Dwayne Johnson is the ultimate tough guy with a teddy bear heart! This was him singing the
popular song from Moana to his youngest baby girl, who doesn’t seem to believe that daddy IS Maui.
By the sound of his nickname “THE ROCK” you would think he is no friend to feelings and emotion,
but the retired wrestler put a lid on that stereotype when he publicly shared
his struggles with depression. What could ever cause this fun-loving star to hit rock bottom?
You’ll have to keep watching to find out. Because under all that hard exterior is a soft heart
that wishes it could have just been told: “you’re not alone”.
“Depression never discriminates.” the actor shared in a tweet
“Took me a long time to realize it, but the key is to not be afraid to open up.
Especially us dudes who have a tendency to keep it in. You’re not alone”
We can’t promise that there won’t be tears in today’s video, both good and bad. But
we’ll be right here with you along for the ride. So take a second to grab a kleenex,
subscribe to the channel and hit the notification button to stay updated on celebrity news.
If there is one person who is full of life and all things adorable, it’s this girl-father of three.
And if hearing us say it isn’t enough, take a look at the actor’s Instagram profile. From cute posts
with the ladies in his life, motivating health and fitness content, to inspirational messages,
Johnson seems like someone who has it all together. But sadly, life wasn’t always like this.
When Dwayne was younger, his family struggled to keep their apartment. After receiving an
eviction notice one sad afternoon, young Dwayne remembers watching his mother cry, not knowing
what they would do next. When 14-year-old Dwayne was looking at his mom being so devastated,
he felt completely helpless. As if things couldn’t get worse, another year of tragedy followed.
When young Dwayne was just fifteen years old, his mom attempted to take her own life
by walking into traffic. And no, Johnson did not mistake a premature effort to cross the
road with the attempt to end her own life. Her intentions were clear. While driving on the road,
she stopped the car, got out of it, and walked into traffic.
The terrified boy had to rush out of the car and pull her over onto the sidewalk.
Although his mother struggles to recall the event, it was traumatizing for her son,
who fell into depression after that, at just FIFTEEN YEARS OLD.
Not only did he almost lose his mother, but he was there to watch the entire thing unfold.
“I didn’t want to do anything or go anywhere” Johnson shared “I used to cry constantly”.
And before he knew it, a series of unfortunate events began to pile up on top of one another,
which only added to the young man’s misery.
Prior to being a successful actor, Johnson was a world-celebrated Wrestler trained by
the wrestling legend himself, his father. The star recalls his relationship with his
dad having a foundation of “tough love”. From getting beaten at a very young age
to getting the cold shoulder when he was at his lowest point and looking for a father.
“He wanted sympathy” his dad once said “And I told him,
‘if you want sympathy go home to your mother’ and that’s exactly what he did”.
But through the years of tough love and the lack of “I love you’s", something was missing
in their relationship. Something Dwayne would hold on to long enough to painfully regret it.
While at the top of it all, the star had no idea his entire world would come crashing down.
He had continued his family’s wrestling legacy and finally built a name for himself in film.
He had garnered success that could make any parent proud.
And at the height of it all, he lost his father.
Still to this day, the actor regrets not having told his dad everything he wanted to say to him.
Thoughts of how their relationship could have changed for the better had he just
shared what was on his chest, continue to haunt him. But because the late wrestling
legend did not believe in soft feelings and emotions, it caused the actor to bottle it all
up. But we hope that he is beginning to find closure of the painfully unspoken feelings.
In a recent interview, the actor also recalled his feelings regarding the trauma of his mother’s
attempt to take her own life. He shared that they have both healed and now make it a point to look
out for those around them who are in pain. Because they both know what it feels like to be alone.
Back when they got evicted from their apartment and began moving around just trying to survive,
14-year-old Dwayne felt crippled and powerless. He knew that he never wanted to feel this way again.
With no one to help them, he looked up to his heroes for inspiration. Powerful idols like
Mohammed Ali, his father and other professional wrestlers were all the men who built their bodies
and relied on their physical strength. Little Dwayne saw this as an answer to his troubles.
He trained hard to strengthen his bones and muscles.
He already had a large build as a child, which won him a place in football.
At a young age, the actor played for the best college football team, The Hurricanes,
but his dreams were more significant. The young sportsman had his eye set on playing for the NFL.
Joining the league was his ultimate goal. But reality kicked in when his dream seemed
unattainable when the recruitment season came, and the player was not picked for
the NFL. It was a heartbreaking moment in young Dwayne’s life when he had to watch
the rest of his friends get what he had been training and working towards for a long time.
Fortunately enough, a Canadian football team picked him up,
and for a short time, he could take his mind off the defeat he was feeling from being rejected.
But then his entire world was turned upside down when the young football player was unexpectedly
cut from the team because he was not good enough. He was sent home packing, feeling nothing but MORE
rejection. Having lost his dream aspiration, the young footballer fell into depression.
While his peers were buying their parents’ houses, Dwayne felt like more of a disappointment having
moved back into his parents’ tiny apartment. This was a similar reflection to his childhood
struggles, that moment when they were evicted and lost everything. “Broke, depressed and
lost” - Johnson felt like he was back at square one. And with the same epiphany he had then,
the down and out football player, once again, turned to his body and strength for upliftment.
After feeling rejected and hitting rock bottom,
Johnson made a heavy decision to retire from football and set his eyes on a new path,
wrestling. Although he was following both his father and grandfather’s footsteps,
who were WWE legends from the hall of fame, Johnson’s dad did not initially support his son’s
decision to join the wrestling industry. He only reconsidered after Johnson asked him to train him.
It came as no surprise to him when his dad did not cut him any slack while training the
young aspiring wrestler to go on to be one of the best in his time, which he arguably was.
His wrestling success became a way to break him into another industry,
acting, playing roles like the military soldier, G.I Joe, the security service
agent from The Fast And The Furious franchise, and Hercules, the absolute god of strength.
But as big and strong as his roles were, his heart was bigger, softer and full of love to give.
As the years passed, that fourteen-year-old boy who saw his mother cry over being evicted could
finally change that moment around. After years of struggling and not giving up, Johnson could buy
his parents a brand new home. After their divorce, he felt that this wasn’t enough and went on to buy
them both separate new houses. Just look at this emotional reaction from his mother after her own
Santa, or as fans began calling him, “Dwanta” Claus surprised her with the gift of a new home.
Johnson’s big heart moved fans to show their love and support
for his good deeds on the post, with one follower commenting:
“You’re an awesome son for doing that. Your parents must be incredibly proud of you anyway,
but they should also be proud of themselves for bringing up such an amazing man.”
This moment meant a lot for Johnson, who got to make his mother happy because back
when she was in a dark place, Dwayne could not do anything to protect her.
He finally got the chance to show her his appreciation for all her sacrifices.
Clearly, a mother’s love had a lasting impression on her son. It’s safe to say “giving back” is not
the only thing he learnt from her. Perhaps their connection and his protection over her may have
also groomed his reputation for treating women well. That, and the fact that he has
a family of just ladies, and he cannot help but share his joy with the rest of the world.
Another thing the “Boss Level” actor can’t help but express is motivational quotes
and inspirational content. Both his Youtube and other social media such as Instagram and Twitter
are filled with life inspiring words. The actor has been through many trials and tribulations
and finds it important to share his experiences to inspire someone else out there.
“And I wish I had someone at that time who could just pull me aside and say, ‘Hey,
it’s gonna be OK. It’ll be OK.’ So, I wish I knew that.”
And although the actor never had that someone, Johnson became that person for himself and
through this video, we hope he was able to be that person for anyone else out there who feels alone.
May this inspire you, too, to never give up through any hard times. To always pick
yourself up and dust yourself off and keep persevering. Because, like The Rock says,
“Have faith that on the other side of your pain is something good.”