Stormtrooper takes a Snakebite for Charity

Recently, a man went out on a hike to raise money for charity. He was wearing a full Imperial Sandtrooper uniform. The “trooper” encountered a deadly reptile, but it turned out the Force was with him.

Let’s start by saying we are IN NO WAY suggesting that anyone should ever – intentionally or otherwise – put themselves in this or any similar situation. However, it happened, and not in a Galaxy far, far away. It happened in Australia. According to the report, Star Wars fan Scott Loxley has been hiking around Australia in an effort to raise money for a children’s hospital in his hometown of Melbourne. The hike is scheduled to take about 18 months, cover about 9,000 miles and, Scott hopes, will raise about AU$100,000. And, because Loxley is a member of the vaunted Star Wars themed charity group, the 501st Legion, he will be doing it while wearing his authentic looking Stormtrooper armor.

Scott posts updates about his travels on his Facebook page. Until the encounter with the snake, the worst he’d had to deal with was the soaring 122-degree heat of the Aussie Outback. Then one day in the distance he saw what he thought was “another dead snake.” Here’s what he said on his page:

“Turns out he wasn’t dead. He lunged and bit me on the shin. I could feel the teeth scraping on the plastic, but the armor protected me and stopped the bite. That armor probably saved my life today.”

And that would not be Loxley’s only brush with danger. He also, inadvertently, swam with a saltwater crocodile (again, in full armor) and has routinely been surrounded at night by a bevy of not so pleasant Outback denizens such as poisonous cane toads. And he has done it all in the name of helping children in his hometown. Well done, mate!