Russell Dickerson Is Now Flexing As Nation Music’s Primary Occasion

When Russell Dickerson first started laying the groundwork for his 2025 tour, his thought 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 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 fundamental occasion. Going shirtless every night time required probably the most demanding and targeted coaching of the 38-year-old’s profession.

“You possibly can’t title 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 exhausting—minimize out ingesting, and actually targeted 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 not too long ago launched Well-known Again House, which options arguably nation’s hottest observe, “Occur To Me.” Initially what was regarded as an album afterthought, the upbeat anthem has already earned platinum standing and have become Dickerson’s largest streaming debut, with 187 million international streams. The music is surging by means of 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 minimize that was speculated to be a enjoyable one to play reside,” he says. “As quickly because it got here out, everyone on my workforce 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 purpose of making a physique that may compete for the intercontinental title—or not less than appear to be it will possibly. His coaching objectives transcend aesthetics, nevertheless. Operating from rope to rope for 2 hours means his exercises give attention to stamina and stage presence.

“I’m not simply, like, going and sitting behind a desk and sending emails—I’m operating 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 complete tour,” he says. “He wrapped our complete semi truck. And identical to that, life appears very completely different from a 12 months in the past.”

The Coaching Behind the Russellmania Transformation

Dickerson’s reference to WWE has been natural, however a loopy connection nonetheless. A 12 months in the past, he and the band drove cross-country in a tour bus beforehand owned by Triple H. Quick ahead to this 12 months. 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 targeted strategy to weight-reduction plan 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 every 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 periods 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 dwelling health facility. He says the brand new setup will function an out of doors 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 recurrently, maybe one in every of his coaching day favorites. He usually sticks with with the 8-10 rep vary, and infrequently with greater than a plate per facet. For him, making it to the subsequent exercise damage 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 useful 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 massive 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 recreation 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 might do shoulder flies. There’s extra you are able to do than you assume. It’s also possible to 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 observe of. Though he might reduce on carbs, Dickerson has no downside loading up on hen, steak, and even fish. “My solely macro I actually give attention to is protein,” he says. “There’s no means which you can overeat true animal protein. For me personally, I’m like, there’s no means I can overeat floor beef to exceed my caloric consumption. So I simply give attention to 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 maintain 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 good, however I attempt.”

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 kind of feel-good moments,” he says, “the place one thing so surprising creates such a optimistic end result.”

The hit music additionally grew to become one other vital cause Dickerson reduce on ingesting, though he nonetheless might take pleasure in a post-show brew every so often. 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, means 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 realize, see these followers, see my followers, and sing collectively.”

Russell Dickerson has carved out a singular area in nation music by holding his songs upbeat and filled with optimism. Whereas many artists lean into heartbreak and sorrow, Dickerson’s strategy 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 the moment the most effective day ever. That’s why I wrote ‘Good Day to Have a Nice Day.’” For Dickerson, life is simply too brief 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 individual 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 great in on a regular basis life.

Nonetheless, whereas his performances are sometimes 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 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 music “What a Life,” Dickerson noticed a childhood photograph of himself on the Statue of Liberty projected onstage. As he appeared 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.”