Dwayne Johnson follows the celebrity drinking trend by distilling and publicizing his own tequila. Deirdre Bolton from FOX Business with more.
Before Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson became the highest-paid actor in the world, he earned $ 40 a fight at state fairs and street fairs.
“At that time, I was 24 or 25, unfortunately I had $ 7 in my pocket many moons before the life I have now. I used to work with 300-pound men. To be honest, in terms of wealth or financial management, at that time I just didn’t want to be broke, and that was my only thing, ”Johnson told FOX Business in an interview with Zoom.
“I always look back at that time at the beginning of my career with great affection, when I was not making any money. How do I pay the bills? It was not easy. I spent a lot of time at the Waffle House. That’s where I ate two or three times a day. I really look back to that time with great reverence, because it helped to shape this dollar-based ideology, ”says Johnson.
Johnson led Forbes’ list of highest-paid actors for the second consecutive year in 2020, winning $ 87.5 million, including $ 23.5 million just for his role in the upcoming Netflix comedy thriller “Red Notice” alongside Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot.
Outside the big screen, Johnson runs the productions for Seven Bucks, named after the $ 7 he once had in his name in the 1990s. Under Seven Bucks, Johnson produced films such as “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” Sony and Disney’s “Jungle Cruise”.
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson reflects on his early days and how they shaped his current success. (Jesse Grant / Getty Images for Disney)
And he captured a number of business opportunities, including a successful Project Rock clothing line with Under Armor, as well as his tequila brand Teremana and a new energy drink called ZOA, which will be distributed in partnership with Molson Coors in March.
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Johnson says taking big risks in business has given him the opportunity to build his brand in an authentic way, which has helped catapult his career to the big screen and ultimately build up a lot of fans for his product launches. In the late 1990s, when WWE capitalized on the stories of “good guys vs. bad guys”, Johnson changed from “good guy” to villain – a risk he says ended up being vital to his career.
“When I was a nice guy in the world of professional wrestling, I was a newbie. It wasn’t going my way. I wasn’t connecting, and in that pro-wrestling world, you have to connect with the audience. I took the risk by becoming a bad guy … and it’s a damned risk to take when you think about this world and this consumer base, made up mostly of young children … What’s interesting about this risk is if it doesn’t work, if you don’t work like a good guy and don’t work like a bad guy, well, then you just don’t work and go look for another job.
“So the risk was great at the time, but it allowed me to be authentic and be myself in that world,” recalls Johnson.
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Johnson eventually became the face of WWE, which became a launch pad for its Hollywood success.
“Now, the risk was this: if you didn’t do it in Hollywood – and the chances were that I wouldn’t have a career that would span, say, more than three to five years – then I would have to go back [to wrestling]. It ended up working, but in the first five or six years it was difficult. and I was worried because I wasn’t sure how it was going to end for me. I had conquered everything I could in the world of wrestling, I was very grateful and I still am today. I also wanted to try an elegant transition, and these are two very noisy worlds, the world of wrestling and the world of Hollywood. I am happy to say that many, many moons later, I can say that it was worth it. “
Johnson’s journey to stardom will be featured on NBC’s “Young Rock”, an autobiographical sitcom launched on February 16. He told fans in a recent Instagram post that the program will highlight “some life lessons I learned along the way”.
One of those lessons, says Johnson, is the rush to work hard and be nice to people (he is considered the coolest guy in Hollywood). Good vibes and positive energy are also the ethos behind his latest Zoa brand launch, which he co-founded with business partners Dany Garcia, strength coach Dave Rienzi and John Shulman, the founder of the private equity firm Juggernaut Capital Partners.
“I believe strongly in being kind. I strongly believe in being positive and cool, I think this is important anyway. There’s a phrase I always love to share, I heard it when I was 15 and I never forgot: ‘It’s good to be important, but it’s more important to be nice.’ “
Johnson demonstrated this in a grand way to his fans who are going through difficult times during the pandemic and to old friends. He bought a car for an old friend who took him in after he and his mother were evicted in Hawaii and moved to Nashville when he was 15.
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“I always say that the hungry human being can sometimes be unstoppable. Once that human being starts to earn a little money – don’t be surprised if that hungry human being becomes even more hungry and protective about the wealth he builds and the movements he makes, “says Johnson.