Eddie Hall has opened up on the harsh reality of being one of the most recognisable figures in strength sports, explaining how even ordinary moments can take on a completely different meaning when you are famous.
The former World’s Strongest Man has spent years in the public eye after reaching the very top of strongman and building a career beyond the sport.
But that profile comes with a downside, particularly when things don’t go according to plan.
Speaking to Generation Iron while discussing his film Taming the Beast, Hall explained that dealing with setbacks became much more difficult once millions of people knew who he was.
“It’s a mixture of things, but losing things in life, you know, it’s just hard,” he said.
For Hall, losing at the highest level isn’t simply a case of accepting the result and moving on.
“The thing is, when you’re at my status, you don’t just lose. You don’t just lose a competition, and you can go home and forget about it,” he said.
Instead, Hall believes his public profile means setbacks are immediately placed under a much bigger spotlight, with people around the world able to have their say.
“You lose something or you do bad at something and the whole world points the fingers, and the whole world’s got an opinion, and the whole world has got something to say about you,” he said.
Hall believes that scrutiny is one aspect of his life that can be difficult for people on the outside to fully understand.
“I guess that is one point of this film. The harsh reality of being in my shoes is people don’t quite grasp what it is to be,” he said.
His profile stretches well beyond the strongman community, particularly in Britain, where Hall describes himself as a household name.
“I’m a household name in the UK and that is a big status,” he said.
Hall went on to explain that the scrutiny isn’t restricted to competition or his sporting career. He believes his actions in everyday life can also be judged differently purely because of who he is.
“I do things in the street that normal people would do, but because I’m Eddie Hall, it’s frowned upon,” he said.
He used the example of protecting his home and family to explain the point, claiming the reaction would be very different if he wasn’t a famous former World’s Strongest Man.
“If someone comes to my house trying to break into my house, if I beat that up, you know, I’m violent. If it was somebody else, it would just be a man defending his house,” he said.
Hall also claimed he has found himself in mainstream media recently following incidents where he says he was defending himself and his home.
“I’ve been in mainstream media quite a lot recently for, you know, defending myself, defending my home where my kids reside,” he said.
For Hall, the way those situations can then be interpreted publicly is part of the price that comes with living such a high-profile life.
“It’s been twisted and turned against me like I’m some kind of monster, you know. So that’s the reality of being me,” he said.
Featured image credit: The Good, The Bad, & The Beast Podcast / YouTube / Eddie Hall / Instagram
