He’s been stabbed, shot, set on fire.. survived a serious road accident, 2 Afghan tours, a skydiving scare and heart surgery, ex-Royal Marine labelled..
used the wrong fuel during an indoor performance. This, combined with the air-conditioning being left on, left Wes’s face “covered in flames”.
He was taken to hospital yet again and had a “lucky escape” with just burns, blisters and scars. n 2006, Wes left South Africa to join the Royal Marines on a one-way ticket with just £100 in his pocket. But despite moving halfway across the world, his luck didn’t change.
Within weeks of passing out in 2009, he was called up as a battlefield casualty replacement, the first of two trips to Afghanistan.
Wes said: “The first one was quite a rough tour. I was on over-watch on top of a compound roof and the section commander told me to fire into a building. I couldn’t see anything and asked him why. He shouted, ‘Look at the wall underneath you’.
“I leant forward and about 10cm away were rounds pinging into the wall.
“That was when reality kicked in that we were in a war zone.”
Next, in 2010, while working out in the gym, a blood clot passed through a valve in Wes’s heart and reached his neck – stopping blood-flow to the brain.
He was left partially blinded for nine hours and eventually underwent a make-or-break operation.
“I was given a 50/50 chance of making it out of the operation alive,” he revealed. However, while being treated at Derriford Hospital in his home town of Plymouth, Devon, Wes did finally experience some good luck.
He met his future wife Holly, who was working at the hospital at the time.
They have children Jake, 13 and Annabella, three. Holly said: “Most of the incidents happened before I met him but I am forever grateful for him having a stroke as that changed both of our lives for the better. “Our normality as a family is not normal but we’ve become accustomed to it. He’s still always on the go.”
After recovery from surgery, Wes suffered his ninth – and most dramatic – near-death experience.
He was working as a training instructor at a skydiving centre when a routine jump went sour.
Wes explained: “The angle and the speed of the jump snapped two of my lines – I was spinning towards the ground.
“The only thing I could do was cut that away and deploy the reserve parachute. The cut-off height is normally 2000ft but I was down to around 500ft and 10 seconds from the ground when it deployed.
“It certainly jump-started my heart, that’s for sure.”
After leaving the military in 2013,
Wes worked in maritime security protecting cargo ships from pirates.
He was shot at several times during these assignments – giving him his 10th and final brush with death.
Wes went on to work as a closeprotection officer and has provided security for A-list celebs and even members of the royal family.
He is also a champion bodybuilder and has a universe championship, world championship and a UK championship title to his name.
But Wes added: “I live a much calmer life now. My family is first and I am a father and husband. I put them ahead of everything.
“I want to show people can overcome and get through these things. Whatever life throws at you, you have to stand up and keep going.”
WES GRANT ON LEADING A MORE NORMAL LIFE