Big Swole's childhood was not the prototypical one.
Growing up in Clearwater, Florida, Swole would regularly see famous wrestlers from Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage and interacting with people in the wrestling business or related to those people was a fairly common occurrence. One such interaction that stood out to Swole was Linda Hogan, Hulk's ex-wife. During an appearance on the AEW Unrestricted podcast, Swole said Linda actually told her to stay away from wrestling and getting romantically involved with wrestlers.
"When I say I had the best childhood in Clearwater, it's like its own little world. Everybody's like, 'I can't wait to leave home.' When it was time for me to leave home, I was like, 'I want to go back.' Clearwater is just paradise. Everyone who's in wrestling lived there. Everyone in the block knew Hulk as Terry. Imagine being six or seven years old and seeing Randy Savage. I did a kickflip in front of him and he thought it was the most amazing thing ever. [I also] saw Luna Vachon at a WalMart. It was great, going to the beach, having parties. [Linda] said, 'Never marry a wrestler and never get in the business.' Well, I didn't listen on both accounts at all," Swole said. "My mom said, 'You know Linda's mad at you right?'
Obviously, Swole completely ignored Linda's advice as she is not only a wrestler signed to AEW but also married to current WWE star Cedric Alexander. Ironically, AEW President Tony Khan banned both Hulk and Linda Hogan from attending AEW events.
You can check out the full podcast at this link. If you use any of the quotes above, please credit Fightful for the transcription and give an H/T to the AEW Unrestricted podcast.
