UFC veteran Kyle Noke, ex-bodyguard of Steve Irwin, reveals what the Crocodile Hunter was like off camera – and the cheeky reason why he said ‘crikey’ so much
Australian UFC great Kyle Noke has opened up about his relationship with ‘Crocodile Hunter’ Steve Irwin, revealing what he was like off camera and the most important lesson the Aussie icon taught him about life.
Noke, who retired from the sport in 2016, was hired by Irwin as part of his personal security after the late wildlife warrior became fascinated by the sport of MMA and wanted somebody to train with.
Irwin built a cage for training MMA at the zoo and had Noke practice with him every morning.
‘He was the same as he was on camera – except he swore a little bit more,’ Noke revealed on the Mind Your Head podcast.
‘I hate to tell everyone – so the “crikeys” and all that [were] so he wouldn’t say f**k on TV.’
Noke says that some of his fondest memories of Irwin were after they’d finished their morning session.
Kyle Noke, who was The Crocodile Hunter’s bodyguard for several years, says Irwin was the same off camera except he swore a bit more
‘My favourite days were when we’d sit down after training and me and him would talk for hours,’ said Noke.
‘He’d just tell me stories about when he was younger and his life.’
The pair bonded over MMA and pretty soon Irwin was so intrigued by the booming combat sport that he wanted to walk away from his TV work so he could have a charity bout against Vin Diesel or Wesley Snipes.
Noke said Irwin’s producers hated the idea, but he wanted to do it anyway.
The former UFC star said that the most valuable lessons he learned from Irwin were about fatherhood.
‘The way he interacted with his children,’ explained Noke. ‘The way he always had time for his children.’
‘He’d be in the middle of a meeting with Discovery Channel – massive people in the world – and Bindi would come and ask for something and he’d be like “Hang on guys, my daughter needs something”.
‘He’d stop whatever he was doing and talk to her…
Irwin built a cage for training MMA at the zoo and had Noke train with him every morning
Noke says he wouldn’t be where he is today without Irwin’s support
The former UFC star says Irwin (pictured with his family) always had time for his kids no matter how busy he was
‘You could see it in his eyes, his kids just lit him up. That’s probably the most important thing I learned from him – how to be a good father and being present for your kids.’
Irwin was so popular with other celebrities that Noke says he and the other guards came up with a nickname for him.
‘We used to call him “The Celebrities’ Celebrity”,’ said Noke.
‘All the A-Listers when they came to Australia they just wanted to meet him. So he was meeting everyone – Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Owen Wilson, Wu Tang Clan. They couldn’t wait to meet him.’
Irwin helped Noke enormously with his own career, paying for the Dubbo-born fighter to travel overseas to train.
Tragically, Irwin died in 2006 after being pierced in the chest by a stingray barb while filming on the Great Barrier Reef.
Tragically Irwin passed away in 2006 and never got to see Noke compete in the UFC
Noke was preparing for a fight in the US when the news was announced. He says he didn’t believe it at first.
‘I laughed and said “bulls**t”,’ he said.
Noke says he decided initially to stay in the States and dedicate his fight to Irwin, but later changed his mind.
‘The next day I started really thinking about it and I wanted to say goodbye to my friend, someone who is so important in my life, so I decided not to have the fight and fly home and get that chance to say goodbye that I would never get again…
‘I wouldn’t be here today without him.’
