Jon Solo Sebastian 07/25/2025:

I’m often hesitant to write about and talk about certain things due to the reactions and negative output some people in the world have when it comes to things or people they dislike. There was a time in my life where these things didn’t matter to me. I was never full on “punk rock,” like, the mentality, but I never hid who I was or what I loved. I’m slowly getting back to that as a man in his 40’s. That said, I would never say or do anything that would hurt or harm anyone; I just mean that I am not afraid of talking about who or what I love just because it will forever be found on the internet, or because someone might tell me I suck for liking or loving someone or something.

Today is a day that I feel the need to speak to the passing of my childhood hero—Hulk Hogan. Yesterday, July 24^th, I woke up (I work third shift) in the afternoon to texts from friends and family members, and notifications about the passing of Terry Bollea; known to the world as Hulk Hogan. I was shocked. The day after another legend, Ozzy Osbourne sadly passed away, we lose the man that made Wrestling Entertainment what it is today. I will probably share my thoughts and feelings on the passing of Ozzy in the near future, but for now, all I can say is he was a big reason I got into that genre of music… probably THE reason, and I have so many fond memories that are linked to his songs whether it was his solo act or Black Sabbath. We also tragically lost Malcolm-Jamal Warner this week. Growing up watching him on the Cosby Show, and then later on in life seeing him in Sons of Anarchy, along with a really good show with Luke Perry called Jeremiah, is just sad to see him go at such a young age; and to go the way he did is just awful.

So, yeah, this week has been a rough one for my childhood, but I just wanted to take a moment to talk about Hulk Hogan today. One of my first memories in my life was watching Hulk Hogan with my dad. I can still picture it in my head. It was 1984. I was six years old, or turning six soon. Our house had brown shag-like carpeting, lol, and we had one of those televisions in the huge wood box thing. My dad and I were lying on the floor, and I was witnessing what I thought at the time was a real life superhero defeating the Iron Sheik for the world heavyweight championship. It was magical. I was watching my childhood hero with my real-life hero, my dad. From that point on, I was a Hulk Hogan fan. As a grown adult, when I would hear about Hulk Hogan making an appearance on Monday Night Raw or at Wrestlemania, I made sure I tuned in. His theme song… I get goosebumps every time I hear it. Every time he came out and walked down the aisle, I got excited and felt like six year old me, again.

I understand there is a whole negative side of the man, but the guy on the TV screen was larger than life. He was a superhero. He inspired hundreds of professional wrestlers, and inspired millions of children and adults, like me, to do good in the world. What I’ll say about what I know about the other side of him is that no one is perfect. No one is without flaws. When you’re famous, everything you do and say is under the microscope—more so now with social media. I would be willing to bet there isn’t one person on this planet that hasn’t done something bad in life. We live, we learn, and we try to do better. I know I’m far from perfect, and I am flawed. I do not judge others. I will always do my best to be a good person, and I will always find the good in every bad situation. I feel like I learned that from the character known as Hulk Hogan.

For forty plus years this man preached training, prayers, vitamins, and to do at least one good deed each day, and I have followed those words for almost as many of those years—and I will continue to do that until my last breath.

I understand he is a touchy subject, but I hope after reading this, you will at least see the positive effects this man has had on people, and how looking at the good side of Hulk Hogan, we can all take something good away from his time on this planet.