Book Review: My Life Outside the Ring

My Life Outside the Ring, is the second autobiography by Hulk Hogan and as the title implies, it features the man behind the Hulk Hogan persona, Terry Boella. The legendary career and trademark personality of Hulk Hogan can be described to you by any Hulkamaniac, but the unscripted life of Terry Boella is much harder to come by and is finally revealed in this book.

From an early age, Hogan has been an entertainer through and through and had a natural rapport with his fans. However, wrestling was not the first entertainment career that the Hulk ventured into. Hulk showed interest in music and guitar and played in several bands while he launched his overwhelming wrestling career. He provides the audience with his first-hand experience struggling to make it in the wrestling world and sharing some of his secrets along the way. Despite the time consuming career of Hulk Hogan, this book focuses much more on his personal experiences happening out of the ring. Much of us are familiar with VH1’s reality TV show that featured the Hogan family called, “Hogan Knows Best.” The family was portrayed to be seemingly happy and content with life, but under the soft-script laid deeper problems that would result in Hogan hitting rock bottom. In this book, Terry captures and engages the audience by disclosing his deepest flaws that range from taking steroids to contemplating suicide in recent years. Oddly enough, it was when the reality show began to fizzle that reality actually set in on Hogan. In the midst of a tragic accident involving his son, attempting to launch his daughter’s singing career, getting a divorce from his long time wife, Hulk is facing unemployment for the first time ever. Just as he nearly convinces himself and the audience into believing he is out for the count, he hulks up and chooses to move forward by practicing the values that the Hulk Hogan persona once preached.

The journey through stardom with Hulk Hogan is entertaining to say the least. I found this book especially appealing because I lived and breathed the Hulk Hogan era and can relate with many of the characters mentioned in the book. It is really intriguing to see a private look at Hulk Hogan’s life, but at times he becomes over dramatic and can bore me with repetitive and predictable story lines. By the end of the book it was satisfying to know that Hulk Hogan and Terry Boella are one in the same and will remain that way.

Hulk Hogan’s book, My Life Outside the Ring, is of value to anyone looking for insight from an inspirational person. If you are fortunate enough to know the answer to this question I pose, then you can find yourself with a free copy. Post your answer in the comments section. Please use your actual email address, as that will be my method of contacting you to receive your shipping address.

Wrestlemania IX  took place in 1993 and marked Hulk Hogan’s brief return to the WWF. Who was his legendary tag-team partner and longtime friend?