An explorer, adventurer, writer and presenter; yet above them all, a man of God.
Sometimes a TV star’s ‘tough guy’ image seeps into the public consciousness, but former SAS man Bear Grylls, the face of Mission Survive, The Island, Born Survivor, Man v Wild and more, can’t help but give off the nice-guy vibe.
According to Bear, it’s not about the brawn: anyone with their wits about them can become a survivor. “Knowledge is such an important tool for survival, but a real key to it is about heart, the determination to keep going despite the pain. And that’s in all of us, it’s how we’re made,” he says.
The Northern Ireland-born adventurer has wowed and inspired followers for almost two decades now – an exemplar of the great outdoors long before YouTube and social media influencers began bombarding the digital world in pursuit of clicks.
Bear, 50 last year, has charisma and a presence that has made accessible even the darkest or coldest corners of the planet. And while sometimes he is surrounded by a bevy of other passionate explorers, this is someone totally comfortable in himself, and with himself.
“When I was young I would go exploring at weekends with my dad, as would my local scout group; but as time went on that thrill of setting out with just my skill and ingenuity for survival became very exciting,” says the father of three. “Through experience (and sometimes trial and error!) I have become accomplished at handling almost any situation in the wilderness, yet one thing that’s always by my side is my faith – it’s always there to guide me though.”
He laughs, “I’ve learned that there aren’t many atheists in the death zone of Everest! I don’t meet many people who have been through incredible experiences and come out of them totally without faith, and I think that says a lot doesn’t it?”
Bear’s relationship with Everest is indeed profound. At age 23, he was, at the time, amongst the youngest ever to have made it to the top; and this came just 18 months after the then-SAS trooper broke three vertebrae in his back in a parachuting accident in Zambia.
Indeed, his exploits have often taken him to the extremes of mental and physical achievement, bringing him close to death on more than one occasion. It is in these moments that his faith is at its strongest.
“It’s easy to be totally self-sufficient on an island when things are going well on your own, but the wild and life isn’t always like that. I’ve learned that it takes a proud man to say that he needs nothing, and I’m not like that. If you are in desperate situation and the only thing you have to call on is God, then call on him.”
And yet it was the urban convenience of London where a young Bear Grylls began to find his belief system. “I had a natural faith as a kid,” he says. “I just kind of believed in God and that God was good. It was very childlike and simplistic.
“When I got to school it was suddenly all about church and chapel and Latin and I thought ‘Oh, I must have got this wrong’ – it’s not quite the reality I thought it was because it’s based in all this other stuff.”
It took a personal tragedy to reaffirm his innate beliefs. “When I got to about 16 my Godfather died, who was like a second dad to me. I was sat up late one night really upset and I just wished that God did exist like I knew him when I was a little kid. I remember saying a prayer asking God to be with me, and really that was a prayer of salvation. That was the start of the faith I have in me today.”
And that faith focuses particularly on self-reflection. “To me, my relationship with God is the feeling of being held. That’s a very personal thing – it’s intense, it’s relaxed, it’s quiet, it’s loud; yet despite all those contradictions it works.”
Much like his physical jaunts have always been challenging – paramotoring across the Himalayas, tackling the extremes of Antarctica and the Northwest Passage, or even circumnavigating the British Isles on jet skis – so too has Bear’s spiritual journey taken significant effort and time.
“I was afraid to talk about it in the past,” he admits, “as you’re always scared of ridicule and signs of weakness. But I’ve actually learned is that discussing faith is a real sign of strength. I’m weak but He is strong, so I’m no longer afraid to admit I need my faith. It’s a real backbone in my life so I am more than happy to talk about it.”
And that faith takes many guises. Bear prays regularly no matter where he is in the world which, given the nature of his job, can often be in far-flung, dangerous destinations… albeit he recently had one of his rather safer adventures entertaining Aussie audiences at the start of 2025 as he toured tales of career, achievements and life-changing experiences, including that 16,000ft parachute malfunction in Zambia which forced him out of military life. “Everything is a journey – sometimes awful life events end up opening doors, because I wouldn’t be saying these words now had that not happened.
“You’ve just got to battle through the setbacks, because without doubt, survival is in us all, even if it takes a bit of scratching beneath the surface to find. And the more you get used to hardships and discomfort the better you become at coping with it. It’s definitely in everyone, it’s just about grit and heart.”
Of course, some people are more prone to the adventure bug than others. It seems Bear can’t stay still for long. For many years he and wife Shara lived on a houseboat on the River Thames; and while, when children came along, they sensibly upgraded to a penthouse apartment overlooking the river, they do still own a small island off the coast of North Wales.
The idea of Bear in a semi-detached redbrick doesn’t quite compute, anyway. “We’ve never felt any temptation to get a big house in London – we love a relaxed, chilled lifestyle.”
Whenever they are, faith goes with them. “I can safely say it’s the glue that keeps our family together. We all pray together and it bonds us and it evolves all the time.
“For me, it has been a lifelong journey to realise that faith isn’t about religion and church, it’s about being held and being loved and about finding home and peace, and that is a continual journey. There are a lot of struggles and doubts within that journey, but through it all I do believe that we are held if we put out our hands.
“I always say to our film crews, ‘You only get it wrong once – if there is doubt, then we’ll find another way round it’. It’s actually about getting it right rather than wrong.
“And hopefully on those occasions when, for whatever reason, we do get it wrong, someone is looking down on us to protect us!”
Frank Grice
