EXCLUSIVE: I made up a new tradition: British expat on Spain’s Camino de Santiago denies he mistranslated Spanish word after drinking beer from his shoe [Video]

IN a classic exercise of ‘fake news’, Spanish media outlets have enthusiastically seized on a story about Madrid-based British expat and influencer Tom Hopcroft, thanks to a video he posted of himself doing a ‘shoey’ at the end of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage.

Tom had been walking the route as the leader of a group he had organised via his Guiris de Mierda brand, which works to bring together the foreign community of Madrid and other cities with locals thanks to activities such as speed dating and networking events.

In the video of his adventures that he later posted on Instagram – where he counts on nearly 50,000 followers – he included a clip of himself doing a ‘shoey’.

For the uninitiated, a ‘shoey’ involves filling up your used and sweaty footwear with an alcoholic drink such as beer, before downing it.