Eddie Hall has delivered a powerful message to youngsters struggling at school after reflecting on just how differently his own life could have turned out.
Long before becoming World’s Strongest Man, Hall endured a difficult time in education, which ultimately ended with him being expelled.
The British Strongman previously revealed he had been suspended “probably a hundred times”, while his teenage years also saw him struggle with anxiety and depression.
But the path that appeared unconventional at the time eventually led Hall towards the gym and the career that would change his life.
Speaking to Rob Moore, Hall was asked what advice he would give to his 13-year-old self – or another child struggling at school, being bullied, getting suspended and being told they would amount to nothing.
“I’ve been in that position. I was that,” Hall said.
“If I could go back in time, I would say keep being you, because there’s so much pressure in the world to be a certain person, to do well at school, to get GCSEs, to go to college, to go to university, to get a decent job, to get a house, to pay your bills and to have a family,” he said.
Hall believes that pressure can be particularly difficult for youngsters who don’t naturally fit into the traditional school environment.
“There’s so much pressure on kids these days and there’s no one there to say, ‘You know what? F*** everybody else. You just concentrate on you,’” he said.
“There’s no one there to say that. Everyone’s there to tell you how s*** you are and how worthless you are and how you’re going to amount to nothing. That’s what they’re there to do at school, in my opinion, these days.
“If you’re an outcast, if you’ve got ADHD and you’re bouncing off the walls, they want you out. They want you f****** gone,” he said.
Hall’s own experience took a dramatic turn after his expulsion.
While his friends were studying for their GCSEs, Hall said his parents told him he couldn’t simply remain at home and needed to find something to do.
His answer was the gym.
“I said, ‘Well, I’ll go to the gym then.’ All my mates were at school studying for their GCSEs and I was going to the gym and doing deadlifts, biceps, triceps, and that’s where the journey began,” he said.
That journey would eventually take him all the way to the top of Strongman, but Hall’s message wasn’t that everyone struggling at school needs to start lifting weights.
Earlier in the interview, he explained that swimming, bodybuilding and Strongman had each provided an outlet for him, while somebody else’s could be completely different.
And for any youngster currently feeling like the odd one out, Hall’s message was simple.
“If you’re that person in the world right now, just enjoy your life, be yourself, find your fix and you’ll be just fine,” he said.
Featured image credit: Rob Moore / YouTube / Eddie Hall / Instagram
