When Russell Dickerson first started laying the groundwork for his 2025 tour, his concept was to create present extra huge than only a two-hour showcase of hits—a setlist that’s been accelerating quicker 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 private emotion. To get the total 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 essential occasion. Going shirtless every evening required probably the most demanding and targeted coaching of the 38-year-old’s profession.
“You possibly can’t identify a tour ‘Russellmania’ and never have the physique to again it up,” Dickerson says with fun. “So, sure, I undoubtedly dove in January, February, March, earlier than we began touring. And I went fairly laborious—reduce out ingesting, and actually targeted on eating regimen and being critical a couple of exercise plan.”
Now, when he tears off his shirt, which has grow to be 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 Well-known Again Residence, which options arguably nation’s hottest monitor, “Occur 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 international streams. The tune is surging by the Prime 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 reduce that was imagined to be a enjoyable one to play dwell,” he says. “As quickly because it got here out, all people on my crew was flabbergasted to say the least.”
Making music that followers can really feel upbeat about has at all times been Dickerson’s goal. However for this tour, he’s added the aim of making a physique that may compete for the intercontinental title—or a minimum of appear like it may well. His coaching objectives transcend aesthetics, nevertheless. Working 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 undoubtedly 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 total tour,” he says. “He wrapped our entire semi truck. And identical to that, life seems very completely 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 yr in the past, 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—some of the 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 imagine he simply stated my identify.”
Whereas American Beer has grow to be a serious sponsor, Dickerson’s key to getting RussellMania ripped was shedding grownup drinks. Staying dry was only one element of a extra targeted method to eating regimen and vitamin, and coaching. Dickerson’s exercises, by his personal admission, wouldn’t make a WWE champion jealous in its depth. However, his three day per week, Monday, Wednesday, Friday exercise routine required a consistency he had by no means totally given to his coaching. Utilizing the Thoughts Pump app, his classes usually lasted wherever between 45minutes to an hour. “I’ve by no means been an in-person coach kinda man,” he admits.
Dickerson is at the moment rebuilding his house 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 usually, maybe one in all 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 subsequent 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 probably the most beneficial 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 large rack and bar and plates, for positive,” 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 may bang out pushups. The adjustable dumbbells are a space-saving sport changer for on-the-road exercises. “We did an entire with an entire 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 might do shoulder flies. There’s extra you are able to do than you assume. You may as well get by with physique weight.”
Preserving his 20-plus body crammed for showtime means specializing in protein. For Dickerson, it’s the one macro that he retains monitor of. Though he could cut back on carbs, Dickerson has no downside loading up on rooster, steak, and even fish. “My solely macro I actually concentrate on is protein,” he says. “There’s no method which you could overeat true animal protein. For me personally, I’m like, there’s no method I can overeat floor beef to exceed my caloric consumption. So I simply concentrate on floor beef, egg, crimson meat—they’re undoubtedly very animal primarily based.”
Cooking a ribeye on the bus is hard, so he depends on pre-made meals earlier than exhibits. “I preserve MegaFit Meals stocked on my bus,” he says. After exhibits, 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 Information, and Dwelling 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 sudden creates such a optimistic outcome.”
The hit tune additionally turned one other vital cause Dickerson reduce on ingesting, though he nonetheless could take pleasure in a post-show brew from time to time. Shedding extra energy was a bonus, however psychological readability was the true reward. “I’ve stopped ingesting earlier than the exhibits in any respect,” he says. “So I simply—psychological readability, vocally, method higher. And I need to be there—I need to be current. I’m so pumped. I’m so excited to go on the market and, you realize, see these followers, see my followers, and sing collectively.”
Russell Dickerson has carved out a novel area in nation music by holding his songs upbeat and stuffed with optimism. Whereas many artists lean into heartbreak and sorrow, Dickerson’s method is rooted in his personal life expertise and a want to unfold positivity.
“I don’t pour whiskey on my heartache,” he explains. “I get up and I’m like, yo, let’s make at present 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, unfavourable, darkish songs on this album, he says. “I need to convey positivity into the world. If someone is down and heartbroken or no matter, I would like them to place my document on and be like, Oh sure, let’s go get them up.” His music is a celebration of pleasure, resilience, and the great in on a regular basis life.
Nonetheless, 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—turned an emotionally defining second for Dickerson—one which introduced him to tears on stage.
“There was a second that it simply form of hit me, you realize, like a, like, form of a made it second,” he recollects.
He performed to a sold-out crowd within the metropolis the place his profession started. Throughout his tune “What a Life,” Dickerson noticed a childhood photograph of himself on the Statue of Liberty projected onstage. As he regarded out and noticed the true 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.”
