When Russell Dickerson first began laying the groundwork for his 2025 tour, his concept was to create present extra large than only a two-hour showcase of hits—a setlist that’s been accelerating sooner than even the shredded showman has even anticipated.
What the platinum-selling artist got here up with was “RussellMania”—a rustic music spectacle that resembles a WWE supershow, albeit with a bit extra guitars. RussellMania has been an equal mixture of fireworks, muscle flexing, topped with an added contact of non-public emotion. To get the complete wrestling vibe to his already high-energy efficiency, Dickerson enlisted WWE announcer Austin Romero to introduce the artist. From there, Dickerson would make his dramatic entrance right into a makeshift wrestling ring. He then kicks off the live performance with a Triple-H impressed water-spit ritual.
To make it genuine, nevertheless, required Dickerson to construct a physique worthy of a wrestling most important occasion. Going shirtless every night time required essentially the most demanding and centered coaching of the 38-year-old’s profession.
“You may’t title a tour ‘Russellmania’ and never have the physique to again it up,” Dickerson says with amusing. “So, sure, I positively dove in January, February, March, earlier than we began touring. And I went fairly laborious—minimize out consuming, and actually centered on weight-reduction plan and being critical a couple of exercise plan.”
Now, when he tears off his shirt, which has turn into his personal private homage to the present’s inspiration—Hulkamania and the late Hulk Hogan, the 6’4, 215-pound “Bones” singer resembles the behemoth wrestlers he as soon as and nonetheless admires. The tour’s already blown away all expectations—profitable sufficient to already announce present dates for Russellmania 2026.
“I’m so pumped,” he says. “I’m so excited to go on the market and see my followers, and sing collectively.”
Backing up his onstage musical antics has been the recognition of Dickerson’s just lately launched Famous Back Home, which options arguably nation’s hottest monitor, “Happen To Me.” Initially what was regarded as an album afterthought, the upbeat anthem has already earned platinum standing and have become Dickerson’s greatest streaming debut, with 187 million world streams. The track is surging by way of the High 5 on Nation Radio, hit No. 1 on SiriusXM’s The Freeway, and spent weeks at No. 1 in Canada and the UK.
“Occur to Me,” actually, was simply an album minimize that was presupposed to be a enjoyable one to play stay,” he says. “As quickly because it got here out, everyone on my staff was flabbergasted to say the least.”
Making music that followers can really feel upbeat about has all the time been Dickerson’s goal. However for this tour, he’s added the objective of making a physique that may compete for the intercontinental title—or not less than seem like it could. His coaching objectives transcend aesthetics, nevertheless. Operating from rope to rope for 2 hours means his exercises concentrate on stamina and stage presence.
“I’m not simply, like, going and sitting behind a desk and sending emails—I’m working round for 90 minutes and, like, singing, singing,” he explains. “So, yeah, I positively incorporate HIIT cardio, biking, and simply different little HIIT issues to extend lung capability for that cause.” The coaching tweaks has allowed Dickerson to command the stage with the depth of a main-event wrestler—like his tour’s sponsor, the late Hulk Hogan.
“Hulk Hogan and his beer model sponsored our complete tour,” he says. “He wrapped our entire semi truck. And identical to that, life appears very totally different from a yr in the past.”
Russell Dickerson
The Coaching Behind the Russellmania Transformation
Dickerson’s reference to WWE has been natural, however a loopy connection nonetheless. A year ago, he and the band drove cross-country in a tour bus beforehand owned by Triple H. Quick ahead to this yr. The tour bus is now decked out in American Beer logos donated by the late wrestling icon who handed away in August. Previous to his passing, Dickerson says the wrestling icon was very into lending his voice to the tour.
“He despatched us movies and all this content material for us to collaborate,” he says. “The truth that he even is aware of who I’m—one of the vital well-known males in the entire world. He’s, like, ‘All proper, Russell Dickerson followers, go get you an actual American beer,’ and I’m identical to, I can’t consider he simply mentioned my title.”
Whereas American Beer has turn into a significant sponsor, Dickerson’s key to getting RussellMania ripped was shedding grownup drinks. Staying dry was only one part of a extra centered strategy to weight-reduction plan and diet, and coaching. Dickerson’s exercises, by his personal admission, wouldn’t make a WWE champion jealous in its depth. However, his three day every week, Monday, Wednesday, Friday exercise routine required a consistency he had by no means absolutely given to his coaching. Utilizing the Mind Pump app, his classes usually lasted anyplace between 45minutes to an hour. “I’ve by no means been an in-person coach kinda man,” he admits.
Dickerson is presently rebuilding his residence health facility. He says the brand new setup will characteristic an outside space with maybe turf and sleds for situation together with a sauna and chilly plunge for post-training restoration. For now, the “Blue Tacoma” singer units up his Rogue energy rack and hits the bench press repeatedly, maybe considered one of his coaching day favorites. He usually sticks with with the 8-10 rep vary, and barely with greater than a plate per aspect. For him, making it to the following exercise harm free issues greater than setting PRs.
“I’m only a regular exercise dude,” he says. “I’m simply doing 135 kilos. I now not actually attempt for heavy lifts as a result of for me, the consistency is what’s proven to be essentially the most invaluable asset in my exercises.”
Touring presents its personal challenges, however Dickerson adapts. His tour bus, as soon as stocked with an influence rack and free weights, now hauls RD merchandise from metropolis to metropolis. “I do miss our huge rack and bar and plates, for certain,” he says.
If there’s no Planet Health or Crunch close by, he and the band will pull out the PowerBlocks he retains on the bus. Or he could bang out pushups. The adjustable dumbbells are a space-saving sport changer for on-the-road exercises. “We did a complete with a complete circuit the opposite day,” he says. You had your curl and your press station, after which with the additional weights that we’re not utilizing, we’d do shoulder flies. There’s extra you are able to do than you assume. It’s also possible to get by with physique weight.”
Retaining his 20-plus body stuffed for showtime means specializing in protein. For Dickerson, it’s the one macro that he retains monitor of. Though he could reduce on carbs, Dickerson has no downside loading up on hen, steak, and even fish. “My solely macro I actually concentrate on is protein,” he says. “There’s no approach that you could overeat true animal protein. For me personally, I’m like, there’s no approach I can overeat floor beef to exceed my caloric consumption. So I simply concentrate on floor beef, egg, purple meat—they’re positively very animal primarily based.”
Cooking a ribeye on the bus is hard, so he depends on pre-made meals earlier than reveals. “I maintain MegaFit Meals stocked on my bus,” he says. After reveals, he tries to keep away from the after-party meals temptations. “I attempt to not do the freaking pizza, wings, fries, all that stuff,” he says. “I attempt. I’m not excellent, however I attempt.”
Courtesy Russell Dickerson
Spreading Positivity, Breaking Data, and Residing the Dream
The success of “Occur to Me”—boosted by Dickerson’s viral dance-alongs—helped the unlikely hit explode worldwide. It has greater than 58 million streams on Spotify. “It’s a type of feel-good moments,” he says, “the place one thing so surprising creates such a optimistic end result.”
The hit track additionally grew to become one other necessary cause Dickerson reduce on consuming, though he nonetheless could get pleasure from a post-show brew every so often. Shedding extra energy was a bonus, however psychological readability was the actual reward. “I’ve stopped consuming earlier than the reveals in any respect,” he says. “So I simply—psychological readability, vocally, approach higher. And I wish to be there—I wish to be current. I’m so pumped. I’m so excited to go on the market and, you understand, see these followers, see my followers, and sing collectively.”
Russell Dickerson has carved out a singular house in nation music by retaining his songs upbeat and stuffed with optimism. Whereas many artists lean into heartbreak and sorrow, Dickerson’s strategy is rooted in his personal life expertise and a need to unfold positivity.
“I don’t pour whiskey on my heartache,” he explains. “I get up and I’m like, yo, let’s make as we speak the perfect day ever. That’s why I wrote ‘Good Day to Have a Nice Day.’” For Dickerson, life is just too quick and busy to dwell on negativity. “There’s no tremendous heavy, damaging, darkish songs on this album, he says. “I wish to carry positivity into the world. If any person is down and heartbroken or no matter, I need them to place my report on and be like, Oh sure, let’s go get them up.” His music is a celebration of pleasure, resilience, and the nice in on a regular basis life.
Nevertheless, whereas his performances are usually energized sufficient to wear down a WWE champion, one present—this previous spring at New York Metropolis’s Pier 17—grew to become an emotionally defining second for Dickerson—one which introduced him to tears on stage.
“There was a second that it simply sort of hit me, you understand, like a, like, sort of a made it second,” he remembers.
He performed to a sold-out crowd within the metropolis the place his profession started. Throughout his track “What a Life,” Dickerson noticed a childhood picture of himself on the Statue of Liberty projected onstage. As he appeared out and noticed the actual Statue of Liberty within the distance, the importance overwhelmed him.
“I simply, like, broke down, like, weeping, crying,” he admits. “Little eight-year-old me, to look and see Pier 17, to look, to see what I’m seeing, what we’re doing—it was only a loopy, full-circle second.”
