Men of the Quaff

The Greatest Drunkard Ever

	It has been estimated that the big man drank 7,000 calories worth of booze every day,

It is said that, during the 46 years Andre the Giant roamed the planet, he only truly loved two things: wrestling and booze. And, typically, for a bloke 7ft 4in tall known as The Eighth Wonder of the World, he was to approach both in epic, admirable, almost meta-physical proportions.

For over fifteen years, from the late 60s to the mid 80s, he was the highest paid wrestler in the business. In 1987 his match-up at Wrestlemania against Hulk Hogan set the all-time indoor attendance record for any live event ever, breaking the previous record set by some little-known English band called the Rolling Stones.

It’s fair to say then, that when André René Roussimoff pulled on his acrylic pants and stepped into the ring, he was something of a pull. Little did his slightly overweight, adoring fans know that pre-match he would often guzzle a dozen or so quarts of beer as a “warm-up”, and usually spend his generous match fee (he could earn upwards of twenty thousand dollars per match) settling gargantuan local bar tabs and taking his fellow wrestlers out on the town (he hated to drink alone).

He was a consistent performer, too. It has been estimated that the big man drank 7,000 calories worth of booze every day, and that he holds the unofficial world record for the most amount of beers consumed at a single sitting. One night it is believed he drank 119 12-ounce (Bud-sized) beers during a six-hour period. It was one of the only time his pals had seen him pass out.

Andre was born on 19 May, 1946, in Grenoble, France, the child of Russian immigrants and diagnosed with acromegaly, a rare glandular disease that causes the body to massively over-produce growth hormones. From an early age he knew that this condition would eventaully kill him, so he chose to live life to the full.

In "Quaffing circles" some believe Andre the Giant was the Greatest Drinker That Ever Lived. And we tend to agree.

It's not only his acutely developed alcohol tolerance that dazzles and inspires us mortal drinkers, it's his unflinching desire for fun. Instead of bleating about his condition he got drunk loads, had a proper laugh and occasionally picked other men up in front of lots of other cheering men and threw them on the floor a bit. A superb, superb geezer.

Extras

• Andre was massive in Japan. He didn’t like it though. He could barely fit in the beds and he used to have to sit sideways to do a number 2 with his legs poking out into the main hotel room.

• On one of his many tours of Japan his genrous sponsors gave him a case of posh plum wine as a thank you. As his tour bus crawled into the next venue, Andre was polishing off the last of the bottles. He then wrestled three bouts including a 20-man Royal Rumble.

• When on tour with Hulk Hogan, Andre used to send him out for cases of beer. Hogan knew that a boozed-up giant was a friendly giant, so he complied. Andre would make him run back to the van with as many crates as possible. The sight of which amused him greatly.

• One night a bartender in Kansas City called time before Andre the Giant wanted to stop drinking. Fearing the wrath of the big man, the bartender said he could stay in the bar, but only if he carried on drinking. Andre ordered 40 vodka and tonics, finishing the last just after five in the morning