Hulk Hogan was my business partner in an ill-fated web hosting business called Hostamania. While he ultimately had a lot of troubled, old-fashioned thinking that I don't agree with, he was a genuinely friendly person who was nice to everyone despite crowds following him around constantly.
He was an odd character but was truly a character - he was Hulk Hogan as you know him (bandana, the mustache, the yellow muscle shirt) from the moment he got up to the moment he went to bed; unlike some stars who had a life outside of their character, his character became his life which was really something interesting to behold up close.
I've been getting a lot of calls and talking to friends today; and again - while Hogan was not exactly a "good person" in all regards - he was a friend and brought a lot of joy to a lot of people and he will be missed.
The visual I have of him in 1989 full Hulkamania Regalia holding a Publix shopping basket while reaching in for bologna will stay with me forever.
Bright yellow and red Hulkster with the green Publix basket, reaching down next to me to grab hotdogs or bologna or whatever it was and nodded 'hello'.
I saw him at a hotel/resort around the time his daughter turned 18, I was in the same restaurant as an argument that appeared on their reality tv show a few months later (not on camera)... You could tell that marriage was having issues.
That said, Hulk himself was completely warm and responsive to fans when I'd see him around signing pictures/merch and taking pictures with random fans over that week. I cannot imagine being "on" that well, he was a consummate celebrity at its finest example. I wish more celebrities could see, and execute even half as well.
Parallels is probably not strong enough a word to describe a world where a reality TV star who was part of WrestleMania in 2007 is President of the United States.
From watching TV with Hulk Hogan vs Andre the Giant as a kid, I am now a man who crossed well over half of my expected lifespan.
His demise is a strong reminder of our limited time here.
Maybe Gawker shouldn’t have been digging into his private sex life including publishing a sex tape. It’s not like Thiel funded round after round of litigation until Gawker ran out of money - they lost on the merits.
It’s an everyone sucks here situation. Gawker was undeniably shitty for outing thiel and posting a sex tape of hogan and then refusing to take it down. But the impact of the lawsuit was basically that if a billionaire has a vendetta against your media org they can fund a lawsuit even if they are in no way involved. And it’s rumored that Thiel funded several suits, not just hogans, discreetly. Even with hogans he was challenged but was allowed to keep funneling cash to take gawker down
The end result of that is that media orgs are now far more cautious about posting “exposes” of powerful people. Gonzo journalism in America is basically dead except for a handful of independent outlets that have much less impact, funding, and reach. Now it’s substacks of people that used to work for the intercept and rolling stone because media with money is playing it safe posting articles about trumps latest antics and 12 vacation spots you have to check out before you die.
> Maybe Gawker shouldn’t have been digging into his private sex life including publishing a sex tape.
Even if one supports this revenge-based justification, it doesn't mitigate the societal harm done when a path is carved out for billionaires to shutter news orgs who print things they don't like.
The societal harm: Republicans weaponizing Gov power and billionaire resources against news outlets - which is happening at this moment.
Gawker killed Gawker. You don’t get to sucker punch two strongmen (both literally and figuratively) and then whine and cry when they knock the shit out of you for the sucker punch.
"Leaked" by his best friend at the time (Bubba the Love Sponge, radio dj), who filmed it, and whose wife was the one Hogan was fucking, with his blessing. A very strange situation all around.
No. What a hero. Gawker was absolutely vile trash and should have been nuked from orbit a thousand times over. Their conduct on many matters, but particularly, hogan was inexcusable in the extreme.
I’m glad he can rest now, he must have been in a lot of pain. Literally his entire spine is fused, every single vertebrae. It must have been really painful to live like that. Im glad he can have some rest now.
I agree with you on Ozzy, but Hulk made a hard right turn into politics the last few years. It was sad to see him do that but his contributions to wrestling stand on their own.
A hard right turn into politics would benefit quite a lot of HN readers...
The anti-capitalism movement is completely misguided. Capitalism has improved the human condition immeasurably! Every other system tried recently has failed miserably.
Is capitalism perfect? No, so let's work on improving it, in the face of robotics and AI!
The future is bright, if we go energy-intensive and break out into the larger Solar System! Otherwise, we face stagnation and decline...and likely a global catastrophe.
Readit News
He was an odd character but was truly a character - he was Hulk Hogan as you know him (bandana, the mustache, the yellow muscle shirt) from the moment he got up to the moment he went to bed; unlike some stars who had a life outside of their character, his character became his life which was really something interesting to behold up close.
I've been getting a lot of calls and talking to friends today; and again - while Hogan was not exactly a "good person" in all regards - he was a friend and brought a lot of joy to a lot of people and he will be missed.
Kind of like those grandpas who were very kind to all people but for unknown reasons had prejudice against minorities.
I was hopeful that this kind of bad influence in good people would stop with society evolving, but in reality things seem to be cyclical...
We all are. Not just Grandpas, but all the way down to current kids. It's just less obvious for the cohort you're part of.
Dead Comment
Bright yellow and red Hulkster with the green Publix basket, reaching down next to me to grab hotdogs or bologna or whatever it was and nodded 'hello'.
That said, Hulk himself was completely warm and responsive to fans when I'd see him around signing pictures/merch and taking pictures with random fans over that week. I cannot imagine being "on" that well, he was a consummate celebrity at its finest example. I wish more celebrities could see, and execute even half as well.
the world of wrestling and kayfabe is so interesting and has so many parallels with real life.
Parallels is probably not strong enough a word to describe a world where a reality TV star who was part of WrestleMania in 2007 is President of the United States.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POsvxBJfTwg
https://www.vox.com/2016/5/25/11779910/peter-thiel-gawker-hu...
The end result of that is that media orgs are now far more cautious about posting “exposes” of powerful people. Gonzo journalism in America is basically dead except for a handful of independent outlets that have much less impact, funding, and reach. Now it’s substacks of people that used to work for the intercept and rolling stone because media with money is playing it safe posting articles about trumps latest antics and 12 vacation spots you have to check out before you die.
https://x.com/dilanesper/status/1948757550993998192
Even if one supports this revenge-based justification, it doesn't mitigate the societal harm done when a path is carved out for billionaires to shutter news orgs who print things they don't like.
The societal harm: Republicans weaponizing Gov power and billionaire resources against news outlets - which is happening at this moment.
ref: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44688663
Deleted Comment
R.I.P. Mr. Bollea
Confirmed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZ3lCUixbvE
RIP Terry.
There will never be anything like either of these generational entertainers in this century. Not even AI can replicate their personalities.
Mourning for both of them.
The anti-capitalism movement is completely misguided. Capitalism has improved the human condition immeasurably! Every other system tried recently has failed miserably.
Is capitalism perfect? No, so let's work on improving it, in the face of robotics and AI!
The future is bright, if we go energy-intensive and break out into the larger Solar System! Otherwise, we face stagnation and decline...and likely a global catastrophe.