LARGO — Friends and colleagues of Terry Bollea, the pro wrestler better known to the world as Hulk Hogan, gathered Tuesday evening to say goodbye to the Clearwater resident.

Bollea died July 24 at age 71.

Law enforcement vehicles escorted the funeral procession through Pinellas County, where Bollea lived for decades and where a restaurant and beach shop still bear his name. Bollea will be cremated, according to county records.

During the service at Indian Rocks Baptist Church, Bollea’s casket was covered in red and yellow flowers, the colors of his WWE wrestling costume. Musician Kid Rock, podcaster Theo Von and TV personality Bam Margera were in attendance, as well as pro wrestling legends Ric Flair, who lives in Tampa, Paul “Triple H“ Levesque and Vince McMahon.

“Even in heaven, he sold out again,” Flair said of the memorial, where the pews were packed. “The most beautiful funeral I’ve ever attended! Everyone was there.”

Law enforcement vehicles had blocked off entrances to the church by noon as Pinellas County deputies walked the grounds with K-9s. As guests arrived, a TV news helicopter flew overhead, and photographers set up on the sidewalk.

Hogan grew up just across the bay, in Tampa, before a career in wrestling, movies and TV made him famous around the world. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last week declared Aug. 1 Hulk Hogan Day in Florida.

The program given to those who attended contained a collage of photos of Hogan from his childhood and high school years, as well as photos of Hogan with his ex-wife Linda Bollea, and their children Brooke Bollea Oleksy and Nick Bollea, better known as Linda, Nick and Brooke Hogan. There were also photos of Hogan with his wife Sky Daily Hogan.

At a Pinellas County Commission meeting Tuesday afternoon, Commissioner Chris Latvala, who represents parts of Clearwater, talked about Hogan.

He recalled seeing Hogan with his family at a Clearwater For Youth nonprofit event he attended last year with Commissioner René Flowers. Latvala remarked how he had never met the WWE star despite being a longtime Pinellas County resident.

“Oh, well we’re going to go meet him,” Latvala remembered Flowers saying. Latvala said it was a “great honor.”

“He was really the first hero I ever had as a kid,” Latvala said. “He was a larger-than-life personality and really lived that way his entire life. He will be missed around Clearwater and around Pinellas County.”

In December 2023, Bollea shared a video of his baptism at Indian Rocks Baptist Church alongside his new wife, Sky Daily Hogan.

“Total surrender and dedication to Jesus is the greatest day of my life,” he wrote in the caption. “No worries, no hate, no judgment … only love!" The church’s lead pastor, Aaron Filippone, performed the ceremony.

In an interview on Joe Rogan’s podcast, Bollea spoke of attending the church regularly on Sundays. Rogan asked if it might be a bad idea to name the church publicly since it could lead to fans showing up to “go to church with the Hulkster.”

“No,” Bollea said, “I want more people there.”

Three days after Bollea’s death, Filippone spoke to his congregation about him during Sunday service.

“Terry wasn’t a perfect man — he never claimed to be. He had a past, and he made mistakes," he said. “But Terry was a Jesus man, and that’s the beauty of the Gospel.

“Those of us who had the joy of worshiping alongside Terry knew him not as a celebrity, but as a brother in Christ. He loved God, loved people, and loved his neighbors right here in Pinellas County.”

President Donald Trump posted about Hogan’s memorial on Truth Social.

“They are having the ‘Hulkster’s’ funeral today, and I thought everybody would enjoy seeing this picture,” he wrote above a photo of himself arm-wrestling Hogan, who famously called his biceps the “24-inch pythons.”

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(Times staffer Lizzy Alspach contributed to this report.)

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