The Inspiring Success Story of Bear Grylls
- Being brave isn’t the absence of fear. Being brave is having that fear but finding a way through it.
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Early Days of Bear Grylls
Edward Michael Grylls, popularly known as Bear Grylls, is a famous adventurer and survivalist persona. Grylls was born on 7 June 1974, in Northern Ireland, to a conservative politician, Sir Michael Grylls, and Sarah Grylls. He was raised on the Isle of Wight. Here he was always engrossed in adventures of the outdoors, which was something his father would encourage. His father would also often take him on climbing and sailing adventures. He enjoyed pushing himself to his limits when it comes to outdoor activities. He studied at Eaton House, Ludgrove School, and eventually went to Eton College, where he was part of the Mountaineering Club. He had also studied languages like German and Spanish at the University of West of England.
Test of the strength
In 2004, he joined the British Army Special Air Service as a part of the Territorial Army. Here he served as a trooper during his army life. He suffered a major misfortune during a parachuting training exercise in 1996 while serving with the SAS in Zambia; Bear’s parachute failed to inflate correctly, which resulted in him falling from 16,000 feet. This left him with three fractured vertebrae in his spine. His injury was extremely severe, and the doctors informed him that they were unsure if he could ever walk. But this incident didn’t stop Bear; he overcame all the emotional and physical tolls and underwent a lengthy rehabilitation process to recover. Just after 18 months of recovering, this man did something unimaginable. He achieved his childhood dream of climbing Mount Everest. At the age of 23, he climbed Everest on March 19, 1998. His expedition lasted about 90 days, where he faced the harsh weather, but he was determined to become an adventurer. After this, he wrote his first book, Facing Up, which recounted the details of his journey to Everest.
The Adventures
After climbing, Everest bars didn’t stop; he had many more expeditions, like
- Sailing the coastline of the UK
In 2000, for 30 days, Grylls navigated a team to the coast of the UK on a jet ski to raise money for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
- Crossing the North Atlantic
In 2003, he, with four other members, crossed the North Atlantic Ocean in an open rigid inflatable boat.
- Dinner at High Altitude
He, along with two people, hosted a formal open-air dinner party in a hot air balloon, which was 7600 meters above the ground in 2005.
- Paramotoring over the Himalayas
He paramotored in the Himalayas near Mount Everest and reached about 9000 meters.
- Journey to Antarctica
In 2008, Grylls exploded in Antarctica using an inflatable boat and jet ski and also led a team to climb an unclaimed peak in Antarctica.
- The Northwest Passage expedition
In 2010, he took a team to the Northwest Passage in a rigid inflatable boat.
Man vs. Wild
Bear Grylls, before his major hit Man vs. Wild, had also appeared in various talk shows as a guest, like The Oprah Winfrey Show, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Late Show with David Letterman, etc. He also was featured In an army’s anti-drug TV campaign that was used by the UK ministry, he also took part in a TV show called Escape to the Legion in 2005. He was discovered by the Discovery Channel due to his public speaking skills and his survival skills. He had a knack for keeping his listeners engaged while he narrated his wilderness and survival stories. Man vs. Wild first premiered on November 10, 2006, where Bear Grylls demonstrated his survival techniques in various environments. In the show, he had to teach his viewers to find food and water in the environment, build shelter to protect himself from the difficult weather, and then navigate and signal for the rescue. He would also teach his viewers how to handle unexpected circumstances and dangerous wildlife. These shows were filmed in extreme environments like the Sahara Desert, the Amazon rainforest, the Galápagos Islands, and the Alaskan wilderness. He had a fearless approach to self-preservation, where he would be seen doing extreme acts that were quite memorable, like drinking his own urine in this scarcity of water, eating raw animals like snakes, scorpions, earthworms, etc. He even slept inside a camel carcass to avoid the harsh temperatures. It was a massive hit that was broadcast in over 200 countries. Man versus Wild lasted for seven seasons and ended in 2011. This opened doors for many new opportunities and shows like Worst Case Scenarios, Bear’s Wild Weekend, Get Out Alive, Running Wild with Bear Grylls, Survive Bears Mission, You Versus Wild, etc. Bear Grylls appeared with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a special episode, which was shot in Corbett National Park.
Personal life
In 2000, Bear Grylls married Shara Cannings Knight. They have three sons: Jess Grylls was born in 2003, Marmaduke Grylls was born in 2006, and Huckleberry Grylls was born in 2009. He lives on a private island in North Wales and often spends time on the River Thames with his houseboat.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What are the most famous movements of Bear Grylls in his TV show?
Some of the most famous moments of Bear Grylls are sleeping in a camel carcass, escaping quicksand, drinking his own urine, etc.
2. From where did Bear Grylls learn survival skills?
Bear learned his survival skills from his childhood experiences and military training.
3. Is Man vs Wild real?
Most of the show was authentic when it came to the survival content, but some of the scenarios were staged due to logistic or safety reasons.
4. Who gave him the name Bear?
His sister gave him that name.
5. What is the secret behind Bear Grylls’s fitness?
The secret to Bear’s fitness is various activities like running, swimming, outdoor adventures, climbing, etc. He also believes in having a balanced diet.