Struggling With Depression, Alcoholism, and Drug Addiction, Arnold Schwarzenegger Gave Much-Needed Meaning to the Former Strongman’s Life in 2020

Eddie Hall, in one of his YouTube videos, once recounted the time when Arnold Schwarzenegger inspired him to get his life together. He shared how his childhood hero influenced him to achieve his dreams.

Eddie Hall is a former strongman, weightlifter, actor, and media personality. Apart from winning the title of World’s strongest man in 2017, Hall has also won several national titles such as UK’s Strongest Man, Britain’s Strongest man, etc. While the world has seen his success, one after the other, not many were aware of his dark past.

How did Arnold Schwarzenegger remind him of his dream?

Arnold Schwarzenegger has been Eddie’s idol for as long as he could remember. From a very young age, Eddie dreamed of becoming an Olympian. Eddie learned to swim and started competing in various competitions. He bagged many gold medals at national championships and set several British records. Later, he became a part of the GB swimming squad.

While on his road to success, Eddie faced a significant roadblock when he received certain news. Growing up in a loving family, being the youngest of three children, Eddie was close to his Nan. However, his world came to a standstill when his Nan was diagnosed with cancer. With this news, his life took an ugly turn toward a downward spiral, and he was diagnosed with depression, which in turn led to drug addiction.

Due to his addiction and behavior, Eddie got expelled from his high school and removed from the GB squad. However, one fine day he came across a poster of Arnold Schwarzenegger. And like a bucket of cold water was poured on him, he was reminded of his dreams and aspirations.

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Talking about Arnold in his video, he said, “If there’s one thing I’ve learned from Arnold, it’s that there’s a big difference between arrogance and confidence. Arrogance is thinking that you’re better than everybody else, but then confidence is knowing that you’re better than everybody else. But in order to be that confident guy, you’ve got to be arrogant, you’ve got to believe it before you become it. That’s what Arnold did, he believed it before it happened.”

Eddie Hall: The world’s strongest man 2017

Soon after the reminder, Eddie started working on himself. He took up bodybuilding intending to compete in the Mr. Olympia content. However, he soon realized it was not meant for him. He then switched to the strongman contests and competed in various national-level competitions.

Eddie won the UK’s Strongest Man title at 23, becoming the youngest man to do so. In 2012, he participated in the World’s strongest man competition for the first time. In 2014, he came close to setting the world record for the deadlift by lifting 460 kg, but couldn’t make it after dropping the rod. Finally, in 2015, he set the deadlift world record by lifting 462kg. It was also the time when he got to meet his childhood hero, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was there right next to him during the lift.

Watch Story: From Conan the Barbarian to Terminator 2: Arnold Schwarzenegger Breaks Down His iconic movie roles.

In 2017, Eddie won the world’s strongest man title in a competition held in Africa. In the end, he was seen dedicating his award to Nan. Today, he is a successful businessman, presenter, and entrepreneur.