hollywoodland
Dwayne Johnson: A Teenage Jewel Thief, a Heel Turn Betrayal, and Raising the People’s Eyebrow
Listen for free:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeart | Audacy | Pandora | Amazon Music
In this episode
Long before he raised the People’s Eyebrow, dropped the People’s Elbow, and laid the smackdown on the candyass world of Hollywood, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson ran a jewelry theft ring in Waikiki. He and his peers worked the posh shopping district, snatching and grabbing whatever they could get their hands on and then pawning their haul for cold, hard cash. As a result, he was arrested nearly ten times before he turned 17 years old. But perhaps the only thing more insane than that story is the story of how Dwayne Johnson transcended a life of petty street crime to become one of the biggest cultural icons of the 21st century.
Sources
The Rock Says… by the Rock with Joe Layden
Dwayne Johnson Lets Down His Guard (Vanity Fair)
Dwayne Johnson Explains How He Turned 7 Bucks Into ZOA+ (Muscle & Fitness)
The Rock Explains Why He Left the WWE (Muscle & Fitness)
A Look Back at WWE's Infamous Curtain Call: The MSG Incident (Bleacher Report)
Where Kayfabe (Allegedly) Died: The WWE Curtain Call At MSG, Explained (The Sportster)
Credits
Hosted by Jake Brennan.
Written by Bob Proehl.
Copy edited by James Sullivan.
Scored and mixed by Matt Tahaney.
Additional music and score elements by Ryan Spraker.
*illustrations by Avi Spivak @avispivak