Bear Grylls

Youngest Brit on Everest

At just 23 years old, Bear Grylls entered The Guinness Book of Records as The Youngest Briton to climb Mount Everest. A remarkable achievement in itself but just two years earlier he had suffered a near fatal parachuting accident in Africa, breaking his back in three places.  Narrowly escaping being paralysed for life he spent a year convalescing, constantly facing the fact that he might never be fit enough to attempt his childhood dream of climbing Everest.  Despite moments of great pain and despair, Bear worked hard to regain full mobility and together with a team of friends he planned his expedition.  With characteristic determination and charm he raised the enormous sponsorship needed and began training for the daunting challenge.  

The actual ascent of Everest took ninety days enduring extreme weather, two months of limited sleep and running out of oxygen in the upper regions of the ‘death zone’ (above 26,000 feet). On May 26th, 1998 at 07.22am, Bear joined only thirty British climbers to have successfully completed the expedition and return alive.  Every year the death toll on Mount Everest rises, for every six mountaineers who make it to the top, one will die. 

On the way down from his first reconnaissance climb, Bear cheated death while navigating the perilous Khumbu Icefall, the ice cracked and he fell into a 1,000 foot deep crevasse, was knocked unconscious and came to swinging on the end of a rope.  Had it not been for the tenacity of his teammates he would not be alive today. This incident was dramatised as part of the award winning,  ‘Sure For Men’ advertising campaign, which stars Bear and is broadcast worldwide at present, under the trade name of ‘Rexona’.

Before the Everest expedition, Bear spent three years as a Specialist Combat Survival Instructor and Patrol Medic with the British Special Forces.  In September 1997, he became the Youngest Briton to climb Mount Ama Dablam in the Himalayas (22,500 feet), a peak described by Sir Edmond Hillary as ‘unclimbable’.  Bear’s book, ‘Facing Up’ soared into the best seller list and to date has sold over 45,000 copies in UK alone.  The book has been published in America as ‘The Kid Who Conquered Everest’ and he has been extremely well received there.

Environment

As a keen environmentalist, he led the first team to Jet Ski around Britain testing a pioneering new fuel made from rubbish and owns a nature reserve on an island, off the coast of Wales. When he is not on his island. As a survival expert he is totally at home in any outdoor situation, he is a keen motorcyclist and has a passion for all extreme sports.

Bear also became the first person to cross the Atlantic via the Arctic Circle in an open rigid inflatable boat, in aid of The Prince’s Trust.

Televsion, Radio and Print Media

His natural talent for communicating and entertaining on all levels with everyone and anyone has made him a popular personality in his own right.  He has been a lively television guest  on Ready, Steady Cook, The Sean Hughes Show, Ainsley’s Meals in Minutes, This Morning, Through The Keyhole, Bigger Breakfast and many others. He has presented on The National Geographic ‘Young Explorers’ series and written articles for The Daily Mail, The Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph.

Bear was also used by the UK Ministry of Defence to head the Army's anti-drugs TV campaign, and featured in the first ever major advertising campaign for the world renowned shop: Harrods. His first major TV Series was for Channel Four, called ‘Escape to the Legion', where he went through simulated basic training with Legionaires in North Africa and told the story of what it is like for a recruit to join the French Foreign Legion.

On the back of the success of the Foreign Legion Documentary, Bear was commissioned to present 15 x 1-hour programmes for a TV Series called 'Man Vs Wild' on Discovery Channel Worldwide, plus also an 8-part TV Series for Channel Four titled 'Born Survivor: Bear Grylls'. These feature Bear being parachuted in to some of the most inhospitable  deserts, jungles and mountains on earth and showing what you need to do to survive! The show went on to become the No. 1 cable show in all of America.  The book 'Born Survivor' accompanying the Series stayed for 10 weeks in the Sunday Times Bestseller List.

Author

• Facing Up: A Remarkable Journey to the Summit of Everest
• Facing the Frozen Ocean: One Man's Dream to Lead a Team Across the Treacherous North Atlantic
• The Kid Who Climbed Everest:  The Incredible Story of a 23 year olds Summit of Mount Everest
• Man Versus Wild:  SAS Survival Techniques from the Worst Places on Earth
• Bear Grylls Great Outdoor Adventures: An Extreme Guide to the Best Outdoor Pursuits
• Born Survivor