Bear Grylls — Former SAS Soldier, Youngest Briton to Summit Everest, Chief Scout UK | Self Growth Videos

Edward Michael ‘Bear’ Grylls was born June 7, 1974 in Donaghadee, Northern Ireland, the son of a Conservative MP and the nephew of the Baron Boyce, Britain’s former Chief of Defence Staff. He was nicknamed Bear by his sister Lara when he was a week old. He grew up climbing with his father — learned to climb the cliffs around his family’s cottage on the Isle of Wight before he was ten — and spent his formative years outdoors in a mix of public school, scouting, and family expedition work.

At 18, after completing school, he joined the British Army. He served three years in the 21st Regiment of the Special Air Service (21 SAS) — the reserve SAS regiment — as a survival instructor, patrol medic, and sniper. In 1996, during a training free-fall parachute jump at 16,000 feet over Zambia, his main canopy ripped and he fell partially-deployed, landing on his back. He broke three vertebrae. He was told by doctors he might never walk normally again. He spent twelve months in recovery and rehab. He was back on his feet within a year.

Two years later, on May 26, 1998, at age 23, he summited Mount Everest — becoming the youngest Briton in history to do so. Two years after breaking his back. He has spoken openly across his career about that sequence and the role his Christian faith played in his recovery.

In 2006 he launched Man vs. Wild on Discovery Channel — the television series that made him a household name worldwide. Across six seasons he dropped himself into extreme environments (Sahara, Siberia, Patagonia, Sumatra, the Rockies) and demonstrated survival techniques on camera. The show aired in 180+ countries and was one of Discovery’s most-watched series ever. He has since hosted Running Wild with Bear Grylls (celebrity guests in wilderness settings — Barack Obama, Roger Federer, Natalie Portman, Will Ferrell, and dozens more), You vs. Wild (Netflix interactive series), The Island with Bear Grylls, and Treasure Island with Bear Grylls.

In 2009 Grylls was appointed Chief Scout of the UK Scout Association — at age 35 the youngest Chief Scout in the organization’s then 100-year history — and has served in that role for the past 15+ years, personally involving himself in scouting events and growing UK membership during his tenure. He has written more than 20 books including the autobiography Mud Sweat and Tears (2011), the devotional Soul Fuel (2019), A Survival Guide for Life (2012), Never Give Up (2021), and multiple children’s adventure novels.

He lives in the United Kingdom with his wife Shara Cannings Knight and their three sons Jesse, Marmaduke, and Huckleberry.

His central teaching, compressed: the secret is not that you are fearless — the secret is that you are scared and you do it anyway. Fear is not the opposite of courage. Fear is the climate in which courage gets built. Never give up. Never give up. Never give up. The mountain does not care how you feel about it. The climb is the same whether you are excited or terrified. Put on the boots and start walking.