How Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Lays the Smackdown on Social Media

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“Can you smelllllll….What the The Rock! Is cooking?!?”
That became a ubiquitous catchphrase when Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was a Worldwide Wrestling Federation megastar around the turn of the millennium. Unlike most wrestling-ring bruisers, however, Johnson has done a lot more than just “lay the smack down” on hapless “jabronis,” as he was fond of saying.
He won a college football national championship as a hard-hitting defender at the University of Miami in 1991. He’s become a bona fide movie star too,
appearing in action hits such as Fast Five, The Scorpion King and Walking Tall. He’s even a bestselling author. His autobiographyThe Rock Says… spent weeks atop The New York Times charts in 2000.
Recently, Johnson added another feather to his cap: the title of Must-Follow Actor or Actress on Social Media, as voted by readers in the annual Mashable Awards. Since joining Twitter less than a year ago, and Facebook a few months before that, Johnson has become a staunch advocate of social media’s power to connect. HisFacebook Page has more than 5 million “Likes” and his @TheRock Twitter account has nearly 2 million followers. He’s especially active on Twitter, posting updates multiple times each day and constantly tweeting back to fans and encouraging them to “bring it” in every aspect of their lives.
Mashable recently caught up with Johnson to talk about his newest award, his thoughts on social media, and relay a few questions from the fans who helped vote him number one.

Q&A with Dwayne Johnson

So, our readers love you. How did you feel about being voted people’s must-follow actor or actress?
It was damn cool to get recognized. I’ve always been a very private person so felt for a long time that social media wasn’t really for me. So it took a little bit of nudging. But it’s been one of the greatest decisions professionally — and personally — that I’ve ever made. It’s meant more to me than I ever imagined. So to be recognized as the Mashable community’s must-follow actor after a short amount of time is so damn cool.
How have you made yourself so successful on social media? Are there certain points you try to drive home or things you try to do every day?
When I launched Twitter my biggest goal was just to be authentic, so that people know that when their tweet alert goes off on their device, that it’s coming directly from my hands. I also try to make it a platform for three things — motivation, encouragement and entertainment. And it’s a great way for me to have my finger on the pulse of what my fans do and don’t like in terms of projects and overall sentiment, because there’s no other platform on Earth that gives me that instant feedback.
You’re well known for a number of different things — football, wrestling, acting. Do you find social media helps you reach one group of fans in particular?
I never want to segment my fans in any way. It’s been a great way to reach multiple groups of people — from sports fans, to movie lovers, to WWE lovers, to fans who want to share stories of encouragement, who have beaten cancer. My mom is a survivor, so that brings in another group of people. I just want people to get some value from it, whether that means a motivational quote I send out at 3 a.m. when I wake up or an incredibly inappropriate, but funny, dirty joke.
“I’ve always been a very private person so felt for a long time that social media wasn’t really for me. So it took a little bit of nudging. But it’s been one of the greatest decisions professionally — and personally — that I’ve ever made.”
This is from lifeinthechickencoop on Tumblr: “Being a third-generation pro wrestler, would you encourage or discourage your own child from entering the profession?”
That’s a great question that I get asked often. I would encourage my children, or anyone else’s, to get involved in pro-wrestling-slash-sports-entertainment if that’s their dream. It’s very personal and deep for me because I come from a long lineage of pro wrestlers, so I have a lot of love for the business. It’s provided an amazing opportunity for me and I wouldn’t be where I am today without it. But the first thing I always tell kids is get their college education. Then if pro wrestling is what they want to do, I’m all for that. But understand that with great success comes consistent hard work.
This is from Stephanie Quilao on Twitter, and makes sense given your busy schedule. “What is your weekly fitness routine like?”
Five days a week, I get up between three and five in the morning. I love training when the sun is coming up because it just allows me to put on my headphones and step off the crazy treadmill that is everyone’s life. I’m in there for about and hour and a half, hour and forty-five minutes, and when I hit the gym I’m coming to clang and bang.
Now for the most-asked question by our readers: “What is The Rock cooking these days?”
I’ll tell you what I’m cooking just for Mashable readers, the first time I’ve answered this in years. I’m cooking grilled Chilean sea bass, sliced mango on the side…nah, that’s B.S. I ain’t cooking anything but being an ass-kicker on Twitter and a good tequila drinker.

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