Four of the world’s strongest men attempt to replicate one of Giant MacAskill’s famous feats of strength, that being the barrel carry. According to legend, the Cape Breton giant, who died in 1863 at the age of 38 years, used to carry full barrels of water from the shore up a hill to his Englishtown house. From left, 49-year-old Nick Best, England’s Eddie Hall, four-time World’s Strongest Man Brian Shaw and Rob Oberst.

England’s Eddie Hall shows off his bicep prior to a barrel-carrying competition at the Giant MacAskill Museum in Englishtown. Hall was one of four renowned strongmen taking part in a History Channel pilot examining the legendary Cape Breton giant and challenging his feats of strength.

The grave of Angus MacAskill is located in The Auld Cemetery in Englishtown, where the gentle giant passed away in 1863 at the age of 38 years. The grave is still a popular stopping place for people traveling through the area on their way to the Cape Breton highlands and the Cabot Trail.

Destination Cape Breton Association’s Kristine Mills places her hand against a printed image of the hand of Giant MacAskill. The 7-9 Cape Breton giant, who died at the age of 38 in 1863, is the subject of a History Channel reality television show pilot that features modern-day strongmen attempting to equal or break the records of legends such as Angus MacAskill.

The cameras were rolling when Connie MacAskill, a great-grandniece of Angus (Giant) MacAskill, welcomes a quartet of some of the world’s strongest men to Englishtown. The strongmen are taking part in a History Channel reality show pilot documenting and challenging the feats of physical accomplishment by such iconic figures such as MacAskill.

Four of the world’s strongest men – from left, Nick Best, Brian Shaw, Robert Oberst and Eddie Hall. The powerful quartet was recently in Englishtown to learn about Giant MacAskill and to challenge the Cape Breton legend’s feats of accomplishment.

Four of the world’s strongest men arrive at the Giant MacAskill Museum in Englishtown to challenge the Herculean feats of strength attributed to the legendary giant who is said to have stood 7-foot-9. The quartet was brought to Cape Breton as part of a Los Angeles production company on-location shoot for a History Channel pilot called the Strongest Man in History in which the participants learn about famous strongmen and then try to replicate their accomplishments.

Four-time winner of the World’s Strongest Man competition, 6-foot-8 American Brian Shaw, stands beside a life-size statue of Cape Breton’s Angus (Giant) MacAskill, who at 7-foot-9 was known as the world’s tallest non-pathological giant. Shaw, who is part of a History Channel strongman show, said it was the first time in his life that he felt small. The statue of the Giant was located for many years at the Halifax Citadel before it was moved to the Gaelic College in St. Ann’s. It’s now on display at the Giant MacAskill Museum in Englishtown.

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ENGLISHTOWN, N.S. — The family of Angus (Giant) MacAskill is hoping a new television reality show will help strengthen the storied figure’s legacy and attract more people to the small Cape Breton community he called home.

Earlier this week, a Los Angeles-based film crew found its way to Englishtown, an historic fishing village located 30 km east of Baddeck, known as both the home of the seven-foot-nine, 19th-century giant and as the site of the cable ferry that carries Cabot Trail traffic across St. Ann’s Bay.

Four of the world’s strongest men – from left, Nick Best, Brian Shaw, Robert Oberst and Eddie Hall. The powerful quartet was recently in Englishtown to learn about Giant MacAskill and to challenge the Cape Breton legend’s feats of accomplishment.

“This is good for us and good for Cape Breton tourism — we feel the Giant has kind of been forgotten over the years,” said Kennie MacAskill, a retired MLA and lifelong Englishtown resident who also speaks Gaelic and happens to be a grandnephew of his oversized ancestor.The production team was accompanied by four of the world’s strongest men, who as the heavyweight stars of the reality show are traveling around North America learning about and trying to equal or exceed the great physical displays of strength performed by famous predecessors like Giant MacAskill, who is known as the tallest non-pathological giant in recorded history.

“We have to keep his memory alive — years ago it seemed that everybody knew who he was, but now he’s become somewhat forgotten and other attractions like the Alexander Graham Bell Museum in Baddeck get much more publicity and attention.”

The arrival of the film crew led to an impromptu family gathering at the Giant MacAskill Museum that is located on the Giant’s former property on a hillside overlooking the expansive St. Anns harbour.

And where there is a gathering in Cape Breton, there tends to be storytelling. The visitors, especially those from away who were not as familiar with the Giant, were privileged to hear Kennie share some of the stories, that he claims may or may not be true, about his famous relative who died at the age of 38 in 1863.

“It’s said that a big American sea captain challenged the Giant to a fight after seeing how big he was. Well, the Giant was a gentle soul and had no desire to hurt anybody, so he tried to decline. But the American would have none of that, so the Giant shook his hand and squeezed it so hard that they say blood began to spurt out of the ends of the American’s fingers – he backed down pretty quick after that,” he said with a chuckle.

Kennie’s son Kerr, who captains the nearby Torquil MacLean cable ferry (currently out of service while its access ramps are repaired), was also on hand to share tales of his great-grand uncle’s remarkable size and astonishing strength.

“When he was 14 years old he was a cabin boy on a ship that docked in North Sydney on a night when a dance was being held. The older crew took young Angus to the dancehall, where an older man challenged him to a fistfight. Angus took one swing and the fellow went down. Angus took off and was later found praying and sobbing back on the ship because he was frightened he had killed the poor man,” said Kerr, one of the founders of the Giant MacAskill Museum that was established in 1986.

The museum, which is only open in July and August, although it can also be accessed by appointment during May and June, houses Angus’ bed, clothing, personal effects and other interesting artifacts, including a life-sized statue of the Giant and a replica of the anchor he used to lift during his public displays of strength.

It was those legendary feats, including anchor-lifting and water barrel-carrying, that caught the attention of Hollywood producers Rob Worsoff and Brian Wendel who, through their ThunderPants Entertainment company, are filming several segments of their strongman series for The History Channel, in hopes the popular network picks up the pilot that may be called “The Strongest Man in History.”

“We had to decide which strongman in history would be best to start with and since we knew a few people up here in Nova Scotia, so with this setting and the history of Giant MacAskill we figured it was a good place to start,” explained Worsoff, a Montréal native who found his way to southern California some 18 years ago.

“So, we’ve brought these guys (the strongmen) to learn about the Giant and his accomplishments and to challenge them — we don’t know if they are myths or legends or truth, but our modern-day strongmen are here to perform the same feats that Angus did back in his day.”

The shoot began with the producers instructing the four musclemen to walk up the long drive to the museum where they came face-to-face with Connie MacAskill, Kerr’s cousin and one of the Giant’s great-grandnieces, who welcomed her guests and took them on a tour of the museum.

The cameras were rolling when Connie MacAskill, a great-grandniece of Angus (Giant) MacAskill, welcomes a quartet of some of the world’s strongest men to Englishtown. The strongmen are taking part in a History Channel reality show pilot documenting and challenging the feats of physical accomplishment by such iconic figures such as MacAskill.

Although slightly nervous at first, Connie warmed to her role as host to the traveling strongmen and relished her tour guide duties as she told the visitors about her great-grand uncle, who became world-renowned while working with P.T. Barnum’s traveling circus.

“I wasn’t sure what to expect, but we’re doing okay – it’s actually a lot of fun,” she said, during a filming break. “The guys are really nice and funny – they’re gentle like our own Giant was.”

The shoot became somewhat comedic when Connie and the four large men crowded into the museum’s back room that was already filled with artifacts, displays and the production crew.

“Incredible — all I see when I look at his hands are a bunch of bananas coming out of them,” marvelled 30-year-old English strongman Eddie Hall, who won the 2017 World’s Strongest Man competition and is the reigning five-time Strongest Man in the U.K., after viewing photographs of Giant MacAskill’s hands.

“I think this is going to be fun — let’s have at it, lads!”

Brian Shaw, the largest of the group at 6-foot-8, could only shake his head as he stood beside the life-sized statue of the Giant.

“For the first time in my life I feel small,” said the Colorado-raised strongman.

The first competition featured the challengers lifting water-filled barrels and then carrying them up a hill just as Giant MacAskill is alleged to have done during his time operating a store on the nearby shore.

So, did they accomplish the feat of transporting the heavy barrels, weighing close to 300-pounds, up the hill? While this scribe knows the answer, the producers asked the Cape Breton Post to keep the results quiet as they hope the episode will soon air on The History Channel.

While in the area, the strongmen also took on the tasks of lifting a dory half-filled with water and lifting an anchor similar to what the Giant is said to have picked up. At one point, they were also each offered a 20-pound hip of beef that was slow-cooked over a fire.

Although the producers are unsure whether The History Channel will pick up the pilot, the publicity arising from the shoot will be very welcomed by the MacAskill family that oversees the Englishtown museum.

“Giant MacAskill is a Cape Breton legend and we feel it’s important that his legacy and memory be kept alive,” said Kennie MacAskill.

Angus (Giant) MacAskill, who moved to Cape Breton at the age of six from his native Scotland, is buried in the Auld Cemetery in Englishtown, just across the road from the cable ferry.

david.jala@cbpost.com

The Challengers versus Cape Breton’s Giant

Eddie Hall

Age – 30

Hometown – Stoke-on-Trent, England

Height – 6’,3”

Weight – 410 lbs.

Notable Achievement – 1,102 lbs. deadlift (world record)

Titles - World’s Strongest Man (2017)

Brian Shaw

Age – 36

Hometown – Fort Lupton, Colorado

Height – 6’,8”

Weight – 454 lbs.

Notable Achievement – 560 lbs. Atlas Stone lift (world record)

Titles – World’s Strongest Man (2011, 2013, 2015, 2016)

Robert Oberst

Age – 33

Hometown - Santa Cruz, California

Height: 6’,7”

Weight: 377 lbs.

Notable Achievement - 465 lbs. log lift (American Record)

Titles – two-time runner-up America’s Strongest Man

Nick Best

Age – 49

Hometown: Las Vegas, Nevada

Height – 6’,2”

Weight – 320 lbs.

Notable Achievement – 2,535 lbs. hip lift (joint world record)

Titles – All-American Strongman Challenge winner (2010)

Angus (Giant) MacAskill

Age – Died at 38 years of age (1825-1863)

Hometown – Englishtown, N.S.

Height – 7’,9”

Weight – 425 lbs.

Notable Achievement – lifted 2,800 lbs. anchor to chest height

Titles – known as tallest non-pathological giant in recorded history