Fitness influencer Joey Swoll quits social media over Hulk Hogan backlash

Joey Swoll says he is 'done' after being criticised over sharing a video of himself dressed as Hulk Hogan in the gym.

The fitness influencer, known online as 'CEO of Gym Positivity', was slammed for posting an old clip of himself working out in a fancy dress costume of Hogan, who passed away at the age of 71 last week (24 July).

Swoll, 42, has since deleted the video in which he dressed in a Halloween costume at Gold’s Gym in California.

Much of the criticism comes after Hogan, born Terry Bollea, used racial slurs to describe his daughter Brooke's black ex-boyfriend in 2007.

Hogan apologised when the audio recording was made public in 2015 and said his behaviour was 'unacceptable'.

He was temporarily fired from the WWE before being reinstated into the Hall of Fame in 2018.

His endorsement of Donald Trump, according to his opposition, was considered to be 'controversial', and Hogan was booed at the premiere of Netflix's WWE show in January 2025.

Now, in Swoll's first apology, the content creator used the word 'coloured' instead of the term 'person of colour' during a livestream.

"It is a very outdated, very offensive term. Someone educated me and told me that it wasn’t ok to use that, which I immediately apologised to everyone and said 'I would never do that again'," he admitted in a follow-up video posted on 28 July.

He also claimed he was unaware of some of the controversy around Hogan, adding: "I didn't know the extent of all the horrible things that he had done. Since last night, I've done a lot of research and learned all of the horrible things that man has done, which is way more than just making a mistake and being human."

“I would be a hypocrite if I didn’t hold myself to the same standards. I am human, I am still growing and learning and I promise to all of you I will do better,” Swoll added.

“I have nothing but love and kindness in my heart, I will continue to try and make the world a better place.”

However, taking to X the next day, he insisted that he is 'done' with the criticism, appearing to announce he was quitting social media.

"All the good I've done, all the people I've helped, all for nothing," he told his 1.1 million X followers.

Swoll also has 5.4 million followers on Instagram and 8.1 million on TikTok.

"I truly hope all the people I've inspired do great things in their life and pay it forward to help others and carry on my message.

"But no matter how much good you do, people just wait for a reason to hate you and tear you down.

"You either die a hero, or live long enough to be the villain. Thank you for your support. I am done."