DR. MARC SIEGEL: Hulk Hogan’s true strength was bigger than the ring

Health struggles or surgeries are not how we will remember Hulk Hogan, the WWE Hall of Fame wrestler and entertainer, who died on Thursday. Don’t get me wrong, Hogan had plenty of health struggles, from his admitted steroid use in the 1990s, to multiple knee and hip replacement surgeries, to shoulder and multiple back surgeries, and finally a neck fusion operation which, by many accounts, was followed by a downhill slide in his health, culminating in a fatal cardiac arrest.

But we honor him not for overcoming pain or injury but as a cultural icon, for many a national treasure, a friend and bold, unapologetic supporter of President Donald Trump and MAGA. In a sense, Hogan is also a part of the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement in that he represents returning America to a time of greater physicality and vitality. His outspoken candor was an important part of America’s unsanitized identity and one that we are struggling to return to.

Hogan came from a group of professional wrestlers who have a high incidence of steroid and drug use, suicide, and heart disease. In fact, according to a study from the University of Eastern Michigan, mortality rates for wrestlers ages 45 to 54 (men who wrestled from 1985 to 2011 during the era when Hogan was wrestling) were almost three times more likely to die prematurely than the general U.S. population. And those numbers increased the older the wrestler was.  Many of these men didn’t even make it to their seventies. 

PRO WRESTLING ICON HULK HOGAN DEAD AT 71

Keep in mind the physical strain of having a large, bulky frame being repeatedly slammed, combined with frequent travel and the emotional stresses of being both an athlete and an entertainer.

Hogan was an inspirational figure for many. The wrestler and entertainer was known for his vitality, his outspokenness, and for going against the established norm. He drew inspiration from “Superstar” Billy Graham while still a teen in Tampa and he went on to have a larger-than-life personality of his own.

His appearance in “Rocky III” with Sylvester Stallone was legendary (Hogan played the wrestler “Thunderlips”) and he was fired temporarily from the WWF (now WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment) for accepting the role even though it catapulted him to mainstream fame.

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Many pro-wrestlers have a problem with anabolic steroid use, and Hogan was no exception. In fact, he drew a lot of public attention to the problem when he admitted under oath in 1994, during the trial of then WWF Chairman Vince McMahon on steroid distribution charges, that he had used them for over a decade (before stopping). Hogan later admitted that the purpose was “to get big.”  

Hulk Hogan lived in pain for decades but it didn’t keep him from being a continuing role model for many, including in his later years. 

He came to embody physical and spiritual vitality and that is what he will really be remembered for. He was baptized in December 2023, 18 months before his death. He called it the best day of his life, surrendering to his faith. 

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“To all my little Hulkamaniacs, say your prayers, take your vitamins and you will never go wrong,” was one of his most well-known quotes.

If Hulk Hogan were here, he might say, live life to the fullest for long as you can.

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