I had to write a profile essay for my Comm I class this past week...this is what I came up with:
“Life should not be a journey with the sole intention of arriving in a well-preserved, well-kept body. Rather, you should aim to skid in sideways, body covered in scars, thoroughly worn out, used up and shouting: ‘Yahoo, what a ride!’” (Bailey) These are the words of a man named Bear Grylls-adventurer, writer, motivational speaker, T.V. star,and devoted family man. For years Bear has entertained the world with his death defying skydives, his informative survival techniques, and his habit of eating some of the vilest creatures on earth. Bear has become one of the most popular stars on the Discovery Network appearing on such shows like Oprah and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Bear has become an instant star in the last few years. When asked by Sports Magazine writer Mark Bailey how he hit the big time, Bear has this to say: "I honestly think it's 1% talent and 99% luck. The more I do these shows, the more I meet better skydivers, better climbers, better survivor guys... and I often think: ‘God, they'd be so much better at this than me.' But there’s nobody more surprised than me, apart perhaps from my wife! Life is like that; you have to grab opportunities and go for it, and I've never been scared to throw my heart and soul into things.” From growing up with his father camping and climbing, to the British Special Forces, to his popularity as a survival expert on television, Bear has always been a man who goes for his dreams and loves adventure.
“Life should not be a journey with the sole intention of arriving in a well-preserved, well-kept body. Rather, you should aim to skid in sideways, body covered in scars, thoroughly worn out, used up and shouting: ‘Yahoo, what a ride!’” (Bailey) These are the words of a man named Bear Grylls-adventurer, writer, motivational speaker, T.V. star,and devoted family man. For years Bear has entertained the world with his death defying skydives, his informative survival techniques, and his habit of eating some of the vilest creatures on earth. Bear has become one of the most popular stars on the Discovery Network appearing on such shows like Oprah and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Bear has become an instant star in the last few years. When asked by Sports Magazine writer Mark Bailey how he hit the big time, Bear has this to say: "I honestly think it's 1% talent and 99% luck. The more I do these shows, the more I meet better skydivers, better climbers, better survivor guys... and I often think: ‘God, they'd be so much better at this than me.' But there’s nobody more surprised than me, apart perhaps from my wife! Life is like that; you have to grab opportunities and go for it, and I've never been scared to throw my heart and soul into things.” From growing up with his father camping and climbing, to the British Special Forces, to his popularity as a survival expert on television, Bear has always been a man who goes for his dreams and loves adventure.
Bear grew up in Bembridge on the Isle of Wight in Great Britain learning how to camp and climb from his father Sir Michael Grylls, a British Politian who first led Bear on rooftop expeditions to the top of their house when Bear was a young child (Martin). When Bear got older and graduated from school he joined the British military and passed the Special Forces selection in 1994. He served in the Special Forces for three years and learned many tactics, such as: hand to hand combat, desert and winter survival, escape and evade survival, High Altitude Low Opening parachuting, climbing, and Explosive Ordnance Disposal. He became such an expert that he eventually was made an instructor for the British Special Forces in combat survival. He participated in two tours in North Africa. In late 1996 Bear broke his back in three places when his parachute ripped partly open at 1600 feet and he hurled to the earth, landing on his parachute pack, partially crushing three vertebrae. He was medically discharged out of the Special Forces the following year. Most doctors said he would never walk again, but that did not stop Bear from setting his goals and moving forward with his dreams. It took him 18 months to rehabilitate himself back to 100%. It was at this point when Bear set his eyes on his biggest childhood dream: to climb to the summit of Mount Everest.
It took Bear over ninety days of horrific weather conditions, sleep deprivation, and limited oxygen, but Bear finally made it to the top. At only age 23 on May 26th of 1998 he was officially named in the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest Brit to climb to the top of Everest and make it back alive (BG). The scariest part of the expedition came when he was making his way down from his first reconnaissance climb when he found a crevasse at 19,000 feet. The ice cracked and the ground disappeared underneath him. He was knocked out in the process, but his partner saved his life by keeping a strong hold on the safety rope and pulled Bear back up to safety. Bear wrote his first book about his adventure from back surgery to the top of Everest entitled: ‘The Boy who climbed Everest.’ The book has become an inspiration to many people all over the world on overcoming great odds to fulfill their dreams.
After his successful book Bear was offered a T.V. commercial deal with the deodorant Sure for Men. The commercial featured his story of his climb of Everest and what made him really sweat out of fear. The commercial was a huge success and Bear was looked at as a natural infront of the camera. In 2003, Bear and a documentary film crew began another adventure, where Bear and the team traveled across the North Atlantic Ocean in a small inflatable boat. They traveled through several excruciating weeks of frozen air and icebergs for a documentaryto raise funds for the Prince's Trust Charity. Bear wrote his second book about his adventure entitled ‘Facing the Frozen Ocean', and was named as Sports Book of the Year. Bear was also given an honorary commission in the Royal Navy for succeeding in this thrilling adventure. (BG)
After the success of the documentary Bear was recruited by a local London TV channel to produce a reality TV series called ‘Escape to theLegion', where Bear returned to North Africa to do a simulated basic training with the French Foreign Legion. The show was an instant success and was noticed by a producer from the Discovery Channel who went to Bear and begged him to do a survival show for the cable channel. At first Bear was reluctant to take the job. He was content just being a motivational speaker and leading expeditions, but his wife told him to just try it, and see if he liked it. They did their first show (called ‘Man Vs Wild') in the Rocky Mountains. Bear and his film crew parachuted into the mountains and he began showing the camera what to do to survive. He was instantly hooked. The show went on to become the number one show on cable TV in all of America (BG).
Traveling all over the world filming in different locations, Bear has filmed over 40 episodes of ‘Man Vs Wild' to date. He has stranded himself in some of the most God forsaken places on Earth. From the Sahara Desert to t
he freezing temperatures of the Siberian frontier of Russia, Bear has jumped head first just for the sake of teaching viewers how to survive and for his love of the adventure. In one episode filmed in the swamp of Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina hit, Bear explored the chaotic swamp teaching viewers how to make a bed above the water, find food from snakes and alligators, and even how to maneuver out of the quicksand like mud. In an episode filmed in Iceland, Bear purposely jumped inside a frozen lake to teach the viewers how to make their way out of the freezing water and quickly warm up before hypothermia could take hold. In the episode filmed inthe Sahara, Bear roamed the desert sand surviving off of scorpions to eat and finding water in the dead carcass of a camel. Bear gutted the camel and found the water stored inside the hump of the camel to drink. He even cleaned the camel out and slept inside of the carcass overnight to avoid the horrific sandstorms. “Our brain is our greatest survival tool. Survival is all about ingenuity: thinking your way around a challenge, calmly, in the heat of the moment. And big heart is then needed to keep going and to never give up.” (BG) And it takes exactly that to survive in some of the situations Bear has put himself into.
he freezing temperatures of the Siberian frontier of Russia, Bear has jumped head first just for the sake of teaching viewers how to survive and for his love of the adventure. In one episode filmed in the swamp of Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina hit, Bear explored the chaotic swamp teaching viewers how to make a bed above the water, find food from snakes and alligators, and even how to maneuver out of the quicksand like mud. In an episode filmed in Iceland, Bear purposely jumped inside a frozen lake to teach the viewers how to make their way out of the freezing water and quickly warm up before hypothermia could take hold. In the episode filmed inthe Sahara, Bear roamed the desert sand surviving off of scorpions to eat and finding water in the dead carcass of a camel. Bear gutted the camel and found the water stored inside the hump of the camel to drink. He even cleaned the camel out and slept inside of the carcass overnight to avoid the horrific sandstorms. “Our brain is our greatest survival tool. Survival is all about ingenuity: thinking your way around a challenge, calmly, in the heat of the moment. And big heart is then needed to keep going and to never give up.” (BG) And it takes exactly that to survive in some of the situations Bear has put himself into. 
Bear's love for adventure and never give up spirit is what makes him such an interesting man. With millions of fans all over the world watching him and learning from him has made him an inspiration to so many people. “My dad always said to me that two things mattered in life. One was ‘always follow your dreams', and the other was ‘always look after your friends'. That mattered much more to him than good school reports, which never really happened anyway! I've never had a shortage of dreams. I'd need ten lifetimes to scratch the surface of what I want to do. I've always tried to follow my dreams.” (Bailey) His travels and adventures all coming to him because of his love for the outdoors and his driving determination to reach his dreams makes him a great example for everyone to learn from.
Works Cited
Bailey, Mark. “Bear Grylls-Born Survivor”. Sport Magazine. Sept 11,2008. January 28, 2009..
"Bear Grylls". January 28, 2009 .Martin, Charlotte.
"My Life In Travel: Bear Grylls". The Independent.April 17, 2004. January 28, 2009 .
