NEED TO KNOW
- Robert Irwin felt “emotional” seeing a video of his late father Steve Irwin discussing his hopes for his children
- The 21-year-old is following in his dad’s footsteps by working in wildlife conservation
- Robert’s mom Terri Irwin and his sister Bindi Irwin, 26, also work with him at the Australia Zoo
Robert Irwin is carrying on his father’s legacy.
On the Tuesday, June 24, episode of The Scott Mills Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2, the 21-year-old was played a special message from his late dad Steve Irwin, a conservationist who died at age 44 in 2006, about his hopes for his children, which also includes Bindi Irwin, 26.
Host Mills, 51, first asked for Robert’s approval before hitting play on the old video, which shows Steve saying, “Is there anything in this world that would want to make me give away what I’m doing now? Yes. Yes, there is. When my children can take the football that I call wildlife conservation and run it up.”
Steve continued, “And I guarantee you it’ll be the proudest moment of my life. And my job will be done like my mum and my dad. Then and only then will I know that I have achieved my ultimate goal to be able to stand aside and let them run up my mission.”
Robert, moved by hearing his father’s message, responded, “It’s emotional to hear that. It means so much, and, you know, when you dedicate your life to a legacy, it really makes you think about how we all get to create our legacy.”
He continued, “He is my superhero. Yeah. He always will be, and he was, I think, a superhero to an entire generation. Every day, there is not a day goes by where someone doesn’t share a story about him. It really means the absolute world, and it’s an honor. It really is an honor to make sure everything he lived and died for continues.”
The podcast appearance comes after Robert posted a clip on Instagram on June 22 showing himself sitting on a plane and scrolling through the movie options on the screen on the seat in front of him. He hit the ‘Popular Movies’ section and smiled as he found his late father’s adventure-comedy film, The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course. The 2002 movie also features his mom Terri Irwin.
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BBC Radio 2/ Instagram
After Robert showed Steve on the screen, he panned the camera back to himself and gave a happy thumbs up.
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“When the in-flight movie selection is elite 👌,” he wrote in the caption of the post, which was fittingly soundtracked with “Home” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. The song features the memorable lyric, “Home is wherever I’m with you.” His sister Bindi wrote in the comments, “The best 🙌.”
Robert, alongside his mother and sister, continue the family’s conservation work at the Australia Zoo, where they work to educate visitors on local and international wildlife.
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