Vo recently I almost ordered tequila because a friendly guy with lots of tattoos was annoying me with it. He didn’t do it in a bar, but on Instagram. Wearing a tight muscle shirt, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson regularly toasts his fans with a glass of agave schnapps from his own brand “Teremana” on his account. And the fact that you don’t continue scrolling straight away, but actually consider for a second whether this tequila, which sloshes so nicely over the ice cubes in the glass, has a chance in the house bar is mainly due to Johnson. Influencers have long since stopped recommending anything. You know the tricks, the filters and soft focus. So what is this multimillionaire actor doing right when it comes to his social media presence?
A look at the beginning of his career is revealing here: Born in California and raised in Hawaii, Dwayne Johnson comes from a wrestling family. His father, Canadian Wayde Bowles, became the first black professional wrestler to win titles. His Samoan grandmother Ofelia Maivia was the first woman to manage professional wrestlers in the Pacific Rim in the 1980s. Following family tradition, Johnson became one of the top wrestlers in the world and earned the fight name “The Rock,” which he continues to use as a nickname, in addition to numerous titles. Above all, however, he learned: to offer the greatest possible show for the audience without harming himself.
He takes this lesson to heart even after retiring from professional wrestling. Since he got his start in action films like The Mummy Returns (2001), the audience that now knows his face has only grown. Whether in the cinema with the adventure sequel “Jumanji: The Next Level” or on Netflix with the thief comedy “Red Notice”: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson guarantees millions of viewers. (If you don’t think he can do more than be the funny muscle man, please watch Richard Kelly’s thriller “Southland Tales”.) Unlike some other stars, however, he manages the balancing act of portraying a public figure fans can assume that it comes very close to his actual character without revealing too much of his private life. If you scroll through Johnson’s Instagram account, you’ll notice that he curates well: workout videos (because he continues to maintain his muscles even after his wrestling career), foodie pictures (because if you train a lot, you can too a family helping of waffles for breakfast), a bit of publicity for his latest films and, very rarely, pictures of his family.