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Long before he raised the People’s Eyebrow, dropped the People’s Elbow, and laid the smackdown on the candyass world of Hollywood, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson ran a jewelry theft ring in Waikiki. He and his peers worked the posh shopping district, snatching and grabbing whatever they could get their hands on and then pawning their haul for cold, hard cash. As a result, he was arrested nearly ten times before he turned 17 years old. But perhaps the only thing more insane than that story is the tale of how Dwayne Johnson transcended a life of petty street crime to become one of the biggest cultural icons of the 21st century.

Follow Badlands wherever you get your podcasts to hear new episodes of Hollywoodland each Wednesday. As a bonus, Amazon Music listeners can hear all 10 episodes of Badlands: Hollywoodland on-demand right now at amazon.com/badlands.

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