Dwayne Johnson has candidly discussed his first experiences with depression.

During a recent appearance on The Pivot Podcast, the Black Adam star reflected on his mental health journey, noting that he suffered from depression after sustaining a shoulder injury which impacted his football career at the University of Miami.

“My first battle with depression was down there in Miami. I didn’t want to go to school, I was ready to leave,” Dwayne remembered. “I left school. I didn’t take any midterms and I just left.”

Dwayne played defensive tackle for the Miami Hurricanes football team during his freshman year of college in 1991 and won that year’s national championship. He played with the team for four years.

“The interesting thing at that time is, I just didn’t know what it was. I didn’t know what mental health was, I didn’t know what depression was,” he continued. “I just knew I didn’t wanna be there.”

Dwayne graduated in 1995 with a Bachelor of General Studies and a dual major in criminology and physiology.

“I wasn’t going to any of the team meetings, wasn’t participating in anything, wasn’t working out. And you know for us, as athletes, just any kind of sweat and getting it in will get that s**t out of you,” the 51-year-old explained. “I couldn’t do it because of my shoulder. So at that time, that was a tough one for me.”

After briefly playing for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League, Dwayne pursued a career in wrestling, where he soon became known by his ring name – The Rock.

– Cover Media