Bear Grylls: British survivalist to bring years of wild experiences to Australian ‘Never Give Up’ shows

Bear Grylls is visibly shaking in the moments before leaping into a scenario that scares the hell out of him.

He isn’t about to be dropped in the middle of a desert or the Arctic with the bare necessities. Grylls isn’t readying himself to face off against a venomous snake, or a real bear, nor is he preparing his stomach to ingest a moose heart, a yak’s eyeball, or sip a lurid, yellow liquid that certainly isn’t apple juice.

He isn’t shivering in the shadow of Mount Everest before embarking on the treacherous climb to its summit.

The British survivalist is about to step onto the stage of a massive arena to present his live show to thousands of people.

“I’m not one of these people who isn’t scared of anything, and if I ever do meet somebody who apparently isn’t scared of anything I never believe it, or I don’t think they’re challenging themselves enough,” he tells STM.

“I get scared all the time. Fear is a part of life. Everyday things, speaking in front of big groups of people . . . it’s scary.”

For the man regarded as one of the bravest — albeit at times unhinged — personalities on television thanks to nearly two decades of surviving life-threatening scenarios on screen, the power of sharing his fears and inner battles as a way to connect with others outweighs his dread.

“Life is going to have difficult moments and you should go for big things, because you’re going to encounter some big challenges along the way — embrace that,” Grylls says.

“Use that as a chance to elevate and separate yourself, to give more than everyone else gives. To be a true ‘never-give-upper’ is to be positive, to do your best, and to be kind along the way.”

What else sends a shiver down Grylls’ spine? Skydiving.

It’s not born from the all-too-common fear of heights, rather it’s based on the haunting remnants of three fractured vertebrae when his parachute failed to inflate while skydiving in Zimbabwe at age 21.

“I’m jumping all the time for the TV shows, but it’s raw fear for me,” he says.

Grylls (Edward Michael Grylls as per his birth certificate — he was given the nickname Bear as a baby) entered the homes of audiences across the world in 2006 with Man Vs. Wild, a series that dropped the former SAS trooper into rough terrain and charted the wild lengths he went to in order to survive.

It was thrilling viewing (as long as you weren’t eating dinner) as Grylls endured gruelling hardships, ate unimaginable animal organs, and drank his own urine. He says the latter survival tactic still follows him around to this day.

From there, Grylls was rarely out of the spotlight with a string of spin offs — including Running Wild With Bear Grylls which saw him take on adventures with celebrities such as Florence Pugh, Zac Efron, Bradley Cooper, and Kate Winslet. He’s written two autobiographies — Mud, Sweat And Tears released in 2012, and Never Give Up in 2022, and put his face and skills to ambassador and charity work.

“The President (Barack Obama) is always going to be special,” Grylls says of memorable celebrity experiences. “Or some of the sporting stars, Roger Federer … I saw him yesterday at Wimbledon … we laughed and reminisced.

“Julia Roberts was a highlight, Natalie Portman is such a legend … the girls are incredible, and a reminder that survival is about heart and spirit, not just how big your muscles are, and I love that part of it.”

Before Grylls was a household name, or rubbing shoulders with A-listers, he served in the 21 SAS as a trooper for four years. Everything changed, though, following his 16,000-foot fall in Africa. Even now, the enduring pain from the accident comes and goes.

In Mud, Sweat And Tears, Grylls reflects on being sent back to the SAS after being discharged from a rehab centre with the medical warning to never military parachute again.

“It is also a cliche just how many SAS soldiers’ backs and knees are plated and pinned together, after years of marches and jumps,” he writes. “Deep down I knew the odds weren’t looking great for me in the squadron, and that was a very hard pill to swallow.”

Instead of immediately giving it all up, Grylls embraced a role of teaching survival to other units. These coaching tactics and lessons would unknowingly form the foundation of his TV career.

Despite finding passion in teaching, it was also agonising for the former trooper to watch the “intelligence guys” get fired up and work hard in ground training while he was sitting in an ops room making tea.

Grylls made the painful decision to leave the SAS and everything he knew. The colonel of the regiment assured him they would always be there for him.

“My squadron gave me a great piss-up, and a little bronze statue of service. (It sits on my mantelpiece, and my boys play soldiers with it nowadays),” he writes in Mud, Sweat And Tears.

“And I packed my kit and left 21 SAS forever. I fully admit to getting very drunk that night.”

Grylls was appointed Honorary Colonel of the Army Foundation College by King Charles III in July. He’s also Honorary Colonel of the Royal Marines Reserve.

When Grylls, 50, sits down to talk to STM he’s fresh off a month filming in the “jungle”, spending a few days in London before he heads home.

Home is a private island off the Welsh coast, where he lives with wife Shara Cannings Knight and their three sons Jesse, Marmaduke and Huckleberry. Just as Grylls grew up exploring the great outdoors on the Isle of Wight — he was climbing and sailing from a young age — the couple have encouraged an adventurous spirit in their own children.

“(My sons) They’re better and smarter in every way, to be honest, but we have so many adventures together,” Grylls says. “We live on a pretty wild place in North Wales, off-grid on a little island, which has been a huge part of their life growing up.

“For me, the great privilege of my life is to do adventures with our boys. They’re all different but I’ll have different adventures with each of them, but family ones as well. I love it, that’s the driving force for me.”

Navigating the lows and riding the highs of parenting, as well as witnessing the challenges his son’s generation is faced with, has prompted Grylls to advocate for the importance of men looking after their mental health.

“It (mental health) wasn’t even talked about (when I was growing up),” he says. “We live in a super competitive world and a tough world for people growing up, and change is happening at a million times an hour, faster than ever before.

“There’s more anxiety than ever before because people see stuff that generations ago weren’t aware of. It all brings anxiety, struggle and mental health battles. It’s part of surviving life. You have to be dialled into this stuff, you have to look after your physical health, and we know that now.”

Earlier this year he co-founded Mettle, a mental fitness app developed for men.

“I’m really proud of that and doing something in that zone (mental health), it’s an issue for all of us, especially for parents,” he says.

“We have to try and be on the front foot about all of this stuff. There aren’t many manuals for life. You have to do it yourself. No one is going to do it for you.”

If there was to be a comprehensive manual for surviving the toughest challenges of parenting, Grylls’ version would be sure to be a bestseller.

Until he finds time to write it between scaling jungles and spending time with his family, the survivalist will be sharing his teachings at his live show Never Give Up, which he describes as uplifting and empowering for the whole family.

“I’ve learnt in terms of survival that one plus one never equals two . . . you can always do more together, and family is everything — it’s been the beating heart of my life,” he says of the show coming to Australia.

“Growing up and being taught skills by my dad who had been a former commando, through to having my own family now and having three teenage boys…

“A huge goal of my life is to share that and spread that message of resilience and kindness, and having that never-give-up spirit.”

Never Give Up will show at Brisbane, Sydney and Perth in early 2025. Tickets from Ticketek.