The survival expert and television adventurer’s life has been defined by taking extraordinary journeys. But it is seeing a passion for adventure grow in others which excites Bear Grylls the most.
The survival expert and television adventurer’s life has been defined by taking extraordinary journeys. But it is seeing a passion for adventure grow in others which excites Bear Grylls the most.
Few people are as synonymous with adventure as Bear Grylls. Even his name conjures images of wild escapades and exhilarating journeys. The television adventurer, author of nearly 100 books, Chief Scout, entrepreneur, and former SAS soldier has climbed Everest, paramotored over the Himalayas in -60° temperatures, survived the frozen tundra of Antarctica and the searing heat of the Sahara Desert, and trekked through the Alaskan wilderness with former US President Barack Obama.
“Adventure has been the driving force of my life ever since I can remember,” he says. “It has been the one constant through so much.” Grylls was raised on the bucolic Isle of Wight where his late father, the Tory politician and former Royal Marine Commando Michael Grylls, sowed the seed for a lifelong passion for adventure. “He not only taught me a lot of the survival stuff and how to climb, but also showed me that it was important not to be scared to go all in for things in life.”
When Grylls failed selection to join the British Special Forces reserves, he redoubled his efforts and succeeded on his second attempt. But after three years serving in 21 SAS Regiment, a parachute accident in Southern Africa left him with a broken back and ended his military career. “It taught me that life is fragile and if we have a lucky escape then we have a duty to try to get back up and grab life with both hands,” he says.
Just 18 months after his accident, Grylls realised a childhood ambition and at the age of 23 became one of the youngest people ever to climb Everest. It remains a defining moment in his life. “The summit itself is extraordinary: small – like a coffee table, the highest point on our planet, the roof of the world. Those images of watching the sunrise over Tibet are locked in my heart forever,” he says. “That expedition changed me in so many ways, and during that time the mountain claimed four climbers’ lives. That was so hard to come to terms with, but through it all I have been given a gratitude for life that lasts to this day.”
The experience inspired Grylls to take on a series of outlandish challenges, including leading a team to circumnavigate the British Isles on jet skis to raise money for the RNLI; rowing naked in a homemade bathtub along the Thames to raise funds for a friend who had lost his legs in a climbing accident, and leading a team of five on an unassisted crossing of the North Atlantic Ocean in an open rigid inflatable boat.
“Adventure has been the driving force of my life ever since I can remember. It has been the one constant through so much.”
“I think as humans we are at our best when we have a goal,” he says. “I have always tried to live like this with clear goals and targets to aim for. I have failed so many times in my life and that’s OK. In fact, it’s key. Life is all about that spirit of endeavour and never giving up.”
While Grylls’ early television career initially focused on his personal adventures and survival in extreme conditions with shows such as “Escape to the Legion”, and “Man vs. Wild”, the Bear Grylls brand has evolved to instill in others the sense of wonder that only adventuring can elicit.
From challenging A-list celebrities like Benedict Cumberbatch, Bradley Cooper, and Kate Winslet to face the wilderness in “Running Wild with Bear Grylls”, to inspiring the next generation through his 15 years as Chief Scout (he steps down in September 2024), and his continuing role as Chief Ambassador of World Scouting, Grylls continues to spread his passion for exploration and resilience. In 2019, he was made an OBE for services to young people, the media and charity.
When the cameras stop rolling, Grylls retreats to his small island hideaway in North Wales with his wife, Shara, and their three teenage sons. “We have no mains electricity or water and run everything totally off-grid, but we love it and are happier there than anywhere else on Earth,” he says. “To spend time messing around with our boys on the island is the great privilege of my life. Sea swims, walks, training together – all those things make me so happy.”
Perhaps it is his joy in sharing extraordinary experiences with others that has given Bear Grylls’ programmes and projects such universal appeal. “I love seeing the power of courage, persistence and faith grow in others, whether it is a guest on “Running Wild” or a young scout camping out for the first time,” he says.
Grylls and his family are going sailing together before he heads to Utah to begin filming the next season of “Running Wild”. “The goal is always to do my best to live with an adventure state of mind in every moment.”
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