DeSantis calls for flags to be at half-staff on Friday for 'Hulk Hogan Day'

Flags will be at half-staff in Florida on Friday to honor the life and legacy of wrestling icon Hulk Hogan.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said that Aug. 1, 2025, will be known as "Hulk Hogan Day in Florida." He directed the flags of the United States and Florida to be flown at half-staff at the Capitol in Tallahassee and all local and state buildings, installations and grounds throughout Pinellas County, where Hogan lived. This will be from sunrise to sunset.

"His larger-than-life personality will be missed, as the 'Hulkster' was an icon for many who grew up in the '80s and '90s as well as today," DeSantis wrote in the Thursday announcement. "He was a true Floridian through and through."

Hogan died July 24 at Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater, where he was taken by paramedics from his Clearwater Beach home. He was 71.

According to the Pinellas-Pasco medical examiner, the official cause of death was “acute myocardial infarction," or heart attack. In addition, the examiner's cremation report listed that Hogan previously had leukemia and a history of atrial fibrillation, which is an irregular heart rhythm.

Hogan also said he had undergone at least 25 surgical procedures related to wrestling injuries over the past 10 years - most on his back.

His declining health came as he was busy promoting Real American Beer, which he co-founded, and a new unscripted wrestling league, Real American Freestyle, which has its first event slated for Aug. 30 in Cleveland. In addition, Hogan was leading a bid to acquire the Hooters restaurant chain, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March.

He was one of the biggest stars in the history of what is now known as World Wrestling Entertainment. He was the main draw for the first WrestleMania in 1985 and was a fixture for years, facing everyone from Andre the Giant and Randy Savage to Dwayne "The Rock” Johnson and even company chairman Vince McMahon.

With his golden mane, bulging biceps, booming voice and catchphrases (“Whatcha gonna do, brother, when Hulkamania runs wild on you?”), Hogan won at least six WWE championships and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005.

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He was also a celebrity outside the wrestling world, appearing in numerous movies and television shows, including a reality show about his life on VH1, “Hogan Knows Best.”

Hogan, whose real name was Terry Bollea, grew up in South Tampa and was a 1971 graduate of Tampa’s Robinson High School before briefly attending the University of South Florida.

He was also a fixture in the Tampa Bay area — and primarily on Clearwater Beach, where lived and operated Hogan's Hangout restaurant.

DeSantis, who moved to Dunedin as a child, remembers watching Hogan in the ring years ago.

"As a young kid, I'm growing up, and that was like, wow, that's our superhero kind of deal. And the fact that he was from the Tampa Bay area, when I'm growing up there was like, 'Oh, my gosh. Like, this guy lives in our area," DeSantis said at a news conference in Manatee County last week.

Hogan is survived by his wife, Sky Hogan, whom he married in 2023; his daughter, Brooke Oleksky (Steven); and son, Nick, both from a first marriage; three stepchildren; and two grandchildren.