Eddie Hall has ruled out ever rekindling his friendship with Hafþór ‘Thor’ Bjornsson.
The former World’s Strongest Man – who won the 2017 competition and has captured plenty of other titles around the world – lost to his former friend turned bitter rival in a boxing match with the Game of Thrones star back in March, and there is still no sign of them burying the hatchet.
Speaking exclusively to Metro.co.uk, Eddie, who has just launched his own BEAST range of low-calorie, high-protein products with healthier alternative food and drink brand The Skinny Food Co., said: ‘I think there’s more chance of taking King Charles out for a dinner date than repairing that relationship between me and Thor.
‘Looking back on that whole thing, I’m glad it happened. I had to go through some real tough trials to get into the ring with Thor – detaching my left bicep, having Covid the week before. Everyone around me wanted to pull me out of the fight and I said, “I wanna get it over with.” ‘
The result didn’t go the way Eddie wanted, but he is looking to ‘move on’ with his life rather than dwell on the past – and that includes a move away from boxing.
‘He’s still gonna stamp his feet and say he was robbed of this, robbed of that. Let him carry on. If that’s the life he wants to run with, then go for it,’ he added, noting there were offers for other fights earlier in the year but he had no interest.
‘There were some offers to fight some big people but in all honesty I just wanted a rematch with Thor. He doesn’t want it, he said he wanted to wait two or three years. I’m not waiting two or three years for [him]! I wasn’t in this boxing game to get any fame or money, I don’t need that world.’
Now, Eddie going ‘back to basics’, which for him means spending more time with his family, focusing on his return to strongman later in the year, and eating healthier thanks to the Skinny Food partnership.
‘When I was a top level strongman, obviously I was eating 12 or 15,000 calories a day. I suppose after that live – I used to eat healthily, but I also used to eat a lot of rubbish,’ he explained, noting that now he’s eating roughly ‘five or six thousand calories’ a day.
Reflecting on Skinny Food’s range, he added: ‘They’ve put the protein up, they’ve kept the sugars out and the carbs normal, so it’s been a great way to keep the protein high and keep the sugars out.’
As well as the diet, a big change for Eddie has been spending more time with his son Max, ‘rekindling’ their bond after several years where his work both in strongman and training for the Thor fight kept him away from home.
‘I’ve been training with my son and that’s been one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life,’ he beamed. ‘I never, ever used to pick my son up from school, now I pick him up from school every single day. It’s turned me into a better dad.’
In turn, the workouts his boy Max – who has dyspraxia and ADHD – with his behaviour, and give him an outlet, which Eddie insisted is way more important than training for any career aspirations.
‘I’m seeing the difference in his school reports as well. He’s behaving more at school, he’s concentrating better. It’s really adding a lot of value to Max. So forget being the worlds strongest man, I’m not bothered about that. If he wants to be a policeman, he can be a policeman. It’s not about that,’ he said.
When it comes to getting into that routine and diet, Eddie knows it can be difficult, but he’s working hard to strike a balance between mental and physical health.
‘I think it’s just having that good relationship with food, you’ve gotta find your happy place. It’s quite easy to sit down and eat crisps and biscuits and cake all day – it’s easy, I’ve done it in the past,’ he laughed. ‘It’s finding that happy balance. I’ve gotta fuel my gym sessions but I’ve also gotta look after my body.’
Looking to the future, Eddie is firmly focused on his family, and some ‘amazing, positive opportunities’ he’ll be revealing in the coming year.
‘I think just spending this time with my son and training with my son has been one of the most amazing and rewarding things,’ he beamed. ‘What can you expect from me in the near future?
‘Big announcements, lots and lots of videos and entertainment, and me just rekindling with my family really, becoming more of a husband and a father, which is something I missed out on for many, many years.’
The Skinny Food Co range features over 300 great tasting, healthier alternative products. From sauces and syrups to high protein, low sugar snacks, cooking sprays, flavoured coffees, Fakeaway sauces, meals and more, visit www.theskinnyfoodco.com to find out more.”
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