'The Rock' gifts new pickup truck to friend who took him in as a homeless teen

When Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson was sent to Nashville, he learned that he wasn't going to be living with his father but with a man named Bruno Lauer. The stranger had welcomed the homeless teenager to live with him in a tiny room at a motel after he and his Mom were evicted from their place in Hawaii. Dwayne Johnson went on to become 'The Rock' and then a movie star. ut he always stayed in touch with Bruno. The Rock has now gifted his lifelong friend Bruno Lauer for taking him in and helping him when he needed it most. He posted a video on Instagram, showing him meeting Bruno and then gifting him the new pickup truck. 

"My life (especially my teenage years) has been full of the wildest twists and turns, and yet God and the universe has always found a way to put a few people in my path that would change the trajectory of the road I was going down. Meet one of my lifelong friends, Bruno Lauer — or I prefer to call him, “Downtown Bruno,” wrote The Rock on Instagram. "My mom and I were evicted off the island of Hawaii and I was sent to Nashville, Tennessee to live with my dad. When I landed in Nashville, I quickly found out I wasn’t gonna live with my dad. Shit happens, plans change and that’s the way it goes," he added.

He was told that he would living with a guy named Bruno, who lived in a tiny room at a spot called the Alamo Plaza motel. He is still thankful Bruno took him under his wings. "Bruno could’ve (and should’ve) said, 'hell no, I’m not takin’ in some kid who I don’t know.' But he didn’t. He took this punk kid in and we became lifelong friends," wrote Dwayne Johnson. Dwayne Johnson, as he was known back then, started his wrestling career in Memphis, Tennessee, and again, it was Bruno who helped him out - offering his trailer to stay in until he could stand on his own feet. He went one step further and bought Johnson his first car. "When I was 15yrs old, Bruno even gave me his last $40 bucks so I could hustle a crackhead out of his car one night at a honky tonk in Nashville. But the hustle was on me, because when I took off down the road there was a SECOND CRACKHEAD passed out on the floor in the back!" recalled The Rock. Bruno Lauer worked as a WWE wrestling manager under the name Harvey Wippleman in the 90s.

He was beyond shocked when The Rock told him he had gifted him the car they were standing in front of — a Ford F-150. Lauer was overcome with emotion. "Are you serious?" he asks. He then turns to The Rock and asks if he can hug him. As we are still in a pandemic and the latter asks him to pull up his mask before sharing a warm embrace. Lauer tells the actor, "I love you man, and not because of this, because of who you are."

"Merry Christmas, Bruno and since you helped me “buy” my first car, I figured I could return the favor and buy you one that 100 percent does NOT have a crackhead in the back seat. I love you, brother. Your kindness and heart helped change my life’s trajectory. When you’re ready to retire from “the business” you just say the word. I got you covered. We’ll go “downtown,” wrote the actor.