Scouts...

I am so proud to be able to announce publicly the Scouts have appointed me as their next Chief Scout. It is a post that is a dream come true for me, as someone who has always just loved getting muddy and hanging out with good friends!

It is an honour I would never have even dare imagine as a young scout aged 7 sitting on a pavement trying to figure out how to cook one sausage with one match! (It took a while to work out the fire thing!) 

But all I have ever sought in my life is the camaraderie that comes from high adventure, and this is exactly what scouting gives us all - the chance to dare to have a dream and the opportunity to follow it. 

There are 28 million Scouts now worldwide and the movement is growing faster than ever before - and the scope for fun is HUGE! 

So, I hope I can bring big ears and a big heart to all of you guys - I am here for you, through the email: chief.scout@scout.org.uk and I hope to get round as many scout groups and camps as I can in between filming.

This post for me is about bringing the chance for those who would never normally be able to afford it or to find it, to have the opportunity to live a great adventure. This is all about you guys, the young Scouts, and the more of you I meet the more inspired I am. You are the future of Scouting and together we are all stronger.

And don't forget the inspiration you all are to others young people in your communities. People admire Scouts and what we stand for, so together we must help touch people's lives wherever we can.

God bless,

Bear x

ps two other pieces of news:

I filmed a Born Survivor Man vs Wild with Will Ferrell the actor a few months back, (see blogs below), and this airs soon on Discovery in the USA and UK.

...and I have just finished filming a commercial for the USA with Dos Equis as part of their 'Most Interesting Man' Academy. I have been invited into the Academy as one of their Chief Instructors. 

The commercial involved masses of urban survival: like escaping from burning buildings, catching rats, unarmed combat: escaping from being mugged, back somersaults off roof tops and handstands along high walls! 

All fun, though I do feel like I have done a few rounds with Tyson - concrete is less forgiving than swamp to land on always!

Vietnam Special

I have just returned from filming a Vietnam Man vs Wild Special, which was quite a mission in the very dense jungle.

It reinforced the huge respect I have for any soldier that had to operate in those very intense conditions, especially for those who turned up with no jungle experience - it must have been hell on earth indeed.

Sadly the next jungle shoot I was intending to do had to be postponed as I severed my finger down to the bone on a razor sharp strand of half cut bamboo.

I got it sewn up but it was a bit of a quick job to see me through, hence it looks a bit ugly and ragged!

The production team flew me back to the UK but what concerns me is the lack of feeling in the end of the finger now. I also sliced off the tip of another finger which bled like nobody's business, but the raw flesh is covering up now slowly. Dank, damp jungle conditions are bad for such injuries, trust me!

Anyway, hopefully the nerve damage will repair and I can get back onto the next show, God willing. But I do feel a bit battered generally. Jungle episodes are always intense.

back soon

Bear x

filming in the Arctic...

I have just returned from two pretty full on shoots in the Arctic - the first was in Northern Norway for Man vs Wild and the other was in Northern Sweden for a Man Vs Wild Special where I took will Ferrell along for the ride!

More news and pics on all this to follow, but suffice to say it was both cold and a hoot!

But these are two shows that I am especially proud of.

It is a tough environment in minus 20 always and Norway really stretched me - more than I anticipated.

I had a day of where I flew back to the UK to help at the Outdoor Show and then went out to meet Will before we got dropped in together for the Man vs Wild Special.

I really admire Will for taking the plunge and committing to come along, and he arrived with no entourage at all. Just him. I loved that. All I then asked of him was to trust me. We gave him a good briefing the night before and then we both got dropped into the mountains at dawn.

The rest will tell its tale in the show itself, but in summary: Will did amazingly, despite some quite hairy moments. I suspect people will be greatly impressed by him. And for me, it was so lovely to have someone along to laugh with!

I hope you enjoy both these shows when they air soon.

Bear x

Man Vs Wild up & running!

Well I am mended!

We have just returned from filming the first new Man Vs Wild since my shoulder accident and all went well and as a crew we survived!

We filmed in the swamps of Alabama and the show included some great moments with forest fire, pig wrestles and very tight caving, not to mention ending up being picked up by State Troopers after being pulled for hitching a ride on a logging truck to end the show!

The shoulder was sore but didn't hold me back and I figured that the way to approach the show was flat out. I feel that it is like playing rugby: it is when you are tenative that you get injured; but when you commit 100% to tackles and the game then you generally survive better.

I have a few days at home now then am off to Norway for the second programme.

There is lots of other exciting news looming but for the time being I will leave it at this.

It feels good to be back in the saddle!

God bless

Bear x

injury update and even better news!...

 

OK - first the boring bit!...

The shoulder is mending well- although it gets really sore and I still have a bone poking up under the skin which looks a bit weird! But as Evel Knievel said: “bones heal and chicks love scars!” (Although Shara doesn’t quite agree!)

Anyway, despite that, I did my first back flip this week and can walk on my hands again, I am running, doing yoga and circuits BUT and this is the but...it is not 100% by a long way and definitely is not pain free.

If it doesn’t stop hurting (a lot!) soon, I might have to get it pinned. But the plan is to rest it a bit more then start filming in early March (God willing) and see how it fares.

My favourite quote is this: ‘Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving in an attractive well preserved body; rather to skid in sideways, body thoroughly worn out, covered in scars and screaming “yahoo! What a ride!”

Thank you for your support and prayers...we will get there and I guess the odd injury is par for the course. (It is just that my list of breaks, smashes and cuts is quite a long one now!) But no-one ever said adventure survival is safe or easy!


Anyway, now for the fun bit!

Last week Shara and I had our third little boy, Huckleberry Edward Joscelyne Grylls, weighing 7llbs 11 ounces and his is pure heaven.

Shara had him at home, (which was interesting, with me armed to the teeth and holding the toolbox at the ready!)and she was amazing. She did it all with no pain relief (I tried to give her an aspirin at half way but then remembered she wasn't even allowed that as it thins the blood!)

The other boys are so happy to have a baby brother. The three Musketeers. Brilliant!
Thank the Good Lord.

Bear x

Antarctica...

Well, it is fair to say that Antarctica has been more of a mission than I ever anticipated.

But through it all, together, we achieved all we set out to do as a team and I am so proud of how everyone performed: from hanging bivouacs, to jetskiing in -25o, powered by bio-ethanol, from scaling an unclimbed peak to flying electric powered paragliders over the vast ice continent.

I have a price to pay though, having sustained one of the most painful injuries I have ever had, when I severely crushed my shoulder in the latter stages of the expedition.

My right shoulder and clavicle bones were smashed apart in a kite-skiing fall in high winds and sub-zero temperatures (see the x-ray).

The UK surgeon I have just seen on my arrival back to the UK reckons this will take about 10 weeks to mend depending on if or when he has to do reconstructive surgery on it.

The full report from what happened on the expedition can be seen on the diary page of

www.journeyantarctica2008.com

For now I need to rest a bit. My body has had a bit of a battering one way or another this year and I know how lucky I have been all things considered.

All I know is that it is good to be home.

God bless,

Bear x

P.S. the top bone in the x-ray is meant to be joined to the end of the shoulder – that’s where the challenge of recovery over the next couple of months lies!

Man Vs Wild/Born Survivor complete!

I have just got home after a bit of a whirlwind of a few months filming.

We were first of all in Belize, which is where in the British Army we did most of the jungle warfare training. The army used Belize for the simple reason that it is regarded as the toughest most dangerous jungle in the world. I always knew that doing a Man Vs Wild / Born Survivor show there would be a mission!

I will let the show speak for itself when it comes out but it involved torrential thunderstorms, a giant boa contrictor snake, whip-scorpions, caves, Tarzan vine swings, waterfalls and a tiny raft on a huge jungle river at night. In short, for us all, it was a tough one!

We then went on to the Dominican Republic, battling through mangrove swamps, making a raft out of rubbish and sharing a hammock made out of vine with a particularly large tarantula!

From here we had a few days off before heading to the Badlands of Oregon and Hell's Canyon, the deepest river gorge in America.

I was dropped in the high mountains, went through the ice of a frozen lake (and not just as a survival technique to demo!), we invented a wild new sport that I have called mountain poling, (you'll love it!) before reaching the river itself and having a whole series of adventures down there. (One of which involved Class 4 rapids and big stoppers!)

We had a great 'End of 2008' Man Vs Wild party on our last night in a small town in the middle of somewhere, (I can't remember the name of the town but everyone there was great!)It was a real relief to let our hair down, have a few drinks and chill out at last!

The crew this year have been awesome, putting up with some seriously tough environments alongside me and I am so proud of how we work together. Without them, this show would be nothing. Highly professional, hard working, always looking out for my backside in tricky situations and best friends. It is a great privilege to work with them. (In many ways I feel it is just like old army days really - a small, professional, motivated team, 'work hard, play hard', get the job done, no complaining ... although instead of having to deal with dangerous humans it is mainly dangerous crocs or snakes nowadays!)


From Hell's Canyon I went on to New York and Washington for a couple of promotional shoots for the new season of Man Vs Wild that comes out in USA in January. I then went to Discovery Head Office for the first time, (that was long over due, I know Discovery, sorry!) Everyone there was so encouraging and supportive and it meant so much to me, as we bust our balls so much the rest of the year!

The reality of my life is that when I am not filming, I go home to my family, I train, I see a few close friends, and that is it. For what it is worth, I tend to keep away from much of the 'glitzy' side of tv (although this is mainly due to finding it all quite scary!)

I then do two short press trips for Channel 4 or Discovery each year and it is only really then that I get more of a perspective on how many people watch this show. So thank you for all your encouragement- it means a lot and helps me when we are struggling in difficult places most of the rest of the year!


I have a few days at home now before leaving for Cape Town.

I am filming a Trail Mix cereal USA TV commercial down there and then am heading down south to Antarctica where I am leading a small expedition to attempt a climb on a very remote un-climbed peak down there.

The aim of the expedition is to promote alternative energies and their potential. We will be using lots of different forms of alternative power, including wind powered kite-skiing, part bio-ethanol powered jetskis and inflatable boats, electric powered paragliders, solar and wind powered base camps…and good old foot work!

I am taking three of my best buddies and I can't wait. The website is

www.journeyantarctica2008.com

and we will be updating this as much as we can from the ice.

Supported by Ethanol Ventures, the expedition also has a clear aim of raising $1million for Global Angels, a charity close to my heart that champions the needs of kids around the world.

God willing we then get home mid-December, to have a proper rest and time at home!


Shara is due with our third baby in january, so I will be getting out the tool box in preparation! I can't believe we will have three children! At least no-one can say life is dull!

Anyway, sorry for the long e-mail but it has been hard to update this when away so much.

Job done!

Bear x

ps pics are from Belize, Dominican Republic, and Hell's canyon...guess which is which!?