We visited Mana Holiday House to talk with Dwayne Johnson about his favourite holiday customs, which helped us get into the spirit of the season.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has been throwing open his proverbial doors during the busiest time of year with a bicoastal in-person and digital campaign dubbed Mana Holiday House. Here, guests can experience the beauty of the season while sipping tequila.

Johnson discussed the meaning of family, his favourite goofy holiday customs, and the inspiration behind Teremana Tequila in an exclusive on-site interview with reporters.

Men’s Journal: What spurred the establishment of Mana Holiday House? How did the concept get to be?

DJ: So, the plan was to make a space where we could enjoy the holidays, drink, and get wasted. I’m not serious. Now allow me to explain the name Teremana and take you back a little bit behind the brand. I’m half Samoan and half Black, therefore “mana” is a term from my culture. On the Polynesian side, we have a phrase called “mana” that I use frequently. “Terra” means Earth in Spanish. It’s soul. It’s available now. In the end, I think mana is positive since you can feel it in the air when you come here.

“Hey, can we create a real space where people can come to feel Teremana, enjoy drinks, enjoy a musical element with our amazing pianists, and just enjoy the spirit of mana?” was the idea behind the Mana House. When it comes to optimism and such, I’m a hopeless romantic—especially at the end of the year.

And folks can also take pleasure in the encounter online?

The plan was to have two locations, one in New York and one in Los Angeles, where we could build two residences. Perhaps we might provide a shoppable online experience for people who are unable to travel to LA or NY. Some of the beverages you can make there are really unique, so perhaps we can come up with something entertaining for folks.

I’m looking forward, but there’s a team behind me that has been working really hard to try to come up with something unique for customers every day. “Okay, if you’re going to go inside my wardrobe, which sounds funny to begin with—and slightly dangerous—what can we put in it that’s going to be fun?” is how the online experience goes. There are a lot of Easter eggs in the closet, so the plan was to just make something entertaining for the internet, as access is ultimately what would be the primary motivator.

Your social media presence has contributed to Teremana’s success. How unique is it to have such an in-person encounter?

It’s very amazing. For those of you who don’t know, our brand is quite new. Teremana is three years old, roughly. 2020 saw our launch. About five years ago, we began considering the brand and having open discussions about it. The world ended, as you are aware, and it felt at the time like a baptism by fire. The choice was made at the time to forgo the polished and well-produced marketing plan we had in order to debut our new brand. Talking with investors about it was a fascinating experience. “Hey, let’s trash all our plans, and what I do plan on doing is letting me take my phone, get online, and hopefully do an Instagram Live once a week,” is how it goes. We’ll refer to it as Teremana Tuesdays, and even though the pandemic has hit us all, I’d be pleased to enjoy a drink with you if you’d like.

How much French toast could I eat in one sitting, be gluttonous, and really just have a nice time since the days of the pandemic were all cheat days for me? What started out as drinking with everyone on Teremana Tuesday grew into something more. During toasts, I recall remarking, “Look, I’m not sure where this is going to end.” I have no idea what’s going to happen globally. I understand that you’re feeling a little down right now, but let’s celebrate family with a drink. I am so very appreciative.

What distinguishes Teremana from other celebrity-owned spirits companies?

While starting Teremana, I had no idea how it would turn out and had even come to terms with the fact that we would probably lose our first year, which was fine with me because I thought perhaps we could make something that would unite people. I think the word “community” is a terrific one to emphasise because, as we started to build this Teremana community, I quickly realised that it meant much more than simply a spirit—that the spirit had a face and a backstory.

It’s not meant to be a criticism on some of the individuals who have founded tequila businesses or spirits, as their main objective is to enter the market, make a profit, and go. Here, the thought was that perhaps we might establish a legacy brand. I intend to stick with it through to the end, even if it means walking on clouds.

I intended to build a true legacy brand that would, of course, be sold to our original investors in the event that we were fortunate enough to discover some degree of success. This was done in the spirit of community and legacy. But in the end, a sizable portion will belong to my family and me. The initial two letters of my three daughters’ first names, “TEJASI,” are imprinted at the bottom of each bottle as a legacy marker.

Are there any holiday customs you’ve loved since you were a child?

We moved around a lot, and we were following my dad. I come from a family and background of professional wrestlers because my dad was a professional wrestler. Professional wrestling wasn’t as widely known back then as it is now. Really, there was just one major organisation that led it globally: WWE TKO. There were less substantial promotions back then. You would thus be a professional wrestler in that town for around a year before moving on to the following day.

Since we were constantly on the move, we essentially just observed Christmas wherever we were. By the time I was thirteen, I had resided in thirteen states as well as New Zealand. I wish our family had these elaborate customs, but that was never the case. Since I’m the only child, our family was small and we simply celebrated Christmas wherever we were. After years of doing nothing but spending Christmas together, my goal now is to maintain some level of stability with my girls and the family. The kids try their hardest to stay up as late as possible on Christmas Eve, which is often around 11 or 11:30 p.m. Santa arrives once they are finally sleeping, a procedure that takes several hours.

After the kids go to bed, we also play a couple drinking games. They’re usually just spontaneous ideas that turn out to be fantastic since you never know where they may lead.

Which drinking games are the most notable?

That’s a good drinking game, though, because it ended up making my babies. You take a drink, then remove an item of clothes every time you blink.

How do you like to spend Teremana the most?

I really prefer keeping it tidy with Teremana, especially with the añejo. All you need is a large cube and a small amount of orange juice, however occasionally we also add some soda or grapefruit juice. As I usually like to say, let’s make up the rules when it comes to life and Teremana.