A 2-mile portion of Clearwater Trail will be renamed the Hulk Hogan Trail.
Hulk Hogan will be posthumously honored with a state day of remembrance and with a section of the Clearwater Trail being named after him, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced.
“I don’t think any star shined brighter than Terry Bollea, or Hulk Hogan,” DeSantis said at a press conference[1] at Hogan’s Hangout[2], the Hogan family-owned beach bar.
The larger than life wrestling icon from Clearwater died at age 71[3] in July.
A 2-mile portion of Clearwater Trail between Oak Avenue and Coronado Drive will be renamed the Hulk Hogan Trail. Fittingly, exercise stations in Hogan’s red and yellow colors will be added on the waterfront stretch.
“Why not have a pull-up bar there or something?” DeSantis said.
Going forward, the state will also recognize Aug. 1 as the official Hulk Hogan Day after previously lowering the flags[4] at half-staff after the wrestler’s death.
“He loved this state. He loved this community,” DeSantis said. The Governor remembered growing up in the 1980s in awe of Hogan, then taking his kids to meet the wrestler in May before his death.
“I don’t think you’re going to ever find somebody that’s going to be able to eclipse him in terms of the star power that he brought to professional wrestling.”
Nick Hogan, the wrestler’s son who appeared alongside him on reality shows over the years, said his dad was a big fan of DeSantis and thanked him for the tribute.
“To know that a piece of the Clearwater Trail has been dedicated in his honor is something that he would be so, so, so proud of and so happy about,” Nick Hogan said at the press conference[5]. “This trail isn’t just a dedication. This is a living legacy on behalf of my father that can carry that spirit forward for everybody that’s outdoors, exercising, trying to become the best version of themselves in his name.”
Hogan had been an outspoken conservative and supporter of President Donald Trump. His death prompted an outpouring[6] from several Floridian lawmakers and officials.
References
- ^ at a press conference (x.com)
- ^ Hogan’s Hangout (hoganshangout.com)
- ^ died at age 71 (floridapolitics.com)
- ^ previously lowering the flags (floridapolitics.com)
- ^ at the press conference (x.com)
- ^ prompted an outpouring (floridapolitics.com)