I watch him and Jimmy Riffle on Animal Planet’s “Gator Boys” program. As a reptile enthusiast who has caught many snakes and alligators over the years, I find most such programs to be complete garbage. But “Gator Boys” is wildly entertaining to me. Bedard isn’t the only person to handle alligators underwater (Manny Puig comes to mind, who Paul and Jimmy have featured on their show), but the way he does it is pretty cool. As I watched one of the first episodes, I found it odd that Paul was chasing gators underwater in what appeared to be Craft cycling or tri shorts. Then I noticed that he is built a little differently than most folks on those kinds of shows. I did a little research and learned of his roots in triathon. Recently, he has been filmed riding his bike on the show, and in one episode, he had his bike in his truck as he wrestled gators. I figure someone on here knows him. For all I know, he may hang out here, too. He’s done a double IM before – I mean, all serious triathletes hang out on Slowtwitch, right?
So who knows him? (And if this has been been covered in another thread, I apologize.)
Paul is a legend in the USA Ultra-triathlon community,he is a great guy, a hell of a character and one person I was very happy to finally meet after spending years hearing about his exploits.He is a very old school triathlete and the chances of him spending time posting on ST are at best minimal.For those going to Virginia or Tampa for one of Steve Kirby’s USAUltratri events you might just have the chance to meet him in person.
Hi Robert. Paul is my cousin, I live in Westport where he spends half his time. He may be 43 but thats in numbers only. The show does a real good job of capturing his true personality. Joking, sarcastic, passionate and unbelievably nuts. Always has been and always will be ( you know he’s nuts bc to him its perfectly normal). Amazing how he came back from his crippling accident to finish 3rd in the double ironman a couple yrs back, to top off his 1st in 1999. He is a dedicated christian and an all around awesome guy. VERY proud of him.
Very cool. I don’t like many of the Animal Planet shows; most of them do a poor job of accurately portraying the animals and their personalities. But I like Gator Boys – and that was before I found out Paul was a triathlete. If you talk to him, let him know there are other tri-geek snake/alligator folks out there who enjoy what he does.
Got to know Paul many years ago in Hawaii when his former girlfriend, Christine Dunnery, was competing in the IMWC.
Along with being a total ‘character’ he is good guy. He was very supportive and helpful in the days leading up to the race and put a lot of time and effort in to photographing the event.
Though I lost touch with him years ago glad to see that he is doing well with his TV gig!
I just want to know if he’s married or involved with anyone?
We realize that you joined up just to stalk him, but will someone explain why this thread has 10K views and only 11 posts? What am I missing?
Did I stumble into a cartel front–does “Paul Bedard” = “the price of uncut heroin this week”? Or he is just that charismatic and handsome?
Being a foreigner, I had no idea who this Paul Bedard was. My excuse for clicking on this thread was because with more than 10k views, this thread has got to be about someone who got caught cheating at a race.