and taking the "high road."

There is a middle section that gives some interesting stories about the wrestling world, especially Vince McMahon. But it's not worth trudging through the rest of the book to get to it. He even refuses to tell about when he lost his virginity and seems to gloss over some of the major drug use he was involved in.

The two worst things about the book are: 1. How he handles the boy who was injured in the accident with Nick. Hulk does understand his need to help pay for the boy's care but he is seriously insensitive to the boy's family, who file a lawsuit. He says their goal is to "get rich from this terrible tragedy," while defending his need to keep his own rich lifestyle going! It's shocking to hear him claim that if the situation were reversed he wouldn't be angry at the guy driving the car that put his son in the hospital--this is from a guy who spent his life injuring others and himself for money!

And 2. His promotion of the book "The Secret." It's non-stop in the last fourth of the book. Hogan claims it changed his life, yet can't exactly explain what it did other than turn him toward positive thinking. He claims he grasped the book's concepts, then turns around the next page and condemns the lawyers suing him, slams his ex-wife, and wants to kill his ex-wife's new boyfriend. Oh, ya, and gets upset when he gets caught in an affair--not because he was stupid enough to do it but because he was caught. Hulk seems to have taken on a convenient, me-centered quasi-Christianity without truly accepting the real thing. In the end you don't even feel sorry for this pathetic person but instead see that he truly believes the misguided things that he writes and deserves many of the things that he complains about.