Cam Newton, the former NFL MVP and quarterback sensation, showed his athletic mettle once again in a jaw-dropping moment on the reality show Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test. In an episode filled to the brim with high-stakes challenges, Newton pulled off an incredible stunt: leaping from a speeding boat onto a moving helicopter.
The challenge was as audacious as it sounded. Newton, on the deck of a speeding boat cutting through choppy waves, could feel the surge of adrenaline through his veins. Ahead, a helicopter hovered over the water’s surface, its rotor blades roaring to life. At the command, Newton leaped-forward, his powerful frame cutting through the air. He latched onto the helicopter’s landing skid with precision, pulling himself inside by raw upper-body strength.
The moves that went down in the space of a few seconds left his fellow contestants and instructors speechless. Co-star Stephen Baldwin was overheard saying, “You see that? He just pressed himself up like it was nothing!” Social media blew up with reactions of viewers, praising Newton’s unparalleled athleticism.
Few people familiar with his football career would be shocked by the fact that Newton held his own in such a tough setting. The overall first-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, Newton made a name for himself as one of the league’s most exciting quarterbacks. Athleticism, raw strength, and highlight-reel plays-headlining with power-have been synonymous with Newton’s leadership that placed the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50 and captured the NFL MVP award in 2015.
The same discipline that went into his successful football career clearly pays off in the grueling physical and mental challenges of Special Forces. Indeed, Newton would later say of football,
“It taught me resilience and focus under pressure-those are skills I need here.”
Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test is a celebrity reality series where stars undergo brutal challenges patterned after military training. The contestants had to go through some of the most extreme exercises from across deadly terrain to confronting one’s worst fears. For Newton, however, this series is much more than mere entertainment; it’s one avenue for him to prove that life after football can be as grueling and fulfilling.
Videos of Newton’s leap from the boat to the helicopter already have gone viral, with clips circulating across most social media platforms. Many fans have labeled the stunt as “superhuman,” while others joked that Newton might have missed his calling as an action movie star.
While he has caught some playful jabs from certain quarters, most notably his former NFL rival Antonio Brown, the general response to Newton’s performances has been that of celebration. His fearless attitude and physicality have relit the flames of admiration for his abilities, a reminder to the world why he was once considered the face of the NFL.
As the season goes on, the viewers are literally bated-breath with what is going to happen with Newton on Special Forces. Whether it’s attempting some impossible stunt or showing the camaraderie he is so known for, one thing is for sure: Cam Newton is a force to be dealt with-on or off the field.