Ross Edgley

When scrolling through social media, you may happen to stumble across an overwhelming amount of fitness enthusiasts. Every so often, however, an athlete will appear who is doing what one would think to be impossible. That’s Ross Edgley. That is not to say he is like any other ultra-athlete. His mind-boggling swims and tree-bearing triathlons (yes, you read that correctly) make him one-of-a-kind, to say the least. His latest challenge, aligning his diet and training as closely as possible to that of a tiger shark, might just top it all.

Ross Edgley attempting to replicate a tiger shark bite: Via Instagram/rossedgley 

Superhero Origins

Ross’s record-breaking feats are quite a sight to behold. His earliest challenges, back in 2016, included 'The World’s Strongest Marathon,' pulling a 1,400 kg car around Silverstone, and the infamous triathlon carrying a 45 kg tree. Little did anyone know, this was just the beginning of a journey of achievements thought beyond any human capacity. All of these feats have been in the spirit of raising as much money as possible for various charities, alongside a keen interest in seeing how far the human body can be pushed. In 2018, Edgley became the first person in history to swim around Great Britain. The oceanic odyssey took him just shy of half a year, clocking in at 1,780 miles. Describing the challenge as ‘a game of chess with Mother Nature,’ Ross documented the entirety of his strategy and planning to take on this mammoth task. It is both awe-inspiring and highly motivating to be able to read the step-by-step process of achieving the unachievable. By sharing the blueprint for the human body to push itself to its absolute maximum, Ross emphatically shows how anyone can achieve what he is accomplishing.

Shark v Man

After a quick stop-off in Canada to casually swim 510 km down the Yukon River, Ross turned his attention to sharks. The obsession started with the swim around Great Britain, where he ‘got to share a two-day swim with a shark.’ Luckily for him, it was only a basking shark, a docile giant of the ocean. Fast forward to the present, and he has collaborated with National Geographic for a new documentary: ‘Shark vs Ross Edgley.’ In addition to superhuman exploits, the program details the harmless nature of many sharks, and how the Jaws-themed perspective of a bloodthirsty killer is a misconception. The premise of which was to make Ross a ‘sporting guinea pig…to bring shark science and ocean conservation to a whole new audience.’ Not only is he an inspiring superhuman athlete, but also an animal advocate. Ross, seriously, leave some room for the rest of us!

The program, facing Ross off against a number of the ocean’s apex predators, takes diet and training to a new level to mimic the exploits of various sharks. The challenge that has left the most viewers in a state of stupefaction relates to tiger sharks. Tiger sharks are known for traveling great distances for months at a time with no food. Then, upon finding a suitable snack (this could be quite literally anything), they will gorge until they are full up to their throat. This can equate to around 40,000 calories in just a few bites.

So, what did Ross decide to do? Only the most obvious option of starving himself for 24 hours, then seeing how much he could put away. Completed at the facilities at Loughborough University, Ross spent around 18 hours in a heat chamber, cycling and running throughout to shed as much weight as possible. Completed under strict medical supervision, he stated how his skin felt ‘paper thin’ due to the immense loss of water and electrolytes.

Ross before consuming 40,000 calories in 24 hours: Via Instagram/rossedgley 

With the ‘hard’ part of the challenge out of the way, Ross turned his attention to food. What was he most proud of?

‘My record SEVEN litres of custard - it was amazing’

That is quite an achievement by itself. There was some method to the madness though. He began with hydration which was key to ensuring his body could function after the 24 hours. Once that was completed, however, things turned messy. More than a few slices of cheesecake, four bags of Haribos, four tubs of Ben & Jerry’s, burgers, pizza. The list goes on. If you think of a food, it probably got attacked by a ravenous Ross. By the end of the experiment, he had consumed over 40,000 calories of food, gaining 10 kg of body weight in 24 hours. The equivalent of 16 days' worth of food for your average person.

So, what can we learn from Ross’s superhuman attempt to put a human up against the natural abilities of a shark? Firstly, consuming seven liters of custard isn’t a good idea for anyone, and it likely will not end well. Ross consumed around 28% of what a tiger shark can put away, an impressive attempt. But more importantly, Ross brought science and ocean wildlife to a new audience. Although you may say there are more conventional ways of achieving this, the program can only induce greater respect for these majestic creatures.

By creating a documentary showcasing our knowledge and relationship with sharks and the ocean itself, Ross achieved his goal of increasing people’s understanding of our natural world. Ross stated how people ‘need to be interested in the first place’ to have any hope of raising awareness of ocean and wildlife conservation. This powerful and inspiring documentary has certainly achieved that. Whether through sophisticated scientific experiment, or simply pushing the boundaries of common sense, is less certain.