In the world of wrestling, it’s safe to say that no one has become as popular as Hulk Hogan over the years. Born Terry Gene Bollea on August 11, 1953, he is the youngest son of a construction foreman and a dance constructor. Bollea got his start in wrestling back in 1979. And according to Biography, it was World Wrestling Federation (WWF) owner Vince McMahon Sr. who discovered Hulk Hogan.

Over the years, Bollea rose to become a true sensation in WWF. Indeed, Hulk Hogan was hit on and off the ring. To many, he was more than just a wrestler. In fact, some would even say that he is a celebrity.

Now, do you consider yourself to be a true Hulk Hogan fan? Do you think you know everything about him? Well, check out these 19 things no one knows about Hulk Hogan and let’s see how you stack up:

When He Started Training, His Leg Was Broken Intentionally

As you could imagine, Hulk Hogan has always been very dedicated to his craft, even the very beginning. In fact, he was so dedicated that he didn’t seem to mind when his leg was broken intentionally during training.

According to Complex, Hulk Hogan once trained with the legend, Hiro Matsuda. During his first day, they worked on “exercising him until he was going faint” then proceeded to break his leg. Hulk Hogan returned months later.

His Ring Name Wasn’t Originally Hulk Hogan

We all might know him as Hulk Hogan now. But there was a time when he went by a different stage name. According to a report from CBS DC, he used to go by several other stage names.

These included Sterling Gordon, Terry Boulder, and Super Destroyer. Moreover, when he came out as Super Destroyer, Bollea would come out with a mask on.

He Only Got His Famous Nickname After Appearing On A Talk Show

As you may know, the idea to call him Hulk came after Bollea appeared on a local talk show with Lou Ferrigno. Back then, Ferrigno was portraying the role of the Incredible Hulk. During the appearance, the host noticed that Bollea was bigger than Ferrigno. And somehow, this is how he earned the Hulk part of his stage name.

Meanwhile, McMahon reportedly wanted him to adopt an Irish persona. And so, he became Hulk Hogan.

His Famous Name Caused A Lot Of Issues With Marvel

Even during his early days, Hulk Hogan certainly had quite a following. However, that doesn’t mean that Marvel Comics was impressed by the wrestler’s use of their trademark name. Things between the two parties even got more intense since Hulk Hogan originally debuted as “The Incredible Hulk Hogan,” according to Comic Book Resources.

In the end, McMahon Sr. struck a deal with Marvel for 25 years. Later on, in 2005, Hulk Hogan purchased his rights to the name from Marvel, according to the Bleacher Report.

He Has Been Active With The Make-A-Wish Foundation

Over the years, Hulk Hogan has shown that he truly is a softie on the inside. In fact, he has been quite involved in helping make other people’s wishes come true through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

According to a report from Factinate, the wrestling superstar has already granted over 200 wishes for children so far.

He Was Once A Professional Musician

What you may not realize is that Hulk Hogan is not just a wrestling superstar. In fact, he was once a member of a band called Ruckus.

Of the gig, he once told Vice, “Oh god, well, that was my last band. I had been on the road for 10 years and I was a studio musician in Atlanta, a century artist. I started out playing guitar in junior high school because I wasn’t a big sports guy. I was into music and had long hair.”

He Once Tried To Audition For Metallica

During an interview on KERRANG!, Hulk Hogan explained, “When I heard they were looking for a bass player, I got my tapes together from the old band, got a couple of tapes together that Simon Cowell produced with me — Green Jelly, and I did an old Gary Glitter song, ‘Leader Of The Gang’, with Simon, back in the day, before he got his break with all the wrestling music and became a huge monster. But I got all that stuff together to send it to Metallica and never heard a word. So they never responded to me.”

He Nearly Played With One Direction

During his interview with Vice, Hulk Hogan explained, “NBC wants me to interview them, and I said, “Fine,” but then all of sudden their management called me and said, “Would you bring them onstage?” I said, “Sure.” Then they said, “Would you play a song with them?” and I said, “Here’s the deal, I’ll interview them. If you want me to bring them onstage, I will, and if there’s a song that has a standard chord progression (because I don’t know any of their music) that I could hear really quick, it’d be fun.”

He Used To Work As A Bank Teller

Believe it or not, there was a time in his life when Hulk Hogan held down a normal job. According to a report from Complex, the wrestling superstar once worked as a bank teller.

However, it didn’t last long at all. In fact, Hulk Hogan only ended up having the job for two days.

He Was Once Considered For A Role In “Batman And Robin”

At one point, the wrestling superstar was rumored to be considered for a role in the movie. According to a report from Complex, film director Joel Schumacher once considered Hulk Hogan to play the role of Mr. Freeze for the “Batman and Robin” movie.

Apparently, the wrestling superstar was the third choice, after Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone.

He Could Have Been A Baseball Player

Aside from pursuing a music career, a banking job, and a possible movie role, Hulk Hogan was also once considered to become a baseball player. After all, the wrestling superstar once said that he played baseball throughout high school.

According to a report from Complex, he was once scouted by the New York Yankees and Cincinnati Reds as a pitcher.

When He’s Flying, He Only Wears Red Underwear

As you might expect, superstars and athletes tend to be superstitious about certain things. For Hulk Hogan, it seems he’s got a superstition that comes to effect whenever he’s flying.

According to Complex, the wrestling sensation chooses to only wear red underwear every time he has to get on a plane.

He Became In Involved In A Lawsuit Against A Comedian After Appearing On His Talk Show

At one point in his career, Hulk Hogan made a guest appearance on the talk show “Hot Properties” to promote the upcoming WrestleMania event. While onstage, Hulk Hogan demonstrated in his moves and apparently rendered comedian Richard Belzer unconscious.

This resulted in a $5 million-dollar lawsuit which was eventually settled out of court.

He Was Once Arrested In New Jersey

Aside from being involved in expensive lawsuits, Hulk Hogan also once ended up getting arrested in New Jersey when he found to be possessing a firearm.

According to a report from The Los Angeles Times, the wrestler ended up entering a pretrial intervention program. Hulk Hogan served six months’ probation and his felony charge was dropped.

He Was Incredibly Devastated Over “Mean” Gene Okerlund’s Death

Upon finding out about Okerlund’s death, Hulk Hogan told People, “It felt like my Adam’s apple went backward or something, I couldn’t catch my breath. I guess my wife thought I was having a heart attack. It hit me so hard cause I just talked to him a couple weeks before about getting together the weekend when I came back from New Years.”

Over The Years, He Has Lost About Three Inches Of Height

Generally, choosing wrestling as a profession can be quite punishing on the body. In fact, over the years, wrestling has resulted in Hulk Hogan having to undergo several surgeries.

These include procedures in the hip, knee and on his back. In the end, the surgeries also reportedly caused Hulk Hogan to lose about three inches in height.

He Is The Only Wrestler To Ever Be Featured On The Cover Of Sports Illustrated

Over the years, only one wrestling superstar has ever been featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. And that is none other than Hulk Hogan. The issue came out way back in April 29, 1985.

Back then, Hulk Hogan was wearing a band on his head that read, “Hulkster.” Back then, Sports Illustrated has referred to him as “Pro Wrestling’s Top Banana.”

His Daughter Tried To Follow In His Footsteps But Did Not Quite Succeed

In some ways, Brooke Hogan is a daddy’s girl. And so, at some point, Brooke even decided to follow in her dad’s footsteps and take up wrestling. However, things did not go so well for her in the industry.

When she joined TNA, Brooke was seen more as a personality than a serious wrestler.

He Found Out About His Divorce During An Interview

Back in 2007, Hulk Hogan’s wife, Linda, decided she was going to divorce the famous wrestler.

However, Hulk Hogan only found out about it during an interview. When asked for a comment by a St. Petersburg Times reporter, the wrestler remarked, “I’m kind of shocked. You caught me off-guard. My wife has been in California for about three weeks. … Holy smokes. Wow, you just knocked the bottom out of me. … I just pulled over to the side of the road for five minutes to find out what was going on here.”