Ultra marathon athlete and endurance swimmer Ross Edgley says he’s always on the hunt for his next challenge(Image: Instagram: @rossedgley)
“It’s all Chris’ fault,” ultra marathon athlete and endurance swimmer Ross Edgley jokingly insists when asked about his latest trip to Iceland. The Chris in question being none other than Hollywood star and Thor actor Chris Hemsworth, and that trip comprising a ruthless 1,000-mile swim that took four months to complete.
At the end of last year, the 40-year-old, originally from Grantham in Lincolnshire and now living in Alderley Edge, became the first person to swim around the Nordic island country. His incredible achievement will take centre stage in a new three-part series, Ross Edgley: Fire and Ice, airing on Channel 4 on February 7 as he attempts to not only achieve the mighty goal but help ocean conservation by acting as a citizen scientist and collecting environmental DNA (eDNA) samples.
“I was working with Chris on Thor: Love and Thunder a few years back, and we would just often chat about Nordic folklore,” Ross recalls to the M.E.N. “I just fell in love with all of that stuff, elves, trolls, dragons and basically anything Norse. He told me that swimming around Iceland would be pretty good and would perhaps be the closest thing to Asgard.
“I laughed it off but the idea never really went away after that. Fast-forward a few years later, and the University of Iceland were looking for someone stupid enough to swim around Iceland to collect some eDNA samples for ocean conservation. I was like ‘hold my beer, I’ll be that guy’.”
Chris Hemsworth and Ross Edgley ahead of the actor’s TV challenge involving an extreme rope climb(Image: National Geographic for Disney+/Craig Parry)
Ross was introduced to Chris through a mutual friend and the pair have since worked together on a number of Disney+ and National Geographic shows, including Limitless with Chris Hemsworth, as well as as he prepares for certain roles. “Because he’s such a good actor, I almost feel like he doesn’t get enough credit for being an athlete,” Ross says of his pal. “He’s an absolute animal.
“It’s funny when people suggest I trained him up because I’m like, no, he was already a unit before me. There’s something in those Hemsworth genes because his whole family are just so physically impressive. Whenever I train with him, I act like he’s just this guinea pig that I can just test and push the limits on. He takes to everything. There’s nothing he’s bad at.”
Ross says that, ultimately, that trip to Iceland remains one of the most proudest moments of a career which has already previously included swimming with sharks, taking on Loch Ness, climbing a 8,848m rope the height of Mount Everest, and becoming the first person in history to swim around the 1,780 miles of Great Britain.
Ross after finishing his ‘Great British Swim’ in 2018, an historic 2,000 mile swim around Great Britain(Image: Getty Images for Red Bull)
“The summer around Great Britain was amazing and obviously I’m so grateful as it was an unbelievable opportunity, but that was for personal records and accolades,” he admits. “It was about trying to be the first person to do it. But the trip to Iceland just felt bigger than that. The records are nice, but ultimately, we were able to hand something really crucial back to the University that can have a real impact on the planet and its future.”
Whilst it may be one of his proudest moments, Ross says it doesn’t mean the Iceland achievement was an easy feat to tick off the list. “It’s hard to swim around a place that’s trying to kill you,” he says. “Not only did we have hurricanes and volcanoes, we also had the threat of hypothermia and cellulitis. I nearly lost my tongue from salt water exposure. It was all very nuts.”
Ross says his love for physical adventure was instilled in him from a young age with a tennis coach and sprinter for parents and a granddad who loved reading about Antarctic explorations. “I think growing up with all of that will certainly set some form of seeds,” Ross laughs.
Ross described Thor star Chris as ‘an absolute animal'(Image: Instagram: @chrishemsworth)
Always loving swimming and having played on the water polo team during his time at Loughborough University, Ross said his competitive side emerged as he wanted to take his enjoyment of swimming ‘outside the realms of conventional sport’. “When you say you enjoy swimming, people are like ‘oh, yeah, I can understand that in a pool with lane ropes’ and all that,” he says. “And I always turn around and be like ‘yeah, it’s like that but with volcanoes and storms too’. It’s turned into a really weird career, but I’m so grateful I get to do what I do. I’m already thinking about the next adventure.”
What that next adventure will entail, Ross isn’t saying just yet. He’s still recovering from his time in Iceland, but it hasn’t stopped him from planning an adventure for others in the meantime. On February 7 – the same day as his Channel 4 show premieres – he will unveil The Stoic Games in Tameside alongside gymwear brand Gym King.
Ross Edgley is launching The Stoic Games in Denton in February(Image: )
Described as a ‘mindset-led athletic challenge designed to help everyday people build resilience through discipline’, the stress test features seven ‘max-effort disciplines’ all built to test strength, endurance, resilience, and mental steadiness. Based on a 1,000 point system, only one in 200 people have been able to achieve full marks in tests so far. “We put it out there not sure if anyone would be interested and we’ve just had some absolute savages responding like ‘we’re in’,” Ross laughs. “People are mad keen. I’m so intrigued to see how people get on.”
Those who take part in the challenge, which will be held at Fighting Fit in Denton, will be asked to take part in five-minute bouts of Max KG Deadlift, Max Press-Ups, Max Calories on SkiErg, Max Calories on BikeErg, Max Calories on Row, Max Calories on Curved Run and Max Wall Balls. “We decided to do the 1,000 points because of the 1,000 miles around Iceland,” he says. “I’m interested to see what the ideal female or male looks like. Is it a massive rugby player or an unbelievable runner who’s just freakishly strong?
“But, ultimately, it’s about people trying for their best. It doesn’t matter what your athletic background is, it tests all these different components of fitness and gives you a metric which you can use going forward. You’ll be able to revisit it at other events and use it as a target to beat.”
Ross has achieved many titles and honours in his career so far, but it’s his work for science that he’s most proud of(Image: National Geographic for Disney+/Craig Parry)
In addition to a fully equipped recovery zone, including on-site physio’s, compression boots, muscle guns, and vibrating foam rollers, the event will also feature DJs to hype up the atmosphere and people are being encouraged to come and spectate to join in on the fun.
And as for Chris Hemsworth, Ross said he’s always on standby in case he ever needs any assistance for his next Hollywood role or ambitious athletic challenge. He explains: “Whenever he has a role where he needs to swim somewhere hostile, he’ll call me up for help training and getting ready.
“I’m proud to be his water guy. It’s a very niche role but it’s one I have no complaints about. I’m more than happy to be Chris Hemsworth’s water guy!”
The Stoic Games will take place at Fighting Fit in Denton, Tameside, M34 3NH on Saturday, February 7. More details on how to take part here.