This content chronicles a road trip adventure through the Scottish Highlands, exploring abandoned castles and personal challenges, with a focus on brotherhood, overcoming adversity, and confronting fears.
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Among the hills of the Scottish
Highlands hides a world of ancient myths
and legends, stories of giants and
bravery, nobility and intrigue, magic
and mystery. And for years, I've not
the hundreds of abandoned castles that
are hidden all over Scotland. It is
rumored that 3,000 castles and fortified
houses were once built across the
country. Out of those, around 1,500
still have physical remains today,
leaving room for curious explorers to
peek through the curtain of the past and
As we follow our own curiosity in a
quest to better understand our world
through its most unique people and
places, we assembled a team,
Scotland's most legendary brothers, Tom
Stoman, the three-time world's strongest
man winner, and Luke Stoaltman,
Britain's strongest man, to venture out
on a two-day roadrip adventure to
explore three distinct abandoned
castles, all filled with their own
unique stories. With our mission in
mind, the question still remains. Can we
access these castles? And how much of
>> Okay, here we go, ladies and gentlemen.
Next adventure.
>> What's up?
>> How you doing?
>> We have a special guest joining us.
Unusual guest. >> Mhm.
>> Mhm.
>> I text you to 9:00 p.m. yesterday.
>> Like, shall we invite my brother?
>> I was like, yeah, yeah, why not? It's a
yes because I said no soing many times
in my life.
>> It's a yes. Let's go.
>> And I have some unfinished business in
Scotland that I'll tell you about later.
Oh yeah. Let's head to the airport. Uh
surprise Patrick in Amsterdam. Pick him
Well, I can't wait to see my brother.
Hopefully see him shine and smile after
yeah quite some bumpy roads in his life.
Stefan's older brother Patrick has been
going through a rough patch in his life.
And since Scotland is his favorite
country in the world, we thought we'd
surprise him by bringing him with us for
this adventure.
>> No way. What the
>> What the
>> My brother.
>> Oh, yeah.
yeah.
>> You guys actually look very much alike.
>> You look a lot alike.
>> It's just
>> Oh, wow.
>> Yeah. What? What happened to you, man?
>> Wow, it's beautiful. It's absolutely
beautiful. Okay, welcome back to Scotland.
Hooray.
If you typically like Stefan's
goofiness, you now have a times two here.
here.
>> It's a double trouble. I'm telling you.
>> Have you? I've never driven on this side
of the road and I'm driving everyone,
including the Stoaltman brothers. I
don't even know if they're going to fit
in here. Where are they supposed to sit?
>> You guys know how big these guys are?
>> They're freaking massive. They're never
going to fit in this van. Tom is going
to have to sit here. He's like 130
kilos. Do you understand? I don't think
I think I'm the only one that
understands how big these guys are.
>> I'm used to my very normal uh 9 to5 in
the harbor. So just sitting here now
it's like who am I?
>> Ready to go.
>> Are we ready to go?
>> Ready to go.
>> Well, that was lame. Come on, guys. One
more time. Thomas, you say you're ready
to go?
>> Ready to go. >> Yay.
>> Yay.
>> As we drove further into the wilderness
of these mythical Scottish Highlands, we
were all taken over by a quiet
I was just sent this address and I was
All they texted me was, "We're ready for
some fresh meat." Oh my god.
I'm the future. I'm the past and I'm the
present of strong man.
>> Oh, wow. >> Gentlemen,
>> Gentlemen,
>> As you can probably tell, this wasn't my
first time meeting the Stolman brothers.
We came here back in 2021 to meet these
enormous men and spent a few days
following their insane diet and routine.
>> It feels like meeting characters from
the sky right now, like
>> your descendants.
>> It's nice nice to see obviously some
some new meat, fresh meat. So this is
our traditional Thomas knows only too
well. You know, we come in the cold
>> start of the day.
>> We can't even like see the the water.
>> Get warmed up.
>> Oh my god. This is a freaking insane way
to start this trip. I don't think you
can understand how freaking cold it is
Before we began our exploration of these
three unbelievable abandoned castles,
there was one thing I had to do that had
been haunting me for the last 4 years.
The last time we were here, I had
attempted one of the strong men
challenges, lifting a 100 kg Atlas
stone, but failed.
>> This looks pathetic.
>> You're just yelling at a stone on the
floor right now.
>> That is heavy.
>> To be honest, not getting that stone off
the ground hurt my confidence really bad
for a long time.
>> Over the past few years, I've been
reconnecting with my physical self, and
I'm the strongest I've ever been. But
the Atlas stone is a whole other level
of physicality and technique that I've
been looking forward to putting to the
>> Perfect.
>> What I was reflecting on coming here is
that it's not about the stone. It's
about the person I had to become.
to be the person that can lift this
stone. I've changed the story that I've
told about myself.
And this is like a symbolic moment, I
think, to
Come on. Ready? Go.
You got to be aggressive. Get those
fingertips right under the sword. Come
on. Right under. Come on, Thomas. Come
on. GO. COME ON. COME ON. Come on. Come on.
on. Back.
Back.
Holy.
>> Yeah. Amazing.
>> That is insane.
When it was on my hips, I was like, "Oh
my god, how the am I going to get this
up?" And then I heard you guys scream
and I was like, "Okay, I'm not this up again.
Oh my god. It's all over the top. Do you
do you fit? Oh my god. And this is a
huge car, too.
>> Huge car for a huge man.
>> This is a legendary road trip squad.
We've just conquered the Atlas stones
and now we're going to go conquer some castles.
castles.
>> Let's do it.
>> What is that up there? Is that a
>> It's a It's an old castle. Normally when
when we stop and there's been like heavy
rain, but it's like flooded. The planes
are flooded around it. Okay.
>> You can see it's like a man-made. They
build the hill so they can see over like
further a field.
>> Scotland has a ridiculous amount of
castles. A lot of them date back as far
as the 11th and 12th centuries when
Scotland was rife with territorial
disputes, clan conflicts, and frequent
wars with England. Rulers use rugged
fortified castles to defend their lands
and their people. But as the centuries
passed, most of these castles became too
remote and expensive to maintain, making
them burdens on the people that own
them. This led to thousands of castles
across Scotland being left to decay and
be overtaken by nature. Today, we'll be
exploring three of them. Some reported
to be haunted by the ghosts of their
previous owners, and others with
We're getting closer. If there's any
kind of like, you know, ancient
creatures hiding in the forest, it would
be here. >> Yeah.
>> Yeah.
>> I'm petrified of ghosts and anything
horror and dark. So, if there's
anything, I'm running.
>> The giant is afraid of ghosts. Who would
>> Where are we right now? We're on like an
abandoned road. I wasn't thinking this
was going to be a spooky experience, but
this is already kind of spooky.
>> Oh my god.
>> What are we doing, guys?
>> Oh my god.
>> Wow. We're like driving into
>> this. This is insane.
>> It's like intimidating feeling.
>> Yeah. Before we a little bit nervous. I
also don't know if we're allowed to be
here. The gates weren't closed. So, it
feels like we're allowed to, right?
>> Pick up in here. >> Wow.
>> Wow.
>> The vegetation and growth has just
overtaken us. I
I
don't worry. It's the big king.
>> Look, are we trespassing right now?
>> No, you don't get trespassing in Scotland.
Scotland. >> Really?
>> Really?
>> It's the Freedom to Rome Act in
Scotland. It's
>> Oh, really?
>> Yeah. Yeah. I mean, fact check me in
Oh, this is nice. >> Oh,
>> Oh,
>> you found a spot. Oh my god. >> Holy
>> Holy disapp.
>> If he gets through there, there's no way.
went down. So that was easy.
>> We brought the world's biggest guy to to
freaking climb through fences.
>> Luke, do you want to lead the way?
>> Can you imagine what all these rooms were?
>> Stained glass windows there.
Oh my god, look at this these towers up here.
here.
>> This is This is cool.
>> Oh, do I don't have to duck. Oh, I do
have to duck.
>> How does it feel to be this strong?
Yeah. And you know,
>> cuz I break a lot of toilet seats. Did
>> you break or hopefully there's no
toilets here.
>> There's a staircase that goes all the
way up, but I don't know how strong it is.
is. Wow.
To go all the way up. Tom is heading.
>> Do we have a proper insurance on Tom? >> I
What happened to your shirt?
>> I lost my t-shirt. I don't know where it went.
went.
>> Holy. You're huge. I feel like a half
>> I always like picturing. What do you
think? Probably they had a huge
gathering, party, dinner here at some point.
point.
>> Imagine this a banquet like food
everywhere and wine and like,
>> you know, the amount of stories for
hundreds of years that existed here and
then boom, one generation gives it up. >> Yeah.
>> Yeah.
>> And now it's just standing here forever,
probably never to be rebuilt again.
They'll be probably left here like this
Before we head to the next two castles,
which will only get more epic in scale,
Stefan and I went on a side quest. >> Stefan.
>> Stefan.
>> Yeah. As you know, >> Mhm.
>> Mhm.
>> this adventure that we have here is
sponsored by a show that's called Fear
Factor, House of Fear. It's coming back
out. It's relaunching in January. hosted
by the Johnny in Knoxville and we have
to embrace a little bit more fear. There
are some tunnels here that are rumored
to be one of the most haunted places in
the entire world.
>> We've got access to enter those tunnels.
So, we're going to go through a little
bit of exposure therapy here together
and go down underground. How you doing, sir?
sir?
>> Hey, D.
>> Thomas, nice to meet you.
>> Nice to meet you.
>> When I go to bed, honestly speaking, I
sleep with a lamp on. That's how scared
I am sometimes.
>> It's dark in here. It's very dark. You
can scream, but nobody's going to hear
you. That's nobody's
>> That helps.
>> It feels like I'm literally like living
inside of a
>> Well, if you're afraid of the dark, this
is the place to go.
>> We were led through the tunnels full of
narrow corridors and forgotten rooms.
Even the tunnel's current residents made
themselves known to us.
>> You would have towers and blacksmiths as
the usual. We've got over I think we're
over 600 people now that have been on
our tours have had interactions. People
coming away with bruises, bite mark,
scratches from places they cannot explain.
explain.
>> But this walkthrough wasn't the real challenge.
challenge.
>> No, no, no, no. This was it, right?
>> The fear factor is like an immersive experience.
experience.
>> I'm going to leave you here for the next
hour by yourself. >> Oh,
>> Oh,
will you be close enough if I like
scream that you can hear me or something?
something?
>> Probably not.
>> Come on.
>> See you in an hour. See you in an hour.
>> Oh [ __ ] this is tough. Yeah.
>> Oh, good stuff.
>> Yes. Oh,
>> the water.
>> When I was a kid, I used to love to
watch the show Fear Factor. Just like
Stefan is doing in this very moment. The
show was all about facing the fears that
terrify you. It taught me early on that
you do not get stronger by running away
from your fears. In fact, you only get
stronger by facing them head-on. Well,
the show is coming back where the
contestants are facing mind-blowing
fears, living together in a twisted game
where fear becomes a weapon. All
competing for $200,000.
So, watch Fear Factor: House of Fear on
Wednesdays at 98 central on Fox and the
next day on Hulu. The exclusive
collaboration is also out right now.
There are only 50 editions and after
that they're gone. Okay, now let's go
see if Stfan is still in there and if
he's made it through the full hour.
>> I don't know what's in my head or not,
but I think I heard some footsteps. So,
I'm just going to he's going to walk.
Yes. All good, Stefan. All good. All
good. Everything's good. Everything's
I made it.
>> I went in as a boy, left as a man.
>> Well done, man. Well done.
>> And now, let's go back to our lovely adventure.
adventure.
>> As morning broke over the Scottish
Highlands, we headed toward our next
abandoned castle. A place whose shadows
are said to hide more than just ruins.
Oh, I think I see it. I think that's it
right there.
>> Oh, it is.
>> This is Castle Buchanan. Its
construction was finished in 1852. At
first glance, it looks like just another
abandoned building in rural Scotland.
But in 1941, it played a role in one of
the strangest moments of World War II.
Rudolfph Hess, Hitler's deputy, flew
alone from Nazi Germany to Scotland,
believing he could negotiate peace with
Britain. He parachuted into a field
outside of Glasgow and was immediately
arrested and soon after was brought
here, the Buchanan Castle. At the time,
the castle was being used by the British
government as a secure holding and
interrogation site. Hes was questioned
here while official tried to work out
whether he was acting on Hitler's orders
or completely on his own. The conclusion
was clear. Hitler had not sent him. Hess
was no authority to negotiate peace and
whatever he believed would happen,
Britain was not interested. His was sent
elsewhere and imprisoned for the rest of
his life. After the war, the castle
became too expensive to maintain and was
partially demolished before falling to
ruin after a major fire in 1981. It has
>> There's something about abandoned
>> Finding any way in?
>> No. No. >> No.
>> No.
If you take Patrick and throw him in.
>> Yeah. Easy. Yeah. Easy.
>> Looks like this is the spot.
>> Wait, are you in, sir?
>> Hey, there we go.
>> Our leader, Tom, has found his way. >> ID.
>> ID.
>> ID. Um,
>> This looks
surreal. Absolutely surreal.
Some abandoned places feel frozen in
time, but this one feels swallowed by
time. Nature is just completely
This castle
is massive.
There's a tunnel underneath the castle.
So, should we go in for a little? >> Yeah.
>> Yeah.
>> Oh. Uh, yeah. It's almost joining Patrick.
Patrick. >> Uh-oh.
>> Uh-oh.
This is not good.
>> Well, watch out for the walls.
>> Holy crap. This does not feel good in here.
here.
>> What What could they have been doing in
>> I'm sorry.
>> Yeah. I love bringing people to see
their first abandoned places. There's a
very unique feeling that you can only find
find
>> here. Here.
>> And I'd never been to abandoned castles.
I've been looking at images for years at
the ones in Scotland. So, it was like a
huge bucket list item for me. Nice.
>> And to do it with you guys feels extra special.
special.
>> That's cool. That's very good.
>> And I conquered my fear. I went into a
dark room, but I got a free somebody.
I think I found a way up.
>> Oh, what? How the hell did you get up
there? Oh, blime me.
>> I'm getting dizzy.
>> Oh, hello, lads. Hey,
As we made our way towards the final
castle, we took a moment to appreciate
I think we are arriving at our next
castle. Ho ho.
>> This road
Oh. Oh
Oh [ __ ]
Hold your moment. There's an entrance
right there in the gate. >> Yep.
>> Yep.
>> There's somebody in there.
>> Somebody is inside of the castle.
>> Tom said he's seen someone in there.
>> There's a guy standing in the up in the
middle bit just staring at me.
>> No, no, no, no.
>> You're kidding.
>> I'm not kid. I am actually not kidding.
This is the spookiest place we've been
to. There we go. >> Wait.
>> Wait.
Oh my lord. Blime me. That's a castle.
Blime me. Why are you saying new words
just because we're in the UK?
>> It was a fire here in 2008 that got most
>> Yeah. I said it was going to be like a
brother story and all of a sudden the
>> Oh my god. What the What are you
wearing? What is happening?
>> Holy crap.
>> What the
>> I think they're making a horror movie.
>> Are we filming something or Ah, okay.
We're just happy that you're real as
Wow.
>> Patrick, how does it feel to to be here
with your brother?
>> Feels amazing.
One week ago, I was in a different spot,
but now I'm here feeling blessed
together with my brother.
>> What does your What does your brother
mean to you?
>> Oh, wow. The world. Without Stefan, I
wouldn't be where I am today. So forever
grateful. He's the best. From from bunk bed
bed >> Yeah.
>> Yeah.
>> to Sri Lanka. We often joke. And
>> 10 years ago before going to Sri Lanka.
Yeah. You called me from a specific country.
country.
>> Yeah. I actually called you from Scotland.
Scotland. >> Mhm.
>> Mhm.
>> I was crying in the alley and I said,
"Brother, life is right now."
>> Mhm. And then as you always do when I'm
on the ground, you pick me up and uh
yeah, you took me to Sri Lanka. You took
me to Scotland.
>> No, but I think that's what brotherhood
is about. He picked me up as well many
times in my early days before anyone
believed in me. This gentleman over
here, he supported when I had dreams and
hopes and aspirations and people made
fun. This big brother here, he was the
one like
>> Yeah. And it's beautiful as well. I did
free speeches. You were unemployed.
Yeah, but you were driving me and we
were going to these high schools and
different events and I was just so eager
and excited to like, you know, share
stories. Very naive of me,
>> but that's what I did. Called myself a
professional dreamer and and yeah, you
were with me there.
>> Yeah. And you still are a professional dreamer.
dreamer.
>> For sure. That's staying with me.
>> You created a job title that didn't exist.
exist. >> Mhm.
>> Mhm.
>> Now it exists so much it is even hard to
take in.
>> Yeah. Much love, man.
>> Much love, brother.
>> Happy to have you here, man. same
>> same brother. Yeah.
>> The silent support, you know, sometimes
words are needed and with Tom,
you know, I can shout loud, I can
scream, whatever. But that silent
support is almost the most
special thing for me. I think with Tom,
>> I speak highly of it and I speak, you
know, proudly of having autism. 15, 16
year old, probably the hardest time of
my life. Locking myself in my room, you
know, getting bullied at school, not
having anything to look forward to in my
life. It was Luke that kind of took save
my life when I was 16 years old. You
know, I could have went into care, maybe
could have went down different paths and
probably would have been like what 31y
old in a care home somewhere in in some
part of Scotland. But 27, he knocked on
my door at 16 years old and said, you
know, follow my journey and come to the
gym. At 16 years old, I walked through
that uh gym door with my hood up. I
wasn't confident. Couldn't speak to
anybody. Could only speak to Luke. You
know, I started gradually getting the
hood down, started saying words. And for
me, it was like I was reborn again.
>> If I if I may ask, like how how long
time did you lock yourself in your room for?
for?
>> I was I was just in my room for 5 6
months, you know, eating food in my
room, playing Call of Duty, not seeing
my family, not seeing friends. And you
know, for someone that had autism and
got bullied, it's for me, I pat myself
on the back as well because I've always
>> Proud of you, man.
>> Proud of you. Put on this earth for a
>> You're paving the way for so many
people, Tom. No, but I hear every word
you say. I I I was the same. I I locked
myself in for several years actually. I
was afraid of everything, you know, just
step outside. I spent so many years in
front of the computer screen
trying to just flee my own demons
because I couldn't handle it in any
other way. And I I'm still working on
it. Just a week ago, I put myself into
my first AA meeting for
severe addiction.
And here I am a week later with you boys
in Scotland.
Uh but looking back at it, it it has
shaped me to who I am today. Without
being lost, I wouldn't be able to find a
path. Sometimes it's a brother by blood
and sometimes it's an internet brother
or sometimes it's a stranger you haven't
met. But there's always someone out
>> And with this trip coming to an end,
Patrick still had one last thing he
wanted to try. We have one more man who
>> Come on.
>> We got this path.
>> You heard how much noise it makes when
it falls on the ground. This thing is
like 100 kilos.
>> Okay, we've got it 100%. Just use that.
Channel that aggression. Channel that
adrenaline. It's adrenaline that's going
through your body. Just get it. Okay,
just focus. I swear to you, you can do
>> Oh, not today.
>> Not today. Really?
>> It's hard. It's hard.
>> It's hard. Of course it's hard.
>> Yeah, because I started I noticed doubt
was creeping in.
>> Yeah, of course it is.
>> But what can you do? What can you do
now? You can take a minute. You've
proven to yourself twice you've got that
off the floor and it's been so close. So
you can walk away. You can say it, I'm
not going to do it. Or you can change
the story, mate. You've got one more
attempt. It'll be a bit more painful,
but it's okay. We don't mind pain.
>> No. No.
>> That's [ __ ] life, isn't it?
>> Pain is part of my life. >> Exactly.
>> Exactly.
>> That's how I survive.
>> Of course it is. I caning tell, mate.
>> Without pain, I wouldn't be alive today.
>> Do one more painful thing today. So,
this is one more for me. Honestly,
I see it in you. Embrace that pain.
Who am I? I AM A SHOTGUN. I was even on
my way down, but I did not stop. I could
not [ __ ]
get it.
>> This is how it feels to be alive.
>> It's been some time, but now I'm alive.
I'm not only surviving, I'm living.
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