Becoming best mates with the Crocodile Hunter left Wes Mannion with permanent scars, but not a single regret.
There was that time when a cranky crocodile called Graham tore chunks off his leg and backside while the pair was securing an enclosure during a flood at Australia Zoo, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.
Steve Irwin saved Wes Mannion's life during an encounter with Graham the crocodile in 2002. (Supplied: Australia Zoo)
Mr Mannion was even mauled by the man himself once, an avid fan and practitioner of Brazilian jiujitsu who built a training cage at the zoo so they could practise during their breaks.
"I've still got a busted rib from him. I got him in a triangle choke, and he just got his elbow, put it in my chest, picked me up — because he's strong as an ox — and drove his elbow in," Mr Mannion chuckled.
"Every day I get up I stretch, and I'm like, 'Oh, bloody Steve!' … but he was like my brother, my best friend, my mentor and my boss all rolled into one."
Wes Mannion says being best mates with Steve Irwin was a wild ride. (ABC Sunshine Coast: Owen Jacques)
Mr Mannion met Steve Irwin when he visited the then-named Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park in the mid-1980s.
As a 14-year-old, he was captivated, as millions of fans would become in later years.
"He was jumping an alligator, and I was just like, 'This guy's my hero!' … and we hit it off, too," Mr Mannion said.
A young Wes Mannion pictured while working with Steve Irwin at Australia Zoo. (Supplied: Australia Zoo)
Friend, producer and director John Stainton first encountered Steve Irwin on a shoot for a beer commercial, where the young zookeeper had to snatch a can from a crocodile's jaws.
John Stainton and Steve Irwin work together on set. (Supplied)
He offered to send Mr Stainton some home videos he had taken around the zoo.
"It was midnight, and I put one of the tapes into the television, and I watched it from 12 o'clock till 3am. He mesmerised me," the director said.
