Spotlight on Bear Grylls
The daredevil is back with a new season of Running Wild
THE MAN BEHIND THE MADNESS Born Edward Michael Grylls to parents Sir Michael and Sarah, Bear (46) got his nickname from his sister, Lara Fawcett, when he was just a week old. He inherited his love of adventure from Michael, a Conservative English politician.
“From a young age I was climbing with my dad and making rafts,” Bear says. “It had me hooked on adventure!”
In 1998, at 23 years old, he became the youngest Brit to summit Mount Everest. What made the achievement more spectacular is that just a year before, Bear was in a near-fatal free-fall parachuting accident. He broke his back in three places and spent several months in rehabilitation.
Reflecting on his accident in an Instagram post last month, the adventurer revealed he still experiences pain every day.
“And the treatment I get for it can be quite intense but life can at times be a battle for everyone and most people have their stuff to carry with them through the adventures. I choose just to be grateful for the opportunity to still be able to live life as best I can.”
RUNNING WILD – WITH RESTRICTIONS In the sixth season of Running Wild, Bear returns to the wild with Hollywood stars. Together they journey through some of the most extreme environments in the world and must rely on bush craft techniques to survive.
It’s an adventure that tests both mental and physical limits, Bear says.
“At the end of a season I always look back and feel privileged that all these different stars trust me and our team to keep them safe, not just physically but their reputations.
“They are often very vulnerable on these journeys, talking about difficult things. I always come away from each one thinking, ‘Wow that was a real privilege’.”
The Covid-19 pandemic put immense pressure on the production team and they had to put in place several restrictions.
“Where we normally had big groups of people, our production was now small,” he says, adding that the team’s ability to adapt was remarkable. “I look back and think it’s amazing how over the last year we managed to do a whole season of the show and with great guests.”
The team had to travel in production bubbles with tight schedules and strict protocols. They had a special Covid-19 doctor on board and everyone had to take a test every two days.
WHEN THE ADVENTURE IS TOO MUCH TO BEAR As expected when out in the wild, things don’t always go according to plan and on more than one occasion Bear and his guests landed up in tricky situations.
One particularly frightening moment this season was with actor Danny Trejo (77) in a desert in Utah in the US.
“He got some pretty serious heat exhaustion in the desert with me,” Bear recalls. “With our small team and medical equipment we had to get him hydrated and carry on the journey to get down to lower elevation. By the end of the day he was done.”
Bear might have braved some of the toughest conditions in the world, but this daredevil doesn’t want you to think he isn’t without fear.
“My bravery often wobbles,” he admits. “But I have learnt how to deal with the fear. And that is to keep moving towards it. Don’t run from it. Be smart, make good decisions. Choose when to push and when to wait. That is a big part of surviving. Respect for the wild places is at the heart of that.” S Running Wild with Bear Grylls airs every Wednesday at 9pm on National Geographic (DStv channel 181).