DEATH, EX-SAS TOUGH GUY & TV STAR BEAR GRYLLS SAYS...
TELLY tough guy Bear Grylls thinks he should have died over 100 times and admits as he gets older he has become scared of life on the edge.
The survival expert, former SAS soldier and host of The Island says he is the luckiest man alive as his death-defying challenges have seen him face death on many occasions.
“I could have died over 100 times already,” he reveals. “I should be dead. Nowadays my overriding thoughts are gratitude to be alive. I feel so lucky.
“There’s been incidents over the years in the wilds which could and should have finished me off.”
The 44-year-old has taken on challenges such as climbing Everest, circumnavigating the UK on a jet ski, journeying through Antarctica and even crossing the North Atlantic unassisted in a small boat.
But he feels more petrified now than he did in his youth and even suffers from anxiety.
But, as his favourite motto states, he will never give up putting himself on the line.
“You’d think at this age, and given everything I’ve done so far, that I would be bulletproof,” he says.
“But I probably get more nervous nowadays than I ever used to when I was younger. Life has made me more fragile. Maybe I have more to lose now. I do suffer anxiety a lot and lie awake at night if I am nervous.
“I believe you shouldn’t run from the things you are afraid of, you should face them and never give up. So I won’t.”
One of Bear’s biggest annoyances is the showbiz stars who flake out and quit early on while filming his hit Channel 4 show, Celebrity Island.
The most recent series saw Love Islander Montana Brown, Roxanne Pallet and the transgender activist Paris Lees all walk off less than halfway through.
Survival
“If the celebs are worried about giving up then I say don’t even sign up in the first place,” he blasts. “If they’ve signed up to the show then they should stay.
“When people quit they always say to me after that they regret it. It is the reality of survival that it is really hard. And that’s what the show is.”
Bear says he spends time briefing the stars about what to expect.
He explains: “All of them always say to me at the beginning that they will never give up. And then they go and give up anyway.”
More than the famous faces, Bear admits it’s the crew working on the show who are the real stars in his eyes. “Every time it’s the embedded crew impress me the most,” he says. “They go through everything the celebrities go through, but get none of the screen time. They are working twice as hard as everybody else.”
And now as well as filming his new TV shows for Amazon and ITV, and Running Wild in the US, Bear has launched his own Theme Park, The Bear Grylls Adventure at the NEC Birmingham, in which fans and adrenaline junkies get to try out a slice of the action.
There’s a high ropes challenge, climbing walls, archery, an army assault course, escape rooms and even indoor sky-diving.
And the action-man says he hopes to inspire people to bring out a bit of the Bear Grylls life by giving it a go.
“I want the name Bear Grylls to stand for much more than me and a person,” he says.
“I want it to stand for endeavour and friendships and courage and never giving up. I want it to be more than me.
“I realise I have a shelf life but those values don’t, those will go on.
“I am really proud of this. I was stood with my friends from the Royal Marines showing them around and they asked me if it was surreal having a theme park.
“But for me it’s all about other people. I really mean that.
“It’s not about brand BG, it’s about what these experiences bring out in people and how they can find their own adventures and inner courage.
“That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do, to encourage young people through the scouts, through the TV shows and the books – now this is the same.
“Helping people find their own adventures and to equip and empower them with skills and experiences to help them get the most out of life. And the Bear Grylls Adventure does that. That’s what it’s all about. We will have 100 of these open by 2030.”
But the dad-of-three boys (Marmaduke, Jesse and Huckleberry) says he still feels scared himself.
“Everybody has things they are scared of,” he reveals. “I am definitely not this God-like creature who can tough out anything. I am so flawed in so many ways.
“I am happiest in the wilds, so lots of normal things frustrate me. I didn’t sleep the night before I had to do a speech to a hundred people, for example. But I still did it.
“I know that I am not as strong and resilient as I used to be. I get angry with myself, but I am naturally a positive person. I rarely lose my temper and I don’t get on my high horse about big issues. I am quite mellow really.
Courage
“As a dad what I am all about is attitude. I am always trying to say to my boys that they don’t have to be the biggest or the best at school, or be in all the best teams or get A-grades, but you have to be really persistent, be kind to people and not give up easily.
“I teach them that having courage is being scared and going for it anyway, you might get knocked down but then you try again. These are really the only lessons that I want my boys to grasp. I tell them that words have power. So don’t say anything negative. Don’t say you’re hopeless, don’t ever say you can’t do it. I want them to be kind to each other. Isn’t that the best way to be?”
Bear Grylls Adventure is now open at Birmingham’s NEC,
beargryllsadventure.com