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Brutus Beefcake: Struttin' & Cuttin' - Official Autobiography
Brutus Struttin' & Cuttin' brings you everything you want to learn about the world's most famous wrestling barber Brutus Beefcake was a main event WWF Superstar who traveled the world. His tell-all book covers; the parasailing accident that almost ended his life & the struggle to make his miraculous comeback... Growing up in Tampa with Wade Boggs & Hulk Hogan in the mix... Breaking into the wrestling business... Working in the territorial days of wrestling... Vince McMahon's take over... The Dream Team championship run with Greg Valentine... The WWF takeover in the initial Wrestlemania... Crazy rockstar-like road stories... Ridiculous & Horrific wrestler pranks/ribs... Working on Hollywood movie sets... Wrestling in Japan... His Countless crazy gimmicks in WCW... and more! With a Foreward by baseball legend Wade Boggs, and guest passages by DDP, Marty Jannetty, Koko B Ware, Brian Blair & more, "The Barber" gives you all the dirt on the road working Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, British Bulldogs, Ron Bass, Adrian Adonis, Jimmy Hart, Roddy Piper, JYD, Greg Valentine, The Ultimate Warrior & more! If you are a wrestling fan of the good old days when WWF Superstars were like larger-than-life rockstars, you will not want to miss it!
- GenresBiography
393 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
January 10, 2019
Brutus Beefcake: Struttin' & Cuttin' is the autobiography of Brutus Beefcake.
As I've mentioned in other reviews, I've been a pro-wrestling fan my entire life. While Brutus was never my favorite, I did dress up as The Barber for Halloween when I was 13. Thankfully, there are no surviving photos. One of my friends, Alex Davidson, recommended this to me two or three times before I finally gave it a read. I should have listened to him sooner because this was fucking great.
Brutus' career was derailed in the early 1990s when a parasailing accident destroyed his face and that's where the book starts. I was hooked from the first page. From there, we go to young Ed Leslie growing up in the Tampa area, meeting the boy who would be Hulk Hogan when they were both playing little league.
One early indicator of how much I'm going to enjoy a wrestling book is how quick they get to the wrestling part. Brutus was on the fringes of the wrestling business by the 10% mark so I sat back and enjoyed the ride after that.
Brutus covers all of his ups and downs, going from territory to territory, from his early days as Eddie Boulder to Eric Bischoff firing him via Fed-Ex in the late 1990s, and everywhere in between. We get Brutus' accounts of Andre the Giant, Danny Spivey kicking the shit out of Adrian Adonis, the infamous attack on Dynamite Kid by Jacques Rougeau, and lots of other backstage shenanigans. We also get hilarious road stories involving sex, drugs, drugs, booze, drugs, booze, and sex. I complain that a lot of wrestling books are light on road stories but this one is full of them.
It's not all hilarious, however. The story of Brutus' parasailing accident is not for the faint of heart. I read about it in the Apter mags not long after it happened but this version, from the Barber's own mouth, was so much worse. His life after WCW is no picnic, either, working indy shows for a fraction of what he once made. Fortunately, his life with wife #3 and a WWE Legends contract seems to have turned a corner for him.
I never thought I'd say this but Brutus Beefcake's book is the most entertaining wrestling book I've read in a very long time. Four out of five stars.
As I've mentioned in other reviews, I've been a pro-wrestling fan my entire life. While Brutus was never my favorite, I did dress up as The Barber for Halloween when I was 13. Thankfully, there are no surviving photos. One of my friends, Alex Davidson, recommended this to me two or three times before I finally gave it a read. I should have listened to him sooner because this was fucking great.
Brutus' career was derailed in the early 1990s when a parasailing accident destroyed his face and that's where the book starts. I was hooked from the first page. From there, we go to young Ed Leslie growing up in the Tampa area, meeting the boy who would be Hulk Hogan when they were both playing little league.
One early indicator of how much I'm going to enjoy a wrestling book is how quick they get to the wrestling part. Brutus was on the fringes of the wrestling business by the 10% mark so I sat back and enjoyed the ride after that.
Brutus covers all of his ups and downs, going from territory to territory, from his early days as Eddie Boulder to Eric Bischoff firing him via Fed-Ex in the late 1990s, and everywhere in between. We get Brutus' accounts of Andre the Giant, Danny Spivey kicking the shit out of Adrian Adonis, the infamous attack on Dynamite Kid by Jacques Rougeau, and lots of other backstage shenanigans. We also get hilarious road stories involving sex, drugs, drugs, booze, drugs, booze, and sex. I complain that a lot of wrestling books are light on road stories but this one is full of them.
It's not all hilarious, however. The story of Brutus' parasailing accident is not for the faint of heart. I read about it in the Apter mags not long after it happened but this version, from the Barber's own mouth, was so much worse. His life after WCW is no picnic, either, working indy shows for a fraction of what he once made. Fortunately, his life with wife #3 and a WWE Legends contract seems to have turned a corner for him.
I never thought I'd say this but Brutus Beefcake's book is the most entertaining wrestling book I've read in a very long time. Four out of five stars.
January 2, 2018
First off, I have read a lot if not all of wrestlers auto/bios. With all of their traveling and working around the world, they generally have great stories.
Beefcake’s story is no different. He has been around a long time, and his career has been up, down, and just about everything in between.
I always thought Mick Foley’s first book was arguably the best wrestling book out there, and if that’s so Beefcake’s is a close second. It is a great read, and I highly recommend it!
I had the pleasure of meeting Brutus earlier in 2017 at the Trenton Punk Rock Flea Market (Trenton,NJ) and he was the nicest, most down to earth guy.
Do yourself a favor and read “Struttin and Cuttin” today!
Beefcake’s story is no different. He has been around a long time, and his career has been up, down, and just about everything in between.
I always thought Mick Foley’s first book was arguably the best wrestling book out there, and if that’s so Beefcake’s is a close second. It is a great read, and I highly recommend it!
I had the pleasure of meeting Brutus earlier in 2017 at the Trenton Punk Rock Flea Market (Trenton,NJ) and he was the nicest, most down to earth guy.
Do yourself a favor and read “Struttin and Cuttin” today!
January 10, 2018
This a was great book about the wrestler Ed Leslie and his career. The book covers his early career in the business and all the way through the Indy scene after leaving WCW. There are great stories, along with guest wrestlers giving commentary about Ed and his character, along with the guests giving their side of a topic that Beefcake discusses.
There is a lot in the book (the book length shows that), and is worth the read even if you were not a fan of his Beefcake character. This is a great indy published wrestling book.
For a more in-depth review, check out my post via Slam! Sports at: http://slam.canoe.com/Slam/Wrestling/...
There is a lot in the book (the book length shows that), and is worth the read even if you were not a fan of his Beefcake character. This is a great indy published wrestling book.
For a more in-depth review, check out my post via Slam! Sports at: http://slam.canoe.com/Slam/Wrestling/...
March 14, 2018
Very interesting, insightful, and often times laugh out loud funny memoir from a wrestler who has seen it all. Glad it was an in-depth book, as Brutus's story should be told in a format that is conducive to great detail. Definitely worth the purchase!
September 22, 2018
Could use some review to edit and tidy up the repetition and to add more information as some time periods and events are glossed over e.g. I had no idea he was married, let alone 3 times, until 66%of the way into the book!
Focus is on the wrestling side, overall a fun read.
Focus is on the wrestling side, overall a fun read.
December 9, 2018
Lot of typos and editing errors but still one of the better wrestling books. Ed seems pretty honest and reasonably likable.
May 11, 2023
Crap Stories..Literally!
Akin to most rock stars and pop culture icons of the heady 1980's, Brutus displays a distinct arrested development; often it feels as if this book is written by an adolescent. There are plenty of stories involving feces being used in 'pranks', which in normal society would be known as disgusting sociopathic behavior. His lewd commentary towards women that he has been involved with, or else desperately wished he was, is by parts childish but also in it's own way amusing as, if nothing else, Brutus is absolutely a product of a different time in society and reflects that with every sentence.
If one was a child during Brutus' wrestling heyday, as I was, there are several interesting stories and insights that will hold the attention. He covers all the bases of topics that I am sure he has been asked about for decades. There is even the origin of the story of how he came to be thought of as Hulk Hogan's real life brother, a piece of wrestling folklore that was so pervasive in the mid 1980's that it even reached me as a boy in Newfoundland, Canada. I won't soon forget those days as a fan believing it was all 'real', and somehow believing the man I watched liberally giving opponents rough hair cuts after matches was a blood relative of the WWF Champ!
While Brutus keeps the pace up throughout and readers are invested in his career development, he diverges far too much into stories that have little to do with the timeframe he is speaking of. There is one story, of visiting a castle and meeting some Count during an appearance in Germany that drags on and stops the momentum of the narrative in its tracks.
For what it is worth Brutus is honest about his feelings and often doesn't pull punches. While his word choices are suspect (he truly has deep rooted issues with the late Pat Patterson that are absolutely down to homophobia), he is overall a positive person who understood and valued his place in wrestling history..and that his success largely can be attributed to his long friendship with Hulk Hogan. It is refreshing that he does not deny or diminish the influence Hogan had on his longevity in the wrestling business.
There are, as many others have noted, plenty of spelling and grammar errors in this book. It is an annoyance and interrupts the flow of it but not too egregious..however it gives the book an amateur-hour feel to it. All it would have taken is some additional editing and proof reading.
For oldschool wrestling fans this is a mildly interesting book that reveals a pretty happy-go-lucky classic 80's star that is by parts humble, outrageous, and rather hilariously behind the times when it comes to attitudes and comments; sometimes it felt like he was plucked 'from' the 80s to write this book. Yet, if one is in a nostalgic mood, Brutus' overly-macho stance and lewd comments give the right flavour to enjoy this product 'of' the 80's.
There are better wrestling autobiography books and there are worse. For all it's faults and it's time spent on some really bizarre topics that will put off most readers in 2021 at least temporarily, this is a middle of the pack type book. The true 'meat' of it is his account of his horrific facial accident and the recovery time and efforts made. He comes off as a really humane person in those parts, making sure to thank and praise all who helped him during this period..including Chyna! Who knew?!
Akin to most rock stars and pop culture icons of the heady 1980's, Brutus displays a distinct arrested development; often it feels as if this book is written by an adolescent. There are plenty of stories involving feces being used in 'pranks', which in normal society would be known as disgusting sociopathic behavior. His lewd commentary towards women that he has been involved with, or else desperately wished he was, is by parts childish but also in it's own way amusing as, if nothing else, Brutus is absolutely a product of a different time in society and reflects that with every sentence.
If one was a child during Brutus' wrestling heyday, as I was, there are several interesting stories and insights that will hold the attention. He covers all the bases of topics that I am sure he has been asked about for decades. There is even the origin of the story of how he came to be thought of as Hulk Hogan's real life brother, a piece of wrestling folklore that was so pervasive in the mid 1980's that it even reached me as a boy in Newfoundland, Canada. I won't soon forget those days as a fan believing it was all 'real', and somehow believing the man I watched liberally giving opponents rough hair cuts after matches was a blood relative of the WWF Champ!
While Brutus keeps the pace up throughout and readers are invested in his career development, he diverges far too much into stories that have little to do with the timeframe he is speaking of. There is one story, of visiting a castle and meeting some Count during an appearance in Germany that drags on and stops the momentum of the narrative in its tracks.
For what it is worth Brutus is honest about his feelings and often doesn't pull punches. While his word choices are suspect (he truly has deep rooted issues with the late Pat Patterson that are absolutely down to homophobia), he is overall a positive person who understood and valued his place in wrestling history..and that his success largely can be attributed to his long friendship with Hulk Hogan. It is refreshing that he does not deny or diminish the influence Hogan had on his longevity in the wrestling business.
There are, as many others have noted, plenty of spelling and grammar errors in this book. It is an annoyance and interrupts the flow of it but not too egregious..however it gives the book an amateur-hour feel to it. All it would have taken is some additional editing and proof reading.
For oldschool wrestling fans this is a mildly interesting book that reveals a pretty happy-go-lucky classic 80's star that is by parts humble, outrageous, and rather hilariously behind the times when it comes to attitudes and comments; sometimes it felt like he was plucked 'from' the 80s to write this book. Yet, if one is in a nostalgic mood, Brutus' overly-macho stance and lewd comments give the right flavour to enjoy this product 'of' the 80's.
There are better wrestling autobiography books and there are worse. For all it's faults and it's time spent on some really bizarre topics that will put off most readers in 2021 at least temporarily, this is a middle of the pack type book. The true 'meat' of it is his account of his horrific facial accident and the recovery time and efforts made. He comes off as a really humane person in those parts, making sure to thank and praise all who helped him during this period..including Chyna! Who knew?!
September 11, 2020
hogan-adjacent muscleman ed leslie gives you loads of detail on his life and times, and the book is worth it just for the discussion of his horrific boating/waterskiing accident
May 15, 2023
One star is for the explanation of how Beefcake "blinded" Barry Windham with Johnny V's cigar. My 11-year-old fangirl heart had been wondering about that for years.
I'm so disappointed in this book. The Barber was one of my favorite wrestlers as a kid. But this was just gross & amateurish.
Though Beefcake was a 60-year-old man when this book was released, it comes across as having been written by a 12-year-old boy. He delights in "boobies" and "nippys" and at one point, uses the unforunate euphamism of "little Beefer" (yes, it's in reference to what you think it is). I'll never get that bleached out of my brain. And there are more poop stories that you could imagine. There are 8 PAGES (in the Kindle edition) IN A ROW OF POOP STORIES. So much poop. Maybe he should have had a gimmick as a proctologist?
He's also grossly homophobic. Anytime openly gay former wrestler/WWF employee Pat Patterson is mentioned, Brutus has to remind us that he's gay in disgusting, stereotypical ways. He also at one point hints wrestler Greg Gagne is gay and "wants" Hulk Hogan. He originally thought the Barber gimmick was given to him because it turned Pat Patterson on!
And don't forget the sexism! He basically calls his first wife a whore, all the while going on about all the women he had sex with. (Oh, and EVERYONE wanted the Beefer, or so he'd have you believe. Men, ugly women, but especially women who were "25 out of 10". Women apparently "fell off him" and the other wrestlers would hang around for his leftovers. Gross.)
Hilariously, he calls out any wrestler he feels tried to ride Hulk Hogan's coattails...except himself. He accuses Greg Gagne of being an "ass kisser" to the Hulkster & calls Jimmy Hart a "stooge" for Hogan. He comes across of blatantly jealous of Randy Savage's friendship with Hulk at times. Yet there is no bigger coattail rider than the Beefer himself. Most of his jobs were because of Hulk's demands. It's interesting that he never touched on his falling out with the Hulkster, though...
The way the book was put together was amateurish. The end is so scattershot, it's like Beefcake & the ghost writer just wanted to be done or just had a bunch of random crap they needed to squeeze in at the last moment. The formatting is weird. The timeline is jumbled & messy at times. The spelling and usage is atrocious ("where" instead of "were", "memorized" instead of "mesmerized", "write" instead of "right", etc).
I'm so disappointed in this book. The Barber was one of my favorite wrestlers as a kid. But this was just gross & amateurish.
Though Beefcake was a 60-year-old man when this book was released, it comes across as having been written by a 12-year-old boy. He delights in "boobies" and "nippys" and at one point, uses the unforunate euphamism of "little Beefer" (yes, it's in reference to what you think it is). I'll never get that bleached out of my brain. And there are more poop stories that you could imagine. There are 8 PAGES (in the Kindle edition) IN A ROW OF POOP STORIES. So much poop. Maybe he should have had a gimmick as a proctologist?
He's also grossly homophobic. Anytime openly gay former wrestler/WWF employee Pat Patterson is mentioned, Brutus has to remind us that he's gay in disgusting, stereotypical ways. He also at one point hints wrestler Greg Gagne is gay and "wants" Hulk Hogan. He originally thought the Barber gimmick was given to him because it turned Pat Patterson on!
And don't forget the sexism! He basically calls his first wife a whore, all the while going on about all the women he had sex with. (Oh, and EVERYONE wanted the Beefer, or so he'd have you believe. Men, ugly women, but especially women who were "25 out of 10". Women apparently "fell off him" and the other wrestlers would hang around for his leftovers. Gross.)
Hilariously, he calls out any wrestler he feels tried to ride Hulk Hogan's coattails...except himself. He accuses Greg Gagne of being an "ass kisser" to the Hulkster & calls Jimmy Hart a "stooge" for Hogan. He comes across of blatantly jealous of Randy Savage's friendship with Hulk at times. Yet there is no bigger coattail rider than the Beefer himself. Most of his jobs were because of Hulk's demands. It's interesting that he never touched on his falling out with the Hulkster, though...
The way the book was put together was amateurish. The end is so scattershot, it's like Beefcake & the ghost writer just wanted to be done or just had a bunch of random crap they needed to squeeze in at the last moment. The formatting is weird. The timeline is jumbled & messy at times. The spelling and usage is atrocious ("where" instead of "were", "memorized" instead of "mesmerized", "write" instead of "right", etc).
July 25, 2021
Great book
Wrestling fan or not your gonna enjoy this book. Odds are your a fan so as a fan this is what to expect, lots of great background and backstage stories, some entertaining home stories, many of these books have home stories or childhood stories that drag and are tedious but not this book. This is truly a non-stop great read beginning to end. I wasent that big of a Brutus fan either as a kid more of a Bret Hart, Mankind, Hogan fan, Bret Hart book with Mankind's book right after it are the 2 best books I've EVER read out of any genre (I loved the Silence of the Lambs series), I've read at least 100 full wrestling books and I would easily put his in the top 5 of any wrestling book I've read, Jerichos book and Death of WCW would also be in my top 5. Hopefully my review will cause a few people to read this book. If your on the fence, read the sample like I did and you would be hooked! The chapters on his accident and surgery are truly incredible and entertaining and he doesn't take him self too seriously and can poke fun at his career. (Zodiac anyone) Buy this book!
Wrestling fan or not your gonna enjoy this book. Odds are your a fan so as a fan this is what to expect, lots of great background and backstage stories, some entertaining home stories, many of these books have home stories or childhood stories that drag and are tedious but not this book. This is truly a non-stop great read beginning to end. I wasent that big of a Brutus fan either as a kid more of a Bret Hart, Mankind, Hogan fan, Bret Hart book with Mankind's book right after it are the 2 best books I've EVER read out of any genre (I loved the Silence of the Lambs series), I've read at least 100 full wrestling books and I would easily put his in the top 5 of any wrestling book I've read, Jerichos book and Death of WCW would also be in my top 5. Hopefully my review will cause a few people to read this book. If your on the fence, read the sample like I did and you would be hooked! The chapters on his accident and surgery are truly incredible and entertaining and he doesn't take him self too seriously and can poke fun at his career. (Zodiac anyone) Buy this book!
March 17, 2019
Always a fan of reading wrestling books from the 80's and 90's wrestlers. The book does do alot of jumping back and forth and doesn't always seem to be in chronological order.
I bought the ebook from Amazon and in the last 1/2 of the book there started to be a lot more typos and sentences that look like they hadn't been proofread. Overall I highly recommend the book for any wrestling fan.
I bought the ebook from Amazon and in the last 1/2 of the book there started to be a lot more typos and sentences that look like they hadn't been proofread. Overall I highly recommend the book for any wrestling fan.
May 15, 2021
Fantastic read Them Beefer rules!!
What a wonderful read many in depth stories and got to learn about Beefers whole career and many behind the scenes stories about Bruti and others and highly recommended!!
What a wonderful read many in depth stories and got to learn about Beefers whole career and many behind the scenes stories about Bruti and others and highly recommended!!
February 7, 2019
Fun and easy
There are a lot of typos which are an going but they don't take away from the enjoyment of the book. Fun read for sure
There are a lot of typos which are an going but they don't take away from the enjoyment of the book. Fun read for sure
April 11, 2020
Typos aside, Brutus tells some hilarious tales of his travels in the mat game and some tragic tales of life. I wasn't sure what to expect, but at no point was I not entertained.
December 11, 2024
This autobiography is essential reading for wrestling enthusiasts. It tells a compelling tale of friendship, struggle, and resilience, making it an ideal choice for readers.
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