My Life Outside the Ring

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. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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). <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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.<br /> <br />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.

When I picked up this book I had grand expectations of hearing a lot of dirt about wrestlers I was a fan of when I was a kid, but it didn't happen. Don't get me wrong, there were some stories about Hulk Hogan's wrestling counterparts, but not to the extent that I would have preferred. I guess it would be oxymoronic of myself to wish that Hulk's biography was less about his personal life. To be honest if I wanted to know about that b*tch Linda, I would have watched their "reality" show. I wanted to hear more about Hulk body slamming Jimmy Snuka, not how he is spiritualistic and reading The Secret. THE SECRET, really Hulk? I am glad he got his life in order but at the same time he did not get the sympathy he was counting on from this reader. Every reason his life got messed up as an adult stemmed from his own poor decisions. I enjoyed the author's writing style and I liked Hulk's honesty at times, but I also felt that he wasn't always telling the truth. Hopefully when Hogan can no longer perform a leg drop, he will write another book about his wrestling career.

Okay, I know, it's Hulk Hogan's autobiography...but I really enjoyed it, brother. <br /><br />I got this as a christmas present from Jodie after she couldn't get me stop reading a Rolling Stone article about the Hulk. I think the article was, in fact, excerpts from this very book.<br /><br />The guy starts from nothing, claws his way into wrestling, of all things, and somehow manages to become one of the most beloved and highest paid entertainers of all time. He tells the story of his insane rise to fame and then the crumbling of the empire in recent years. After all the lawsuits, the divorce, his broken body, and his son's car crash, you can't help but feel for the guy.<br /><br />I've always liked the Hulkster and his honesty and conversational tone had me really liking the book, too. Give it a read, brother!

While growing I was a big wrestling fan and played trump cards. I didn’t have a cable connection at that time in my home (around 1991-1999) . I was fan of this man in yellow shirt who had a cult following among the children and was ranked number 1 in the trump cards. So this means whenever the kiddo who will have his card will win over other card holders because of his credentials like height, weight, matches played etc. were better than his rivals. <br /><br />Freeze the above paragraph brother!! Time flied I grew up (only physically I was intelligent when I was born than now) trump card faded and place of Hogan was taken by John Cena ,<br />The rock , Randy orton, HHH ( not in exact order) to name a few. Sorry to be so dramatic but the feelings are true<br /><br />I thought that I have never read about any wrestlers life since now i have grown up and I can understand English I searched amazon saw awesome rating of the Hullkamaia Era and I ordered it from Indian e-commerce sites brother!!. <br /><br />Ergonomics/Slamonomics:-I have a hard bound edition with thick binding and excellent font and paper quality. Once I got my hand on the book my sister snatched it from my hand and first watched all the photographs. (Easiest way to read a book). After that I started it and must say it was one of the finest ,most pure and pure reads I have read. Hogan has poured his heart out. Well done brother, it’s quite a difficult thing to do. <br /><br />StoryNomics: Book starts with a flashback, where Hogan is about to end his own legacy but as you turn on the pages it’s like a page turner, a thriller, a fairytale , a marketing case study it has all the contents to keep you hooked. He candidly admits why wrestling is called entertainment and what does it signify. (People who still debate that wrestling is true or not true must read this). One thing which I must admit I liked the most is that there is a shadow of you in his life. Read to know more. He talks about his life, injuries, drugs some twisted tales, some fairy tales and his initial days in wwwf gives us a fresh insight to what we don’t know about this business and what is not shown on television. When you read it I also came to know about his daughter a very pretty damsel instead. I checked her out, she is on facebook and hot( HH if you read this don't give me a leg drop ;) ) <br /><br />This book has a very similar storyline with Andre Agassi open which is again an awesome read. Both of them start with present go back to past come to present and kick some serious ass in the end.<br /><br />I finished it in less than 6 hours awesome read in 3 nights (data may not be 100% correct) and an is an awesome read. <br /><br />While reading I also sent a tweet to Hulk Hogan and he replied. Thanks Brother for the tweet.<br />My Rating: 12/10<br /><br />This post is also dedicated to my friend/brother the bomb from Bathinda AJ the _way_iam (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://twitter.com/#!/ThE_wAY_Im">https://twitter.com/#!/ThE_wAY_Im</a>) an huge wrestling fan.

Let me first say that wrestling is something that I hold dear. I have been a fan since I was 12 and I still watch it. When I came across this book I realized that it would be the first time that I'd be reading about the sport that I have followed since my childhood. Also I had no inclinations to read about every little glitch that happened in Hogan's life. I thought that if he can tell a lot about wrestling and throw little sprinkles of his personal life to give it a human touch I 'll be glad. Sadly it happened the other way around. <br /><br />Honestly, half way through the book I was just loving it. I was definitely thinking about giving it 4 stars for the deft way he explained his physical problems in connection with wrestling and how he was continuously dodging bullet in his personal as well as professional life to keep the mania of Hogan growing. <br /><br />The book shares the details of how he started to wrestle in small circuits and how the cult of Hulkamania first started. There are some details about Vince Mcmahon Jr.(whom I greatly appreciate) and Eric Bishoff, who was the pioneer in giving the world WCW which WWE later acquired. These details made the first part of the book really endearing and even enriching. <br /><br />In the later half of the book it all came down to a lot of whining about his wife and the problems with his kid Nick and the spiritual healing that he did to take his life back on track. That's when i started skipping pages. But on and on it went about how he found 'The secret' movie and the book really endearing and suddenly he found the formula to set his life straight. Oh, my God! life is too short to listen to a dumb head whining about how everyone was so miserable to him. <br /><br />Personally I am glad that Hogan found 'the secret' because it's the people like him who make the self-help writers profligate and prosper. <br /><br />I do respect Hogan very much for what he did in and out of the ring but I just don't want to know all the boring details about his horrible wife and all the flings he had with chicks later. Am I so bad a person? Maybe I am but I have my own shit to take care of and a dearth scarcity of time. So, forget it !!

I absolutely had a hard time getting through this. From the moment I started reading, I knew it was going to be a struggle. <br /><br />Hulk is extremely full of himself and out of touch with reality. Even writing about his son's accident, he had to flex his material status. <br /><br />What is really true, half truths, and just flat out lies? The entire book felt like a way to clear up his name. <br /><br />Also, the fact he was blaming The Undertaker for his neck injury infuriates me. Anyone who is anybody can watch the footage and see his head never hit the chair. If I'm not mistaken, it came out sometime that he was actually injured prior to that match. What a real sh***y thing to do to someone. <br /><br />It's not even like this book is even relevant anymore. It's definitely dated and a lot more crazy things have come to the surface about Hogan. I honestly felt like I should've made notes or something to cover all the bull that he put out here, but it would've taken up more of my time than what was already wasted on reading the book itself. <br /><br />I might be a little too critical, but it just feels fake. Hogan is known for being so self centered and he spent over 300 pages trying to prove how down to earth he is and overall just trying to clear his name.<br /><br />I'm annoyed. It was annoying. I'm glad it's over. I just hope he's doing better these days.

Excellent. I never knew he had so much trouble in his personal life! Makes me grateful and thankful that my troubles are small compared to what the Hulkster went through.

I grew up watching this guy, taking his advice; eating my vitamins, doing my exercises and saying my prayers. I have always been a huge fan, and am so even more now after Terry bared his sole in his book, "My Life Outside the Ring."<br /><br />Reading this now in my mid thirties, I was not surprised to read about how he was living in excess while I was idolizing him in the 1980's. He openly admits to behaviors and actions in this book, that had I known about at the time as a pre-teen and early teen, would have devastated me. I certainly would have labelled him a hypocrite. However, as a grown man, I no longer view life through rose colored glasses and I would be surprised more to find my hero wasn't living as he was in those days. I applaud him for his honesty about it now, and have no ill will. He inspired me to believe in myself at the time, and his book has done that again, now at the adult level, for in it, we see that the whole "vitamins, prayers and exercise" thing certainly was a staged line, but the intensity, desire, and belief in doing what is right was real. The caring for other people and wanting to reach out and positivly affect as many people as possible was real and it still is.<br /><br />It is heart wrenching to hear what Terry (Hulk) went through during his 23 year marriage to his wife, a woman who would spend upwards of $50,000.00 a month at Walmart and had to have a multi-million dollar mansion (one $14.5 million) in practically every town she liked. The verbal abuse Terry and his kids went through at the hands of a suffering alcoholic was brutal, the type of thing you would expect in the trailer parks, but certainly not at this level of societal living, but the Hulkster endured it, as did his children. Yet they kept moving forward, working through their trials and tribulations, depending on each other and the love they shared.<br /><br />Some of the stories in the book are absolutely sickening, like the Opportunistic lawyers and the Graziano family. Here Terry and his family took their wayward son, John Graziano, a troubled Iraqi war vet, into their home and treated him as one of their own. Hulk and his family camped out at his hospital room, put his parents up in expensive hotels, hell, his mother in an apartment when Hulk found out she was homeless........ and at the end of the day they end up slapping him with a huge lawsuit that would literally ruin him financially if he loses..... you should be ashamed of yourselves Graziano family!<br /><br />There is a light at the end of the tunnel. The drama doesn't just disappear, but Terry finds spirituality, and begins getting through the drama by changing his mindset. Like the saying goes, "When you look at things differently, the things you see look different."<br /><br />I was happy to see that Hulk found new love in his girl friend Jennifer and that he is turning all these "life issues" which is different than life itself, over to the care of a higher power.<br /><br />I believe the Hulkster's brightest days are ahead of him still. He is a real American. He came to visit me and my friends at the Wounded Warriors Battalion on Ft. Lewis in Washington as we heal from our wounds from Iraq and Afghanistan while he was in the area for a book signing. That should tell you something about the true character of the man in and of itself. Do you know how many celebrities have come by here just to see us in the many months I've been here? Only one! Hulk Hoagan! My hero in childhood and my hero in adulthood.<br /><br />Everyone needs to read this book for inspiration and as guidance on how to deal with tough times. I could not put it down once I started it, finishing the well written work in only three sittings. Once you've read it, tell your friends to read it. Their time will not be wasted.

I have a confession to make....I'm a wrestling fan....There I said it. Honestly, when I picked this book up I didn't really know what to expect from it. I'm glad I picked it up though...I really liked it A LOT! It's written from Hulk's perspective not just as a wrestler but as a man, husband, and father...In short it's very real and very honest, from the highest high to the lowest low. There were times where I was going "why did he put up with it for so long?" and times when I was saying "WOW." I learned a lot of things that I didn't know about the Hulkster too....Like he plays guitar and was a bowler when he was younger. I really liked how the book opens....you just know that you are going to be going on one heck of a roller coaster ride. Even if your not a wrestling fan I recommend this book....I'd say a good chunk of the book really isn't even about wrestling.....it's about life.<br /><br />

My Life Outside The Ring was written by Hulk Hogan. This book is non-fiction and this is Hulk Hogan's second autobiography. It expresses the fascinating look at the private life of Hulk Hogan. The book answers many questions about the recent drama in his life. This book is about he car accidents of his son and the bright success at Wrestle mania. This book is about his whole journey of how he got into wrestling, getting married, and about his children. This book concludes with Hulk Hogan's divorce. I really enjoyed this book a lot better than other books that I have read in my life. Significantly this book was better than his first book and more open about his life than his TV show was. It is such an amazing book and exposes the truth of Hulk Hogan's life from the day he was born until today.<br /><br />