Gathering of giants
Strongman reality show visits Englishtown to challenge Angus MacAskill’s legendary feats of strength
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, 19thcentury giant and as the site of the cable ferry that carries Cabot Trail traffic across St. Ann’s Bay.
The production team was accompanied by four of the world’s strongest men, who as the heavy- weight 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.
“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 grand-nephew of his oversized ancestor.
“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 greatgrand nieces, who welcomed her guests and took them on a tour of the museum.
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.