When two 'Rocks' collide: Bretman Rock reveals he was named after The Rock

Filipino-American influencer Bretman Rock finally got the chance to meet and interview Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson—and the meeting came with a revelation he had been holding onto for more than two decades: Bretman Rock was actually named after The Rock. Really.

As soon as they sat down and greeted each other, Dwayne says to Bretman, “Beautiful hair.” Bretman then shared that growing up in Hawaii, he and his friends always joked that there were only three “Rocks”– The Rock, Barack, and Bretman Rock. 

That inside joke led to the story behind his name. Bretman's father and uncle, both huge wrestling fans, were deciding what name to give him. They ended up combining Bret “The Hitman” Hart and The Rock, resulting in the name Bretman Rock.

A surprised Dwayne responded, “No way.” Bretman replied, “So, I was named after you.”

Dwayne also congratulated the beauty influencer on his success and praised his massive online following. Bretman reportedly has 50 million followers across platforms.

Bretman shared that he had waited 27 years to finally tell Dwayne the story. He explained that his father believed he would become “the next Rock,” enrolling him in every sport —including football, baseball, and track—but none of them stuck.

“And I just came out like this,” he laughed, adding that ‘the Rocks’ are always famous and always sexy, so he was glad his dad knew what he was doing.

The conversation then shifted to Hawaii, where Bretman asked Dwayne about his first stop whenever he returned to the islands.

Dwayne answered, “Leonard’s.” When Bretman asked about his usual order, Dwayne said he always gets the regular malasadas, a fried doughnut, instead of the stuffed ones. Bretman quickly agreed, saying they clearly have the “same taste.”

Bretman also asked about Dwayne’s favorite memory of growing up in Hawaii. Dwayne shared that his best memories were spending time with friends, despite getting into a lot of trouble during his younger years.

Moving on to "Moana," Bretman asked Dwayne what his favorite part was about playing Maui. “I love that question,” Dwayne replied. “It’s the wig.” Bretman laughed and asked if he was serious.  “I promise you it’s the wig,” Dwayne answered.

Bretman then joked about what Maui’s favorite Papatui product would be, and Dwayne immediately replied, “His shampoo.”

“Exactly,” Bretman laughed, pointing out that people constantly joke online about what shampoo The Rock uses because he’s bald. 

However, after watching the trailer, he admitted he had to take back all his jokes because the wig looked so convincing. “The wiggery was wigging,” he said.

Dwayne asked if Bretman had already seen the film. Bretman said he had watched it the night before. He added, “It's so good. My standards are very high because my niece had just been born when Moana first came out.”

Bretman shared that Moana became the theme of their very first costume together. He showed Dwayne a photo of himself and his niece dressed in Moana-inspired outfits. 

Looking at it, Dwayne asked, “Is that you?” Bretman replied, “Yes. Literally.”  He teases Dwayne not to look too close at the old photo. Bretman praised the live-action adaptation, saying, “I have to say it’s the best live adaptation of all.”

Bretman also shared that one of his favorite parts of the film is the relationship between Moana and her grandmother.  It deeply resonated with him since he was raised by his own grandmother.

Dwayne then reflected that his own grandmother played a similar role in his upbringing during difficult times in Hawaii. He also emphasized how important it was for the film to represent and honor Polynesian culture with pride and authenticity.

“I also love in our film that we are just so deeply proud of our culture and wanting to make sure that our Polynesian culture is properly represented.”

In a recent Instagram post, Bretman posted behind-the-scene photos from his interview with Dwayne, along with snapshots with Moana lead star Catherine Laga‘aia, who will portray the titular character in the upcoming live-action adaptation.