Shark Fest-National Geographic TV/ Disney+/ Hulu
Ultra athlete and shark advocate, Ross Edgley goes head-to-head against four of the ocean’s most formidable sharks in one of the world’s MOST unique shark-sport science challenges.
He’s won the world record for the world’s longest assisted stage sea swim of nearly 1,800 miles. Now Ross is pushing himself even further. He’s going to test his speed, strength, endurance, and digestive system.
In four jaw dropping shark challenges, Ross attempts a G-force turn like a hammerhead, to Polaris jump out of the water like a white shark, to out swim the mako — the world’s fastest shark– and finally, to feast & fast like a tiger.
“Shark v Ross Edgley was a lot of fun to make – it delivers a real mix of entertainment and humour, combined with genuine shark and human revelation. Above all, its a really joyous celebration of sharks.” Sarah Cunliffe, Executive Producer.
National Geographic – Premieres June 30 2024 at 10/9c United States
Nat Geo WILD – August 3 2024 at 9/8c United States
Disney+ and Hulu – July 1 2024 rest of world, check local timings
****UK transmission will air on 22nd July at 8:00pm on National Geographic WILD**
![Ross Edgley shark experience - scuba diving.](https://www.bigwavetv.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GIF_1905001283-1.gif)
Meet Ross Edgley
Ross Edgley is an adventurer and author best known for becoming the first person in history to swim all the way around Great Britain. After 2,000 miles and 157 days the World Open Water Swimming Association announced it as the World Swim of the Year 2018. It was then officially recognised as “The World’s Longest Staged Sea Swim.” Now considered a leading expert in mental fortitude and physical resilience, Ross has since published a series of Sunday Times No.1. Bestselling books titles; “The World’s Fittest Book” (2018) “The Art of Resilience” (2020), “Blueprint” (2022) and “The World’s Fittest Cookbook” (2022).
exert from https://www.rossedgley.com/biography
Our Shark Experts
Dr. Mike Heithaus is Dean of the College of Arts, Sciences & Education (CASE) and Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Florida International University (FIU). A marine ecologist, he specializes in predator-prey interactions and the ecological importance of sharks and other large marine species like dolphins and sea turtles, Mike joined FIU as an Assistant Professor in Marine Biology in 2003. His research includes investigating the ecological consequences of overfishing large predators, predator-prey interactions, and the ecology of seagrass ecosystems, coral reefs, and deep-sea communities of the Gulf of Mexico. He has published more than 160 scientific papers and book chapters & co-edited four books on sharks..
Dr. Alison Towner graduated from UK’s Bangor University with a BSc Hons degree in marine biology. After working as a PADI instructor, she joined the Dyer Island Conservation Trust in South Africa , started studying white sharks and never left. She received her doctorate from Rhodes University, South Africa and has authored multiple publications on white shark regional population dynamics, wound healing, movement ecology, tagging, as well as shark diet studies and global review papers. As a qualified SAMSA skipper, Alison continues with her research on white sharks in Gansbaai with a focus on tracking and telemetry. She has a special interest in the factors driving the movements of white sharks up and down the coast of South Africa. She is part of SAIMI (South African International Maritime Institute) and Rhodes University, Department of Icthyology.
Our sharks & where we filmed them
The Neptune Islands, off the coast of south Australia, are one of the best places in the world to see great whites. Ross travelled there with marine biologist and legendary underwater cameraman, Richard Fitzpatrick. They timed their trip to when the fur seals were breeding, when there’s a chance you can see large females, up to 18 foot long!
To film hammerheads and tigers Ross travelled to the Bahamas. Here, he met up with shark expert, Professor Mike Heithaus from Florida International University, to learn more about these amazing fish. The Bahamas are a great place to film sharks as the Government put laws in place to protect them. We wish more countries would do the same.
Duncan Brake and Nathalie Grace filmed all the amazing underwater scenes in the Bahamas.
Bimini Island is one of the best places to see the endangered great hammerhead. In January the hammers start to arrive from all over the SE coast of the United States. They over-winter in the warm waters here. Their numbers sadly have been declining year on year. We were lucky to film a hammerhead know as Queen. She is a massive 14.7 ft/ 4.23m mature female!
We filmed the tiger shark scenes off ‘Tiger Beach’, Grand Bahama. The location’s name is a bit misleading, its actually quite a remote offshore area. Many of the sharks we filmed were at least 11 feet long and female. They also return year on year to the Bahamas, some making extraordinary journeys from all around the Atlantic to overwinter here.
The critically endangered Mako is an oceanic shark. Their numbers have been badly devastated by overfishing. Now protected, they are extremely difficult to film. We had to rely on the amazing talent of underwater cinematographers, Morne Hardenberg in South Africa , and Joe Romeiro from Rhode Island, USA to get the remarkable footage we included in the film
To retell the story of how Ross had an amazing encounter with a basking shark on his world record swim around the UK, we used spectacular footage filmed by Bertie Gregory. It was filmed off the Hebrides in Scotland.
www.AtlanticEdgeFilms.com www.joeromeiro.com https://www.bertiegregory.com/
www.cameramanunderwater.com www.nathaliegracefilm.com https://biopixel.tv/
SHARKFEST 2024
Want to know more about our shows? Check out SUPERSIZED SHARKS It also premiers for National Geographic’s SharkFest 2024.
Publicity
"Shark Vs Ross Edgley, produced by UK-based Big Wave Productions, sees British ultra-marathon sea swimmer Ross Edgley take on four shark-inspired challenges, including a polaris jump out of the water like a great white shark. - C21 Media
"How far can a human polaris jump OUT the water like a white shark?" - Ross Edgley Instagram
"Set sail for the most un-fin-believable SHARKFEST!" - Nat Geo Shark Fest
"Filmed over two years, I went head to head with 4 sharks" - Ross Edgley Instagram
"Ross Edgley is swimming against the sharks for new documentary" - Muscle & Fitness
"Ultra athlete Ross Edgley trained like a shark" - On the Red Carpet
"Training like a shark" - ABC 7 Chicago
"I love this idea of having a goal and then reverse-engineering and deconstructing it," - Ars Technica
"a thrilling journey as Edgley navigates the waters where these sharks roam." - IMDB
"What you see on screen is pure Ross all the time. Positive, funny, interested." - Innovation & Tech
"One standout special in this year's lineup is "Shark vs. Ross Edgley" ....The special is not just an adrenaline-pumping adventure but also a profound exploration of shark behavior, biology, and conservation." - Forbes magazine
"The show's a lot of fun, and you learn a lot in it too" - Laughing Place
"Brit ultra-marathon athlete to race world's fastest shark in incredible challenge" - The Mirror
"How to eat and train like a Shark!" - GQ magazine
"My extraordinary swim with a shark" - ITV
"Ross Edgley attempts to mimic tiger shark diet..." - Mail on Saturday
"Nat Geo WILD Sharkfest gets off to a swimming start" - Mirror
"A British adventurer stuffed down 16 days worth of calories..." - Metro
"In his new documentary, 'Shark Vs. Ross Edgley', Edgley goes head to head swimming against sharks. " - Mens health
- Presenter:Ross Edgley
- Executive Producer:Sarah Cunliffe
- Associate Producer:Nathalie Grace
- Location Director:Dominic Weston
- Writer:Sarah Cunliffe
- Editors:Clara Hargreaves
- :James Wilson
- Directors of Photography:Josh Tarr
- :Rob Taylor
- Additional Photography:Nathalie Grace
- Underwater Photography:Duncan Brake
- Sound & Drone Photography:Nick Allinson
- UK & Bahamas Safety Team :Nick Archer
- :Keith Bailey
- :Alonzo Curry
- :David Cutts
- :Stephon Forbes
- :Warren Grant
- :Georgiana Merlusca
- :Jo Powell
- :Neal Watson
- :Kathy Webb
- :Sean Williams
- Head of Finance:Pete Dunkerly
- Production Manager:Rachel Briggs
- Researchers:Bobby Cross
- :Izzy Green
- Production Secretaries:Emma Robb
- :Helen Soulsby
- :Kelly Taylor
- Contributors:Connor Andrews
- :Adele Carlsen
- :Sally Carter
- :Mark Greenfield
- :Mike Heithaus
- :Chloe Rafferty
- :Imogen Smith
- :Alison Towner
- :Duncan Walker
- Post Production :Virtual Post
- Colorist & Online Editor :Phillippa Beasley-Swanson
- Re-Recording Mizer:Andrew Wilson AMPS CAS
- Sount Editors:Owen Peters AMPS MPSE
- :Owen Shirley AMPS
- Foley Artist & Sound Editor:Ben Jones
- Film Permitted by :Bahamas Film Commission
- :The Department of Environmental Planning & Protection
- :Ministry of Environment of the Bahamas
- Production Assistace by:Aquabatix
- :Bimini Scuba Center
- Special Thanks:Florida International University
- :Loughborough University
- :Marine Biological Association
- :Rhodes University, South Africa
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