Dwayne Johnson Says Being in Hawaii Reminds Him of ‘Good’ and ‘Not So Good Stuff’ Years After Arrests There

The actor described himself as a ‘challenging kid’ and opened up about hitting rock bottom in his home state during his 2016 Sexiest Man Alive interview with PEOPLE

Dwayne Johnson reflected on his conflicting memories of his home state of Hawaii after a recent visit to the islands.

The 52-year-old Moana actor took to Instagram on Monday, April 7, to share a video of himself driving along a cloud-shrouded tropical highway. He paired the clip with some thoughts about returning to the state where he grew up.

“Every time I come back home to Hawai’i, I’m reminded why this is the greatest city in the world. Every drive brings back every loving memory and crazy moment growing up here. All the good stuff and all the not so good stuff,” he wrote in the accompanying caption.

He continued, writing, “Most defining times in my life have been here in Hawai’i. Life’s ambitions at times took me far away, but I’m always coming back home. It’s in the blood. If you know, you know. ”

Dwayne Johnson Details Scary Plane Emergency: ‘You Can’t Help But Think, Is This It?’

In the caption, Johnson also called out President William McKinley High School, cheering on the Tigers years after he was a student at the school.

Johnson previously described himself as “a challenging kid,” during his 2016 Sexiest Man Alive interview with PEOPLE. “I was doing a lot of things that I shouldn’t have. I was getting arrested multiple times but at the same time, always very respectful to my teachers and elders. I was unsure of who I was and who I wanted to be.”

After his plans to play professional football came to an abrupt end, Johnson adjusted his life plan and pursued wrestling, which opened the door to his future career.

“I literally looked in my wallet and I had a five, a one and change. So I rounded it up to seven. It was a real rock bottom for me and I didn’t know how defining or how meaningful seven bucks would be only until years later in my life,” he said.

He still remembers the experience, saying, “I’m always operating like I could go back to that.”

“It sounds cliché but I always say ‘Use me as an example.’ If I can do it and I did, because we all have those low points in our lives, hopefully I can motivate and inspire some people out there,” Johnson explained.

In March, Johnson recounted a scary experience that he had when a plane he was on had a “hydraulics issue” while leaving Hawaii.

“The pilot comes back to me, he gets down on one knee — and it’s just me on the plane, me and the crew,” he said in a video shared on X. “And he says, ‘Mr. Johnson, I’m sorry to inform you but we cannot continue to fly over the ocean, we have a problem.’ “

He was able to safely return to Hawaii, but Johnson revealed that the experience made him think about life.

“When you’re back there alone with just your drink…hoping you make it back safely…you start to realize the s— that’s really important in life…and the s— that doesn’t matter. I had one of those moments last night,” he explained.