Eddie Hall has tested the limits of human strength in just about every way imaginable — from deadlifting half a tonne to bench-pressing more than your car weighs. But if you thought you’d seen all of The Beast’s feats of strength, think again.
Yes, the 2017 World’s Strongest Man has added a new kind of lift to his repertoire: lifting weights with his manhood.
Hall teamed up with English comedian and TV presenter Paddy McGuinness for a video for The Beast’s hugely popular YouTube channel, which started as a normal gym session before taking a rather painful turn. After hammering through a back-day workout, the pair decided to “train every part of the body” — and they really did mean every part.
In the video – which has amassed more than 800,000 views – the duo can be seen tying a kettlebell to a rope, then looping the other end around their… well, their family jewels. Once secured, they each took turns standing on a platform, crouching down, and attempting to straighten up — using only what nature gave them.
It’s as ridiculous (and excruciating) as it sounds.
McGuinness managed to lift a 4kg (8.8lb) kettlebell, while Hall somehow pulled 6kg (13.2lb) from the floor — a personal record he probably won’t be bragging about in Strongman circles anytime soon. Check out the moment unfold below:
The look on Hall’s face said it all. For a man who once put his body through hell in order to become the first human to deadlift 500kg, the pain was written all over him. McGuinness didn’t fare much better, staggering off the platform in fits of laughter and discomfort.
Meanwhile, in the background, one gym-goer — a woman performing squats — continued her workout entirely unfazed, blissfully ignoring the chaos unfolding a few feet away.
That didn’t escape viewers’ attention. “I like how the woman is squatting in peace while Eddie and Paddy are lifting with their balls,” one fan joked in the comments. Another added, “The most crucial thing in strongman is training the b*llocks.”
Others couldn’t get through the clip without losing it entirely. “Absolutely laughing my head off at the pair of yous lifting those bells off the floor into standing position,” wrote one viewer, while another simply said: “I can’t breathe for laughing.”
Hall himself looked more defeated than during any of his world record lifts, grimacing as he tried to find the words — or courage — to stand up straight again.
The segment is the kind of bizarre, hilarious, and tongue-in-cheek content that Hall has seen huge success with since retiring from competitive Strongman. While his feats in the gym are legendary, his post-career YouTube channel has built a huge following (3.41 million subscribers) for its mix of challenges and downright unhinged fitness experiments.
And while it might look like a one-off stunt, it turns out the idea isn’t as new (or unique) as fans might think.
Incredibly, Hall’s 13lb lift doesn’t come close to the record for this sort of thing. Chinese Kung Fu master Ye Hongwei once famously dragged a helicopter 33 feet using his genitals — proving that no matter how strange a challenge seems, someone, somewhere, has taken it further.
Nevertheless – and it should go without saying – but please don’t try this at home (and especially not at your local gym). But as one fan summed it up perfectly: “Eddie Hall’s done some mad lifts in his career — but that one takes the balls.”
Featured image credit: YouTube/EddieHallTheBeast (screenshot)
