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3.0 

My Life Outside the Ring

By Hulk Hogan & Mark Dagostino
My Life Outside the Ring by Hulk Hogan & Mark Dagostino digital book - Fable

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Publisher Description

In My Life Outside the Ring, Hulk Hogan, legendary wrestler come reality star, reflects on his life, family, and career, and shares how he has found inspiration during difficult times.

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 worshiped him. Of course he had his up and downs—including hints of steroid abuse and his falling out with WWE and Vince McMahon—but two years 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 fateful phone call.

In My Life Outside the Ring, Hogan will unabashedly recount these events, revealing how his newfound 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. Paramedics 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

7 Reviews

3.0
“I've been a wrestling fan my entire life. Well, almost as far back as I can remember anyway. I was 6 years old when I saw my first match - it was Hulk Hogan defending the World Wrestling Federation Championship against The Ultimate Warrior in front of almost 70,000 screaming fans in Toronto's SkyDome. From that moment on, I was hooked. Fast forward 20 years and I recently finished an autobiography of sorts completed by one of the two competitors, the immortal Hulk Hogan. In "My Life Outside The Ring", Hogan takes you on a very broad journey through his life from his early years to the recent events of his son's jail time and the divorce from his wife, Linda. While there's a lot of information to be found here, Hogan seems to paint his personal life in a way that does not make you envy him, despite the amount of fame and fortune the man has garnered in his 30+ year career. His marriage with Linda is told as if it was a journey through Hell. Hogan admits that he still loves his wife Linda - that there were still some good times to be found if you dug deep enough in their relationship, however, it just doesn't seem to be there. While I did enjoy some of this book - I just was not prepared for the amount of time he spent on his marriage. With a book titled "My Life Outside The Ring", I should've seen that coming (his WCW career spans a total of 3 pages). I guess I should go back and read his WWE produced book from a few years earlier if that's what I'm looking for (although reviews of that particular edition are far from favorable). Hogan does end the book in a positive light; as if he turned his life around. How could he not? The events that hit this man in a span of 2 years are just awful. While it comes across as inspiring, sometimes it's hard to take seriously. Hogan has so much mud slung his way over the course of his professional wrestling career; you often wonder which Hogan you're seeing in this book. Is it a fabricated version - or the real man himself? The wrestling industry is one that is notorious for lies, backstabbing and the philosophy of "putting yourself before others" - and you need to do that to stay at the top sometimes. It would not surprise me if some of this book is embellished. That being said, I think that Hogan is mostly truthful here. What does he have to loose? The divorce is settled, he's no longer a "top dog" in any company and his active wrestling career is pretty much dead. The one thing I did not get an answer to - that I really wanted - is the story of the hatred between the man himself and Randy Savage. Apparently these two dislike each other on a massive scale although nothing has really been said other than the odd internet rumor. Although I did like it - I'd be hesitant to recommend it to anyone just because of the lack of time spent on his career. By all means, read this if you're interested in his problematic marriage and family life, you'll get a decent story there - but if you're expecting anything substantial regarding is time spent as a professional wrestling, you're out of luck.”

About Hulk Hogan

Hulk Hogan is a twelve-time professional world wrestling champion and the winner of the Royal Rumble in 1990 and 1991. Hogan has appeared in several movies, was the co-host for NBC's American Gladiators, and was the executive producer, judge, and host of Hulk Hogan's Championship Wrestling. Hogan is a frequent guest on every major talk show, such as Larry King Live, The Today Show, The Tonight Show, and The View. In 2009, Hogan joined TNA Wrestling.

Mark Dagostino is a #1 New York Times bestselling coauthor who has worked with Chip and Joanna Gaines, Jay Wright, and Rudy Ruettiger, among others.

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