This Is How I Took Over Steve Irwin’s Role… and Faced My Biggest Fear — Live, With Crocodiles
After Steve Irwin passed away, someone had to step into his shoes.
That someone… was me.
When I got the call to audition for Steve’s live presenting role at Australia Zoo, my first instinct was to say no.
Not because I didn’t want the opportunity.
Not because I didn’t believe in the work.
But because I had a 25-year phobia of snakes.
Just the thought of one would send my body straight into panic. Tight chest. Shallow breath. Full nervous system overload.
Still, something inside me whispered:
Go anyway.
So I went to the audition — terrified — and somehow… I won the role.
That’s when reality truly hit.
I wasn’t just going to be speaking live.
I was going to be doing it in front of 5,000 people in the Crocoseum…
With crocodiles behind me…
And snakes at my feet.
At first, I couldn’t even look at them.
But the team at Australia Zoo were extraordinary. They didn’t force me. They didn’t shame me. They met me where I was.
Step by step, they helped me rebuild safety in my body.
First, touching a tail.
Then standing nearby.
Then breathing through the fear instead of running from it.
Within a week, I had snakes draped around my neck.
And there I was — live on stage, with thousands watching — doing something I once believed was impossible.
That experience taught me something I’ve never forgotten:
Fear isn’t the end.
It’s the entry point.
You don’t become fearless.
You learn to show up anyway — and trust that courage will meet you there.
Looking back now, I realise the choice was never really about snakes.
It was about this question:
Phobia… or purpose?
At some point, we all have to choose.