Eddie Hall has revealed he has seriously considered following in the footsteps of his childhood hero Arnold Schwarzenegger by making the move into politics in the UK.
The former World’s Strongest Man has never hidden his admiration for Schwarzenegger, but his influence on Hall appears to stretch far beyond bodybuilding, films and building a successful career outside of sport.
Speaking to Generation Iron, Hall explained that watching Schwarzenegger in Terminator 2 when he was around four or five years old had a huge impact on the direction his life would eventually take.
“I remember, like, four or five years of age watching the Terminator 2, and that just ingrained in me, blueprinted me for the rest of my life,” he said.
As Hall got older, that admiration developed into an understanding of how Schwarzenegger had used bodybuilding as a platform for opportunities elsewhere.
Hall says he deliberately adopted a similar approach with strongman, believing that becoming the best in the world could provide the foundation for a much bigger career.
“Arnold knew that being the best bodybuilder in the world would open doors, and I took a massive leaf out of that book because I knew winning the World’s Strongest Man would open doors for me,” he said.
Hall eventually achieved that goal in 2017 and has since moved into numerous other areas, including television, documentaries, YouTube, business and fighting.
“I’ve sort of followed in those identical footsteps of winning a sport, using that as ammunition to open doors, put my foot in doors and sort of force your way into, you know, movies, into projects, into businesses,” he said.
The similarities aren’t lost on Hall either, who readily admits how closely he has attempted to follow Schwarzenegger’s career blueprint.
“Arnold’s just been a complete blueprint for me. I’ve just copied and pasted almost every single thing that he’s done thus far,” he said.
But Hall’s comments became particularly interesting when the conversation moved towards Schwarzenegger’s later career and his time as Governor of California.
Hall revealed that it has made him consider what he could potentially do for his own community – and whether politics could eventually become another chapter in his career.
“The stuff he’s done in his later years, you know, like governor of California, it’s made me genuinely sit back and think, you know, what can I give back to my community?” he said.
Hall then offered a damning assessment of the current situation in his home country before openly questioning whether he could attempt to follow Schwarzenegger’s political path.
“The England at the minute, the UK, is absolutely f*cked and they’ve got no men with backbones, you know?” he said.
“I’m honestly thinking, like, should I rear up and be that Arnold Schwarzenegger in the UK and make some changes?” he said.
Hall went even further when explaining what he believes Schwarzenegger brought to California during his political career.
“That’s what Arnold did for California. Put some backbone, put some masculinity back into running a country, which is what a country needs,” he said.
Hall stopped short of announcing any concrete political plans, but given just how closely he says he has followed Schwarzenegger’s blueprint throughout his life, his latest comments certainly reveal that the idea has crossed his mind.
Featured image credit: Eddie Hall / YouTube / Arnold Schwarzenegger / Instagram
