Widely known as one of the greatest pro-wrestlers of all time, The Rock has a lot to boast about.
With a string of 90's champion titles, he headlined WrestleMania XXVIII and made it the top pay-per-view in WWE history. Millions more know him as Dwayne Johnson the movie star from The Fast and the Furious series!
But the real question is, how many people really know the rough, real story of the man behind the muscle?
That million dollar smile expresses more than people might think! From teen delinquent to failed football star, there was a lot going on behind the scenes before Dwayne could hold his head high as a three hundred million dollar man.
What exactly is he up to these days, currently billing himself "Chivalrous gentleman...just add fine tequila" on social media?
Don't be a jabroni: Read on to smell what The Rock is cooking, totally exposed!
Darling Dwayne
Dwayne Johnson is an American-Canadian born all the way back in 1972. Unbelievably, he is almost 50 today!
While it may sound like he spent his childhood between those two countries, he actually bounced around between California and New Zealand. Ethnically, he probably felt like he didn't fit in any of these places, though.
Baby Dwayne was half Black and half Samoan, an unusual combination! Who were the interesting people who decided to become his parents, by the way?
Wrestling Royalty
Dwayne actually had wrestling in his blood from the very beginning. Dad Rocky Johnson was the Canadian in the mix, and he had been part of the first Black champion team in WWE history cheekily named "The Soul Patrol".
Mom was Samoan, and she brought her own wrestling cred to the family: Grandpa had married the first female professional wrestling promoter in the league, and she eventually ran Polynesian Pacific Pro Wrestling. Not a bad start, really!
But wait — this clan was also close to the Anoa'i wrestling family, and a few other big names people might recognize. Who else influenced this family business, early on?
Friends in Tall Places
Yes, the Anoaʻi family included Yokozuna, Rikishi, Roman Reigns, and The Usos in their famous lineage. Not a bad circle to be in, but Dwayne's family knew another famous contemporary: André the Giant!
Dwayne shared this 70's throwback with fans on Instagram recently, and explained a bit about their relationship: "Here’s the '8th Wonder of the World' André the Giant, using my 315lb grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia as a booster seat and making my granddad look like a little boy.
They were the best of friends, wrestled nightly, tough as hell and as you can see by their smiles and open energy - they lived like to the absolute fullest. My grandfather died when I boy so I never got to know him as a man.
Would’ve loved to have raised a tequila with these men. Would’ve also loved to have wrestled them too - those would’ve been fun ass kickin’s for me to take."
Very cool, for sure. As dad tried to live up to this special family name abroad, were things as easy as they had been on the island back in the day?
Movin' On Up
When Dwayne was 14, his family moved to Honolulu so Rocky Johnson could try out the local scene for the World Wrestling Federation. Despite success throughout North America as part of the black “Soul Patrol” team, this was a new financial territory.
Money was scarce, and mom's car was repossessed during this period: “We were living in an efficiency that cost $120 a week...We come home, and there’s a padlock on the door and an eviction notice. My mom starts bawling. She just started crying and breaking down. ‘Where are we going to live? What are we going to do?'”
Ultimately, Dwayne remembers the elder Rocky with tons of admiration. Times had been financially tough, but he shared an admiring Father's Day message on Instagram: "Happy Father’s Day to this hardly ever smiling OG bad ass.
Little boys by nature, look up to and idolize their old man. They want to be just like em, do whatever they do and are always looking for their approval. Funny thing is the day I stopped looking for that approval was the day I understood what it meant to be a man and more importantly, a father.
That shift lifted me to a new level of gratitude for the tough love he always gave. Years later as a man and father of three girls, I know that tough love, is a helluva lot better than no love at all. I’ll take it. It’s made me who I am today. Grateful to the original Rock."
Sounds like a powerful reflection on boyhood! But wait, what was going on that required so much 'tough love' from 'King Stache' in adolescence?
Gucci Gang
As it turns out, Dwayne Johnson got into a bit of trouble as a teen. With no money in his pocket and none gifted from mom or dad, it was time for some alternative strategies to get the goods.
“In Waikiki there’s a couple high-end blocks where there’s your Prada, Chanel, Gucci, Armani, jewellery stores, plenty of jewellery stores...There are a lot of tourists that come into Waikiki and there’s a lot of money. A lot of foreign money that comes in, and we were part of a theft ring that would target those groups.
We would target the money, we would target the high-end clothes and we would target the jewellery – turn around and sell it, best we could.”
Unsurprisingly, this after school mischief landed him in police custody over and over! As anyone can see now, he got over this teenage kleptomania. What exactly made him change his mind, though?
That Frame Though
It appears he found a new way to use his hands! According to Dwayne: “The only thing I could do was train and build my body. The successful men I knew were men who built their bodies.” And train he did, making it to 6’4 and 225 pounds by age 16. What a mass of muscle!
Still, he described himself as a guy with a "very bad mustache" and a chip on his shoulder during these years.
His family continued to move around, and this meant several high schools and several fresh starts. The Rock would finally find his niche at Freedom High in Bethlehem, PA on the football field with Coach Jody Cwik:
“He shook my hand. I’ll never forget that shake—he wouldn’t let it go—[and he] said, ‘I want you to do something for me…I want you to come out and play football for me.’ And I went out, and I played football for Jody Cwik. He was our head football coach, and he became a father figure to me and mentor.”
Coach Cwik was right on target, and soon Dwayne's grades and attitude improved. Colleges across the nation wanted to recruit him for the next level! Where did he end up following his goals?
Welcome to Miami
After his high school experience, Dwayne signed on for a football scholarship at the University of Miami. Under the direction of Coach Dennis Erickson, he was part of a team that won a national championship.
And while that may sound like an exciting time, the reality was that he started only once and appeared in 39 games with a record of 77 tackles for the season. It was all sinking in: He just wasn't good enough.
This was a competitive arena! Dwayne became depressed at the bottom end of the ranks: “I didn’t know what it was...I didn’t want to do a thing, I didn’t want to go anywhere. I was crying constantly. Eventually you reach a point where you are all cried out.”
Time went on, and graduation came. The future 'Rock' had earned a BA in General Studies with a focus on Criminology and Physiology.
He could see the NFL wasn't interested in him at all: “The dreams I had, they’re dashed...There is no more football. My relationship was crushed. That was my absolute worst time.” Would he get one more chance at this sport, though?
From Champ to Chump
Dwayne really didn't want to give up on his football dream. He had completely transformed his life and body to pursue this career, and he decided to accept an offer way up in Canada when the call arrived. Dwayne joined the Calgary Stampede in the CFL as a backup linebacker!
Shockingly, Dwayne was released from his deal after two months! He just wasn't cutting it in this sport, even in the Canadian league.
Now, he faced a decision as he found himself with $7 to his name in Miami. There was no question that he was not going to be a famous football legend, but he had built an amazing physique. Was there something else he could do with all that muscle?
Born This Way
Turning to his roots, he decided to try out the wrestling circuit with a 1996 WWF debut. In a tribute to his family, he used the name “Rocky Maivia.” Both his dad and grandpa had used the same one in the ring!
Oddly, he would be scheduled against the Brooklyn Brawler — the first opponent of his pops! Reflecting on this fateful match, Dwayne explained:
“For me, I wasn’t just having ‘a tryout match,' because I had never actually had a real match in my life...WWE thought that I already had multiple matches under my belt, but little did they know.
What they also didn’t know was that I was broke as hell and didn’t actually own wrestling gear — no boots, knee pads or most importantly...wrestling trunks. I went to Sports Authority and bought some bright ass white volleyball knee pads, called my Uncle and asked if he had any trunks I could use for my tryout.”
Sounds pretty low tech, back then. But it all started to pay off, as Dwayne earned the Intercontinental title on Monday Night Raw. The next question was, how could he capitalize on a growing number of viewers and really earn himself some fan loyalty?
What a Tease
At first, Dwayne took up a role as a member of a team: The “Nation of Domination” included wrestlers D’Lo Brown, Faarooq, and Kama, and he became “The Rock” alongside them. He began talking about himself in that signature third-person style. And the crowd really loved it!
For about a year, The Rock and his crazy eyebrow aggressively challenged all the big names in the league: Steve Austin, Mankind, and Triple H.
It became increasingly clear that Dwayne would work better as a solo act, and the The Rock was marked as an evening on his own. With increased coverage and a real base of fans following his feuds and fights, Dwayne went on to win the championship belt eight times!
At the top of his game now, he needed to plan for the future. No one can wrestle forever! What exciting opportunity would come calling next?
New Scene, Big Screen
Why, Hollywood came calling! Dwayne was pretty visible at this point, and that meant casting directors had noticed his flair for the dramatic. They smelled exactly what the Rock was cooking, and offered him a part in The Mummy Returns in 2001.
A critic observed: “Casting The Rock as an unintelligible half-naked warrior who later turns into a half-man, half-scorpion monster painted with some truly awful early 21st century CGI was pretty much the perfect way to introduce the man to the non-WWE watching universe.” A great debut, for sure!
Although it was his first role, producers and directors throughout Hollywood saw real potential. What would be next?
Superstar Status
The Rock cited a few men as acting inspirations: “When I was a kid, Harrison Ford at that time was my favorite actor...He was so cool! Tough. Flirted with the girls. I wanted to be that guy.
Well, I also wanted to be Elvis Presley at the time. And at the same time, I’m also thinking that I want to be Chuck Norris back then, too. So you take all those men, roll them up, and that was what was happening [in my head].”
Perhaps this mix of role models helped him land a few more tough-guy roles. But the reality was, Dwayne was a funny guy!
After the high adrenaline Fast and the Furious hits, he also played a gay character in comedy Be Cool and tried out a few family films, like Journey to the Center of the Earth 2 and The Tooth Fairy. By 2015, the numbers had added up into a new honor: Dwayne had become the top-grossing actor in Hollywood!
He reflected on Insta: “Only way to start this post is with 'Thank You'...'World’s #1 international box office star'. I was blessed with this title in 2013 and now again in 2015. $1.48 billion is a lot of revenue to generate in our business in only one year, but it’s also the important reminder that regardless of what we achieve in life, we always gotta keep striving for more, staying hungrier than the rest and being grateful around every corner.”
An unbelievable story of success from $7 in his pocket, anyone can see. But the real question is, who did Dwayne come home to every night for emotional support during his rise to the top?
Love Conquers All
Dwayne was actually married during a good chunk of his career. In 1997, he wed Dany García. They had one child, but the union resulted in a divorce. Unlike most couples, it was a friendly divorce! It's hard to hate the Rock, even for an ex.
Next, Dwayne began dating Lauren Hashian, the daughter of Boston musician Sib Hashian. The two made it official in Hawaii in 2019 after having two children! Now a rich man and a father of 3, what was Dwayne really interested in at this stage of life?
Daddy Dwayne
In 2006, he founded the Dwayne Johnson Rock Foundation, a charity for terminally ill and at-risk children. As a formerly at-risk youth himself, this made a lot of sense!
And in another logical move, Dwayne donated $1 million to the University of Miami for the renovation of football facilities. Now, his name is on the locker room. Yes, a permanent place in football history was on the wall in some sense.
But honestly, this was just the beginning. Dwayne really is a charitable guy, and he regularly looked for projects to benefit. He worked with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, an organization to help after floods in Hawaii, and even donated a gym to a military base in Oahu.
All the while, the cozy domestic life of The Rock was documented for fans on social media. A proud dad, all the time!
Back to Hollywood, though. What was he 'cooking' at this stage of high-dollar proven success in the industry?
A Man on A Mission
In 2013, The Rock moved on to modern reality TV. He hosted and produced the TNT competition show The Hero. The following year, he hosted another TNT reality show: Wake Up Call.
Dwayne went on to star in the HBO series Ballers in 2015. The muscled funny man brought the show to the network's most-watched comedy in 6 years! By this point, a firm he had founded with his ex in 2012 was regularly creating its own stuff, too: Seven Bucks Productions. But was this all? Not by a long shot!
Two wins on Time's 100 Most Influential People in the World list, a sold-out partnership with fitness company Under Armour, more hosting gigs, and even a few YouTube channels were just a few side projects for Dwayne now.
But it was time for an unexpected passion project to mix things up a bit. What kind of business was he really interested in starting, all on his own?
Booze Boss
Yes, it was time to have a drink. Justin Timberlake and George Clooney have famously launched their own alcohol products in recent years, and The Rock knew exactly what niche he wanted to fill in this industry.
As someone who actually liked to put tequila in his oatmeal with brown sugar, this liquor was definitely his specialty!
In the age of personalized marketing, The Rock shared his brand journey with fans on Instagram:
“Spent all weekend taste-testing every batch of my new tequila fresh out of our barrels from Mexico. I’m very passionate about my new tequila we’re developing. It’s been years in the making, and every road has led here—lots of growing excitement.
Mana, passion, positivity, hard work and fun. This one’s for you, world. Let’s have a drink."
The name of the line was Teremana Tequila, and he explained how personal that choice was: "TERA means of the earth and MANA is our powerful Polynesian spirit that guides us. Spirit of the earth." With a 2020 release, a silver, an añejo, and a reposado made the initial ad. Very exciting, Dwayne!
But wait — what about his first love?
Muscle Madness
As a teen that pulled himself out of crime and mischief by bodybuilding, Dwayne will probably always have a special place in his heart for the art. And these days, it's easier than ever to share health and fitness with millions online.
Many say that he has the best Instagram on gym tips and lean meal ideas out of anyone in Hollywood! He's really built up his account into something special, With a whopping 152 million followers and an estimated $882,000 per sponsored post. At 47, the world can clearly see he looks damn good, too!
Is The Rock done dominating industries, opponents, and the big screen? Probably not, but he has an estimated net worth around $320 million if he does suddenly decide to retire. That's not a typo, people: He's earned all those zeroes with literal sweat and tears!
From no one to number one, Dwayne Johnson is nothing but inspiring. Jabronis vanquished, smackdown, complete!