An image of Hulk Hogan ripping off his shirt as he says: “And I said: Let Trumpmania run wild brother.” bottom left: News12 Blaise Gomez reported that a little girl was one of many disappointed children after Hulk Hogan abandoned his fans of children while on his beer tour at ShopRite in Montgomery, NY.
Top Left: Sue Serino gushing over Hulk Hogan’s “24” Pythons,” as Dutchess County labeled them in their statement about the event while other constitutions protested outside the Social Security Office in Poughkeepsie.

By Ryan Manzi
Ryan Manzi is known in Beacon for his chalk art, line art, painting, walking, laughing, working, revealing, pressuring and resisting. He is the chalk artist of the Free Palestine, which Sun River Health later pressed charges on him for to lengthen his prison stay for a different charge.
@amanzworld

After writing about Dutchess County Executive Sue Serino’s decision to elevate Hulk Hogan instead of attend a protest demanding the Social Security Office in Poughkeepsie be re-opened, ALBB heard from Ryan, who vocalized his not-surprised disappointment for her decision. ALBB asked Ryan for his commentary on Hulk Hogan’s racist history.

Meanwhile, Trumpmania Magas don’t seem to mind DOGE’s plan to strangle social security. A leaked memo was revealed yesterday as reported by several media outlets including Newsweek, and this video explains it.

By Ryan Manzi

Whatcha gonna do brother when Hulkamania runs wild at your local neighborhood ShopRite?! For us in the Hudson Valley, with a spotlight on the Poughkeepsie location, that brought along a lot more questions than answers.

Wrestling legend Hulk Hogan, on a promotional tour for his new Real American Beer, made a stop at the local ShopRite at 10 Winslow Gate Road in Poughkeepsie. Normally, I’d see this and not much bat an eyelash at the idea. However, given the current political, economic and social climates of our country, it was actually rather troubling.

“Hogan then implies he himself is “a racist to a point, ya know, f****** n******”, and that if his daughter were to date a black man, it should be an 8 foot tall basketball player. “If we’re gonna f*** with n******, let’s get a rich one.” Simply put, Hogan has nothing against *wealthy* black people.”

As an avid wrestling fan my entire life, Hulk Hogan was the epitome of a superhero. He was larger than life. He captivated you with every one of his promos. He was a catalyst to the Monday Night Wars, arguably the greatest era of professional wrestling. Those action-packed years of excitement and fandom in the 90’s made you fall in love with the product, the characters and their antics. Being a kid in the 90’s, every Monday night was made for anticipating the newest editions of WWF’s (Now WWE) Monday Night Raw and WCW’s Monday Nitro. And for years, Hulk Hogan was front and center, at times both adored and despised. Unfortunately, that same admiration doesn’t exist for the Hulkster in 2025.

Hogan had a huge scandal back in 2015, which imploded the “Real American Hero” we had all known and loved. Hogan had a leaked sex tape scandal involving Heather Clem, the wife of radio DJ Bubba the Love Sponge, which started drawn out legal battles for all involved. However, it was what came after that set it off.

In a leaked audio, Hogan was heard discussing his daughter Brooke’s music career and love life, where he references “the son, he’s this black billionaire guy, Cecile”, referring to music executive Cecile Barker. Hogan then implies he himself is “a racist to a point, ya know, f****** n******”, and that if his daughter were to date a black man, it should be an 8 foot tall basketball player. “If we’re gonna f*** with n******, let’s get a rich one.” Simply put, Hogan has nothing against *wealthy* black people.

“The Immortal One” as we knew it became a casualty of the internet and all it took was a leaked audio. Hogan lost numerous sponsorships, he lost his WWE Legends contract, and would be blackballed entirely from the WWE for several years. Eventually, he would make his rounds, giving apologies and doing what he could to repair his image and career. He was welcomed back to WWE in 2018, reinstated in their hall of fame, as well as inducted again into the hall as a member of the nWo (New World Order). Since then, Hogan has been business as usual, appearances here, signings there, promos all over!

“It’s 2025, the world has no room, rhyme or reason to tolerate racism. And while we can forgive, we certainly won’t forget.”

— Ryan Manzi

However, as a lifelong wrestling fan, business isn’t the same for us watching the product. The Hogan led the nWo during those revered Monday Night Wars of my childhood now leaves a bad taste in my mouth even saying his name. Back on January 6 Monday Night Raw debuted on Netflix. Hulk Hogan came out to his classic theme song with “The Mouth of the South” Jimmy Hart in tow (Hart was also at the ShopRite appearance, and practically got booed out of the arena. Just like his theme song starts off, “When it comes crashing down and it hurts inside,” Hogan got a reality check live on Netflix. It’s 2025, the world has no room, rhyme or reason to tolerate racism. And while we can forgive, we certainly won’t forget.

“The reality is, we not only embraced a racist in troubling times, we dedicated an entire day to him. Dutchess County Executive Sue Serino was all too pleased to make the announcement of “Hulk Hogan Day”. ”

— Ryan Manzi

So while it’s great to remember all he contributed to the business, especially when territory wrestling was huge, and he made appearances at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center (now MJN Center or Majed J. Nesheiwat Convention Center). He loved the business. The business loved him. Unfortunately, I now separate what was and what is. Hulk Hogan was a hero and a staple of my childhood. Terry Bollea is a bigoted racist. Hulk Hogan body slammed Andre the Giant at WrestleMania III. Terry Bollea body slammed what wrestling calls “kayfabe” (a term used in professional wrestling to describe the act of portraying staged events as real).

The reality is, we not only embraced a racist in troubling times, we dedicated an entire day to him. Dutchess County Executive Sue Serino was all too pleased to make the announcement of “Hulk Hogan Day”. Coincidentally, there was a rally outside of the Social Security office in Poughkeepsie hours before Hogan’s scheduled ShopRite appearance. That office is in the midst of a “renovation”, however it now appears on the DOGE list, and there are plenty of questions arising with very few answers becoming. It was stated that Serino was nowhere to be seen or heard during this rally, but hours later, she was elated to make one of her now ritualistic photo opportunities next to Terry Bollea, the racist behind the character of Hulk Hogan.

“This is Sue Serino’s county. These are Sue Serino’s constituents. These are Sue Serino’s problems. And it should be a no-brainer to prioritize the needs of her people instead of playing up to the exposed racist that was once my hero, Hulk Hogan”

— Ryan Manzi

That same venue Hogan made appearances at some 40 years ago is merely 2 blocks down the street from the Social Security building, yet it’s obvious where the county stands in terms of priority. Serino’s office released a statement she would continue “advocating” for the SSA office building, conveniently after I and several others made statements on social media of her appearance at ShopRite, and seeming silence regarding the office building.

We have real world issues going on in our own streets. The homelessness and housing crisis continues to be an issue. The drug epidemic continues to be an issue. One woman said she had her Social Security benefits cut, despite being disabled, and would have to wait weeks to have a scheduled appointment. This is Sue Serino’s county. These are Sue Serino’s constituents. These are Sue Serino’s problems. And it should be a no-brainer to prioritize the needs of her people instead of playing up to the exposed racist that was once my hero, Hulk Hogan.

And if this is any indication of where our community is headed, we all better eat our vitamins and say our prayers!