Eddie Hall has revealed exactly what he would tell his 16-year-old self if he were given just 30 seconds to travel back in time and offer some advice.
The former World’s Strongest Man has experienced some extraordinary highs and difficult lows on his journey to becoming one of the most recognisable figures in strength sport.
As a youngster, Hall was a high-level swimmer and said he was the best in the country, winning nationals several years in a row and making the World Potential squad.
But his life later took a dramatic turn.
During his interview with Men’s Health UK, Hall revealed that he was expelled from school and became heavily involved with drink and drugs. At around the same time, he got a girl pregnant and one of his grandparents was diagnosed with cancer.
His swimming career disappeared amid the turmoil and Hall later found himself taking Prozac and seeing a psychiatrist.
It was his mum who eventually suggested that he start going to the gym, beginning a journey which would ultimately take him to the top of the strongman world.
Hall started lifting weights at 14 before discovering just how unusually strong he was as a teenager.
At 19, he entered his first Strongman competition and finished fifth out of around 40 competitors.
That same day, Hall announced on Facebook that he would one day become the World’s Strongest Man.
He eventually fulfilled that ambition in 2017, while also cementing his place in strength-sport history by becoming the first man to deadlift 500kg.
With everything that has happened since those turbulent teenage years, Hall was presented with a hypothetical scenario at the end of his Men’s Health UK interview.
He was asked to imagine being able to travel back in time and speak to his 16-year-old self, with the portal closing after only 30 seconds.
Despite everything he has been through, Hall wouldn’t attempt to convince his younger self to take a different path.
In fact, his message would be remarkably simple.
“I’ve got no regrets in life. So, I would just say, listen, you know, do what you do. Be yourself and chase your dreams because that’s exactly what I did,” he said.
Hall believes the path he chose ultimately worked out, despite the setbacks he encountered along the way.
“It all worked out and I’m lucky enough to sit here now and I can honestly say I’ve got no regrets in life and that’s a very, very blessed place to be,” he said.
It is a particularly telling answer considering Hall’s earlier admission that his pursuit of becoming World’s Strongest Man once became so extreme that he was willing to risk his life to achieve it.
But given the opportunity to go back and change things, Hall wouldn’t rewrite his story.
His advice to the teenager who had yet to become The Beast would simply be to remain himself and keep chasing the ambitions that would eventually define his career.
Featured image credit: Eddie Hall / Instagram / Facebook
