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Comment by jasongill | Hacker News Reader

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.

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Seems like maybe he was good natured but susceptible to the influence of the environment he grew up/lived.

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...

>Seems like maybe he was good natured but susceptible to the influence of the environment he grew up/lived.

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.

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.

sounds like a book/article i would want to read.

the world of wrestling and kayfabe is so interesting and has so many parallels with real life.

Mr. McMahon, a documentary on Netflix, is a great watch.

> 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.

I strongly recommend "The Unreality of Pro Wrestling" by Super Eyepatch Wolf.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POsvxBJfTwg

Also Dark Side of the Ring.

I unironically believe there are deep lessons about psychology and sociology contained beneath the ridiculousness.

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