First it was Malcolm-Jamal Warner, former 'Cosby Show' star, then Ozzy Osbourne... now news that Hulkamania passed away at his home in Florida at age 71, according to TMZ reports. They say it comes in threes.

Just a few months back, our friends at Dana Distributors reached out with a very different type of event-- how would we like to be a part of Hulk Hogan's beer tour throughout the Hudson Valley? Sure enough-- March 6th came around and we had back-to-back-to-back events promoting his new brand 'Real American Beer' at Beer Worlds, ShopRites and local restaurants. It was a very busy schedule, but the Hulkster signed cases upon cases of his beer for fans (with lines wrapped around the entire building.)

What did I get to do? I (Jimmy Lyles) was Hulk's official 'theme song player' for the few stops, if you gave it an official title. Literally (like the title says) I played his theme song 'I Am A Real American' by Rick Derringer as he entered each location. I haven't added it to my resume (yet) but how many people can say they got to do that?! Like everyone... I watched wrestling growing up and Hulk was a huge WWE/WWF superstar. He's done many different things in life since his early days, gained a big following (sometime reasons better than others) but undeniably, he was one of the best entertainers to come out of the wrestling franchises he was part of.

Oh yeah, I also got a pretty cool picture arm wrestling the Hulkster. If you ask me... I think I won! 

The photo above was from his visit to Beer World in Middletown... see what I mean about lines wrapping around the building and parking lot? Hulks stops were time-limited... but he visited with fans for as long as he could at each location. 

You may not see eye to eye with his outspoken nature... but after spending a day in the Hudson Valley with Hulk-- my memories aren't only about how kind he was to me every stop on the trip... but how kind he was to his fans of all ages. RIP to Hulk Hogan!