Eddie Hall and Brian Shaw get up to a lot of mischief together, but sometimes it can almost have dire consequences.
The pals have been all around the world with each other competing in various competitions, and while they know when to switch on their competitive side, they also know when to let loose.
And boy, do they.
Brian recently shared a story from a trip abroad to Botswana with Eddie — a moment that started as a light-hearted wager and very nearly ended with Hall being eaten by a crocodile.
To set the scene, the pair found themselves staring at a river with a small island sitting out in the middle of it.
For most people, the thought of swimming across a wild river in Africa would raise serious alarm bells. For Strongmen? It apparently sparked a bet.
Brian recalled the moment the challenge first came up, explaining just how close Eddie came to throwing himself into the water.
“One time, true story, we were in Batswana and Eddie just about took me up on a $10,000 bet to swim across a river,” Brian said.
The wager was simple in theory — swim out to the island and back again, and the money was his. The only problem was that nobody had really stopped to think about what might be lurking beneath the surface.
As Brian and Eddie recounted the moment together, it became clear just how serious the situation nearly became.
“You remember this?” Brian asked.
Eddie did — very clearly. “I was just about to dive in,” he said.
The destination itself wasn’t far away, but far enough to turn the challenge into a serious swim.
The rules were straightforward. If Eddie could swim to the little island and back, he would win $10,000.
With that kind of money on the line, it didn’t take long for the moment to turn into a spectacle. Like many bets between competitive athletes, the atmosphere quickly snowballed as more people gathered around.
Naturally, nobody tried to talk Eddie out of it. Instead, they encouraged it.
At that point, Eddie was moments away from going through with it. The challenge had been set. The crowd was on board. The money was waiting.
And the 2017 World’s Strongest Man winner was preparing to leap into the river. Then everything changed.
Just as Eddie was about to dive in, something enormous glided across the water.
“And then just as I was about to dive in, a 20-foot crocodile just swam across,” Eddie laughed.
The sight of a crocodile — and not a small one — instantly changed the tone of the entire situation.
This didn’t stop Brian from egging his mate on, as Eddie said: “He was like, ‘Come on, Eddie.'”
Fortunately, the emergence of the crocodile brought the stunt to a halt before Eddie made the jump — sparing the strongman from what could have been a seriously dangerous swim.
Featured image credit: YouTube/Eddie Hall – The Beast
