Adebayo “The Beast” Akinfenwa – Recruit Number 2
Category: Press Pack ArticleAdebayo Akinfenwa – affectionately known as “The Beast” – is a retired professional footballer and one of the most recognisable figures in British sport. Best known for his immense physical strength, he was officially ranked as “the strongest footballer in the world” across multiple editions of the FIFA video game series, a title that helped cement his cult following among fans and gamers alike.
Akinfenwa's football career spanned over two decades, playing for 13 UK clubs including Swansea City, Millwall, Doncaster Rovers and Wycombe Wanderers. Towering at 6ft 2 and capable of bench pressing over 200kg, his commanding presence on and off the pitch earned him his iconic nickname and a global following of more than 1.4 million on Instagram.
Following his retirement from professional football in 2023, Akinfenwa has embraced new ventures as a motivational speaker, media personality, and entrepreneur, with his own clothing brand. His 2018 autobiography The Beast: My Story became a Sunday Times bestseller, and his Amazon Prime documentary Beast Mode On (2022) offered a deeper look at his remarkable journey from council estate kid to sporting icon.
Born and raised in Islington, North London, Adebayo had a strict but supportive upbringing by his Nigerian parents. Despite a modest working-class background, he never went without – though luxuries were few and discipline was high. His early years were marked by rejection and racism, particularly during a difficult stint at Lithuanian club FK Atlantas, where he was subjected to racist abuse by fans and teammates alike. Those experiences shaped Akinfenwa’s resilient mindset and drive to succeed against the odds.
From career setbacks and injuries to personal mistakes and family challenges Akinfenwa speaks openly about his journey of growth, accountability and finding purpose after football. Now stepping into new territory beyond the pitch, he views this next chapter as a chance to push himself mentally and emotionally. “The process is just as important as the end goal,” he says.
Why did you want to take on Celebrity SAS Who Dares Wins?
Oh, I keep asking myself that question! No, all jokes aside, I remember saying when I was coming up to retiring, it was something that I loved and was overly blessed to be able to play the thing I love for 21 years. But I did say to myself that when I retired I wanted to try as many new, different things as possible. Not thinking that this would come up, I won't lie to you! So when it came up, I knew it was a once in a lifetime experience.
What was it that you were hoping to get out of the experience?
It was to try something different. I'm very confident. I feel like I'm capable in most situations, but generally, nine times out of 10, you put yourself in comfort zones. That's what I believe. So as much as I'm like, oh, yeah, I could do that, when push comes to shove, you want to kind of see if you can. And that's what it was. It was a thing where I was like, you know what, I've traveled, I've tried different experiences, but I've never tried this. I never will again. So, I decided to go in there and see how I would cope. I wanted to try something that I've never tried before. The mind is the strongest thing you own, but it's easy to say that when you’re in your comfort zone. I wanted to see how I coped totally out of my comfort zone.
Did you do any preparation for it?
No, because whatever you do, they're going to push past that barrier anyway. I like to try and keep active anyway. You could train to do 5km runs in 28 minutes and then they're going to push me to do it in 20 minutes anyway. So why put yourself through that twice? So that was the mentality. I did speak to Antony Ogogo, who’s done the show before and he told me to try and control my emotions where I can. And he said no matter what’s going through your mind before, it’s worse when you’re out there!
What did you think when you saw who you would be doing the course with you and did you bond with anyone?
As soon as you see who you're with, you're like, okay cool, already we're going to have that competitive element. What I really took from it was that my whole career involved a team dynamic, where you lean on one another. But I've always been in team dynamics where if you mess up, it's on you. On this, you mess up and it’s on everyone, everyone gets punished. Straight away, I didn’t want to be the weakest link.
What did you make of the DS?
They’re tough, but this is their world and there it’s life or death. You're quickly telling yourself, I chose to be here, so if I chose to be here, I need to toe the line. Billy doesn’t mess around, and the others were cool.
Did you learn anything from the DS as a group?
I learned about taking that team dynamic or taking that respect for your fellow individual to another level. For me, in a game, the worst case scenario, is we drew, we lost the game. Whereas what I've learned from them was no, this is actually life and death, and when you really put your life into somebody else's hands, that's what you're really doing. So they kind of took that to another level.
What challenged you the most, the physical or mental tasks?
My thing was I always wanted to take on the physical ones. But I quickly found out everything was water and heights, two things that I knew would really test my mental side. I knew I would attempt the exercises and because I'm a competitor, I want to win, I want to be able to complete what I start. But there were elements where I was completely out of my comfort zone.
How would you sum up your SAS experience?
Do you know what? I'm glad I did it. I don't think I would do it again or anything similar to that, especially where I'm at in my life now. It was an honour and so powerful just hearing everybody's stories, their reason why they were there. Oh, man, what an experience, but I’m glad it's over! I'm glad I went through it but just as glad I never have to do it again!