The Crocoseum

Steve Irwin. An Australian Legend.

1962 – 2006

 

If you live in Australia, you know who he is, if you don’t, then I highly recommend a quick google search of some of his many exploits. The guy was as passionate about his craft as anyone has ever been before and there is just something about watching and listening to the guy speak that is tremendously inspirational.

 

I visited Australia Zoo with my family recently and towards the end of the day I had the chance to pop into the crocoseum after their show had finished and it was completely empty. I trotted up the steps on one side of the grand stand to get a good photo and when I turned around it kind of hit me. This was Steve’s biggest passion, where he did some of the best work of his life. This was something that he really wanted to build to showcase his love for crocodiles and animals in general. The Crocoseum was to Steve what a finals court was to Michael Jordan and what the 18th green was to Tiger Woods. This was the place where Steve’s peak performance happened and where he would have experienced a good deal of flow. How lucky am I to get to just be in it?

 

I never got the chance to see Steve perform one of his world famous shows live but I had watched a great deal of him on TV growing up and he had one of those personalities that you don’t easily forget. His big cheeky grin, his token catch phrase “Crikey” and the passionate excitement that he exuded so easily while performing his craft.

 

It was quiet while I was in there but it was easy to close my eyes and imagine Steve’s voice on a microphone and thousands of people clapping, cheering and regularly gasping to his performance with his beloved crocodiles.

 

I could imagine him moving across the patches of grass in front of the crowd explaining what he was doing and why he was going to do it. I could imagine him coming to the water’s edge then strategically backing away whilst feeding his mates (The Crocs) like he had done so many times before. I even tried to imagine how he would have felt looking from the arena out into the crowd, seeing the joy and excitement in the faces of the crowd. Knowing each time that he was right where the world needed him to be, doing the thing he was born to do.

 

It was a special moment.

 

Now, legend has it that Steve was watching Gladiator staring Russell Crowe and said to his family “I’m going to build that, but for crocs.” And so he designed with the belief that the closer people could get to wildlife, the more they would fall in love and want to save it. The mission of Australia’s Wildlife Warrior.

 

He was a big kid with a bigger personality who just had a passion for saving animals and the planet. He was a great Father and Husband and one of the all time classic Australian characters.

Thank you for the memories Steve.

Actionable Takeaway

If you had an idol or someone that inspired you in someway in your younger years, look up some footage or words or pictures of them and see if there’s something that reignites within you from the experience. For me, spending time in the Crocoseum and thinking about Steve’s exploits cemented in my mind finding a way to share your biggest passion in the world with others is an amazing gift and deserves to be pursued relentlessly.

 

Pursue your potential

Dice