It’s a rainy morning in Cotswolds, England, and Bear Grylls is in the woods, standing in front of a roaring fire. The British survivalist—who is known for dangling from helicopters, leaping off cliffs, crossing rapids, eating absolutely anything and other forms of badassery—was doing something very un-Bear-like.
He was roasting marshmallows.
He had just finished teaching a group of journalists some basic survival skills (build a shelter, start a fire, make tea out of nettles and pine needles) when he decided it was time for some marshmallows.
Not very macho, but it was a fitting way to spend time with a tough guy who claims to love piña coladas. “That’s how manly I am. If it doesn’t have an umbrella, I’m not drinking it,” he quipped.
“It’s a very emotional journey. It’s nice to take the focus off just me. People, they know my stuff, I don’t have to prove it any longer. What I want to be able to do is say, ‘Come with me and let me introduce you to the reality of what some people went through … how horrible and painful and frightening it can be and meet my hero,’” he said.
Each episode will feature different survival stories and show Bear in similar situations so he can demonstrate to TV viewers what the survivors did right and what else they could have done to survive. “We want you to watch this and be uplifted. It’s a show about how incredible the human spirit is and what we will do to survive. These survivors did something truly remarkable. They had this incredible will to live even in these awful scenarios,” said Sarah Davies, one of the show’s executive producers.
The show takes Bear to dangerous locations—from Canada’s snow-covered Pacific Coast mountain range to the jungles of Guatemala.
That rainy morning, as Bear continued to roast marshmallows, we grilled him—about his new show, his kids, his fears and why he hates cocktail parties.
What was going through your head as you picked the survival stories for “Escape From Hell”?
We wanted to pick stories that were unknown. The unsung heroes of the world. We chose people who were happy to talk about it. For a lot of people, it was a very emotional ordeal and often that can be difficult to talk about on TV.
What have you learned from the survivors on the show?
I’ve learned that we’re all much stronger than we think. The heart of a great survivor is all about fire inside and that spirit.
In a lot of the stories, it seems like it was luck that helped them survive … Is it a combination of luck and survival skills? Do you need luck in the wild?
Yes, you do. And some people can do it all right and just get unlucky and they’re dead. Other people can do it all wrong and get lucky and they’re out of there. What I’ve learned though is you don’t want to depend on luck. You want to equip yourself in your life with as many good skills and knowledge and attitudes as you can and not depend on luck. When it comes, be grateful for it. Fitness, knowledge, skills, attitude and then luck. I’ve got a great friend who was bitten by a snake a few months ago. The fang went through the eyelet of the boot. He had jungle boots on, all the right gear, but the fang went through the eyelet. It was horrific. He almost lost his foot. You can be very good and get unlucky.
What are things you must always bring with you to survive?
I always take three things but it might not be what everybody needs. I always take a fire steel, at least I know I can start a fire. I always take a little laminated picture of my wife Shara and the three boys, I put it in the sole of my shoe, because I’ve learned that the battle of survival is always a mental one and anything that gives you hope counts for any amount of knives or equipment. And the third thing is a sense of humor because stuff always goes wrong. You really learn about people when it’s raining, it’s difficult, when everyone’s cold or you’re tired or you haven’t eaten. The sort of person who, when they’re up a mountain and they’ve been climbing for 12 hours straight and they’re tired and hungry, the person who can laugh and have fun in that moment is worth their weight in gold. Sense of humor is always important.
We were surprised to learn that you have a fear of heights.
I’m scared of lots of things. Heights is definitely one of them. But I’ve spent my life jumping out of planes. What I’ve learned is that life isn’t about being devoid of fear, it’s about feeling fear and making the decision that you’re gonna go for it. And I face those things every day while filming, when I’m hanging out of helicopters. We all have things in life that we fear. You don’t have to be Superman.
What else are you afraid of?
I get pretty nervous at cocktail parties. I know you laugh but I’m serious. I really do. I find it quite difficult. Shara says it’s crazy. She says, ‘It’s your job, you always have to sit in front of groups of people you don’t know.’ I’m great in a small group of best friends at a barbecue at home. Hundreds of people, clinking glasses, I just find it awkward. I’m definitely shy in bigger groups.
Maybe you should do a survival show in social settings.
(Laughs) I’ve got no ego, I’ll sign up.
We’ve seen you eat and drink all kinds of crazy things. Is there anything you wouldn’t eat?
We’ve done 70-odd episodes of “Man vs Wild” and, as you know, there’s been a lot of bad things consumed in that show. Survival food isn’t going to be pretty but you’ve got to do it because you need energy. The worst would be… raw goat testicles were bad, camel intestinal fluids, yak eyeballs, bear poo, urine, snakes, scorpions. Makes me very grateful to get home.
You’ve said that sometimes, the most sensible thing to do doesn’t always make the best TV. Do you worry that people might see your program and get themselves in situations and do something they shouldn’t, because “this is what Bear did, this is what we should do”?
Yes, I do sometimes worry a little bit about that. I try and preface everything pretty heavily by saying, “Listen, if you have to get down this waterfall and you’ve got no ropes and you’ve got to use this vine, this is how you can do it.” But I think, a lot of the shows I’ve done, they’re really worst-case scenario survival situations. You have to remember, people find themselves in these worst-case scenario situations actually quite a lot. And I get many, many stories every week from people who have remembered something they’ve seen on the show that they’ve used. Whether it’s a kid falling through a frozen lake just in his garden, nothing traumatic, or a snowboarder having to dig a snow cave and spend an afternoon out and sit out a storm. Discovery (Channel) gets sent these e-mails and letters. Hopefully the good outweighs the bad. If you’re making that sort of TV, there’s always that sort of risk. But it’s like when I took over the Scouts. I said, “Listen, I’m gonna be the muddiest, worst-dressed Chief Scout you’ll ever have. But what I want to impact is get out there and have fun.” There’s gonna be damage along the way, a few scars, a few bruises, but that’s all part of the adventure. Unless you get a few scars or a few grazes or a few cuts, then maybe it hasn’t been an adventure. But it has to be a balance. Obviously, I don’t want kids to go out there and do stupid things. I am aware of that. We did a thing the other day where I showed how you can start a fire by using your old mobile telephone. So I did this thing and I shorted it and I smashed it and got the whole thing hissing and smoking and the camera guy put the camera down and he goes, “Bear, they’ll never be able to show this. You’re gonna have parents all over the world sending hate mail.”
How did you end up in this line of work? What motivates you to put yourself in life-threatening situations and getting through it?
I always feel like I’ve done this stuff since I was about 7 years old. I was just never filmed before. Then it was my job in the military and it’s just one of the few things I’ve always loved and been good at. And then I wrote a book on Everest after I left the army and Discovery approached me. I was super nervous about being on TV. It wasn’t something I knew about. It’s been an incredible privilege and loads of fun. I hope to be doing this stuff long after the TV cameras have gone as well.
What would you do if one of your children wants to follow you in your career?
My dad always said, “You’ve got to follow your dreams and you’ve got to look after your friends along the way. That was always life for me in a nutshell. And I try to say the same thing to my boys. They want to be different things. One wants to be an African bush pilot and he’s telling me, “Why do I have to learn Latin and math at school? I don’t want to be a mathematician. I want to be an African bush pilot.” The middle one wants to be a librarian. I think all you can want for your kids is to go for it in life and not be scared and have fun. So, yes, we’ll see.
Other than your fear of cocktail parties, what are two other things people don’t know about Bear Grylls?
I play the piano and sing with my kids a lot. We do that every day. I think people expect me to be much more macho and I get that a lot. Everyone always wants to work out in the gym or arm-wrestle in the bar. But I never soaked up all that stuff. Life’s not like that every day at home.
Will you follow your father’s footsteps and start a politicial career?
No. God help the nation.
We should ask when, not if.
When? The answer is never. I don’t think I’ll be very good. My dad always said, “Work with your core competency,” which means work at what you love and work at what you’re good at. The great privilege of these shows and the TV platform is you get to reach a demographic that I think, as a president or a prime minister, it’s very hard to have the kids’ ears and to be able to reach 15-year-old children all over the world that often have tough upbringing and to inspire them and to encourage them to go forth in life and enjoy the outdoors. All of these shows are about attitude as they are about survival. It’s just dressed up in this great adventure. I find that a huge privilege, to be able to reach young people and encourage them. I have three words: Encourage, encourage, encourage. I love that.
Have you found that you’re less willing to take risks now that you have kids?
Yes. I’ve definitely become more cautious. The crew always says you used to be 120 percent reckless and now you’re 80 percent reckless. When I’m out there, I tend to really throw myself into it but I think, in many ways, it is actually the safest way to be. Because when you’re tentative, you lose your power in life and in the wild.
Are you more emotional now?
I’ve always been quite emotional. And it’s what I love about this series. I think “Man vs Wild” is great but what I love about “Escape From Hell” is it’s a very emotional journey. The reality of survival is that it’s not glamorous, it’s not romantic, it hurts and it’s frightening. The interviews are powerful, the people are reliving the very real prospect of never seeing their loved ones again. When we interviewed them, all of them would just end up crying and crying and that makes it very visceral and powerful. Totally. We’ve got hardened editors who sit through editing “Big Brother” and these shows all day. And they’re sort of battle-hardened by TV world but they said to me, “I’ve worked 20 years in TV and I’ve never cried before watching a show.” So that’s nice. I think it brings it alive.
What makes you smile?
Friends, family. It’s impossible not to smile with three young boys. When I get home, all they want to do is go and eat worms around the back. They’re funny.
“Bear Grylls: Escape From Hell” will premiere on the Discovery Channel on Oct. 28 and will air on Mondays at 9 p.m.