Bear Grylls – A Man Among Mere Boys
Bear Grylls is the man. Over the past couple years, I have become a regular watcher of “Man vs. Wild” on Discovery Channel. On this show, Bear is dropped off into remote regions of the world and shows how to survive the hardest predicaments in each area. He’s been through rain forests, jungles, arctic tundras, the glaciers of Alaska, deserts (including the Sahara), the Outback of Australia, Patagonia, deserted islands, the Alps, the Rockies, Mount Everest, and more.
“Bear” Grylls (real name: Edward Michael Grylls) did not start out in the media, however. Bear served in the British Special Forces, where he was trained in unarmed combat, desert and winter warfare, combat survival, medics, parachuting, signals, evasive driving, climbing and explosives. However, after three years, his service in the Special Forces ended abruptly with a parachuting accident while serving in North Africa. When his parachute ripped, Bear dropped to the ground from 16,000 feet at twice the normal speed. He broke three vertebrae in his back. (This paragraph’s information can be found here.)
Two years after this incident and severe physical rehabilitation, Bear completed his childhood dream at the age of 23 by becoming the youngest British climber to make it to the summit of Mount Everest and come back alive. In the coming years, Bear, along with his team from the Everest climb, circumnavigated the British Isles in a jet ski and led the first unassisted crossing of the frozen North Atlantic Ocean in an inflatable boat! Bear went on to set more world records by eating a three-course meal at a table suspended a hot air balloon at 24,500 feet in the air and then flying over Mount Everest in a powered paraglider. (This paragraph’s information can be found here.)
Just as a sidenote to those who think Bear Grylls is inferior to Les Stroud, better known as “Survivorman” from the show by the same name. Look at it this way.
Bear Grylls, by trade: Special Forces soldier, all-terrain and all-climate combat survivor, mountaineer, adventurer.
Les Stroud, by trade: Canadian musician and film maker.
I will admit that Les Stroud has done some amazing survival feats, but his credentials are nothing compared to Bear Grylls.
Beyond the fact that Bear is the epitome of manliness, I am also a fan of Bear for his openness about his Christian faith. This is rare to find when people are public figures. Recently, I was watching Bear’s recent episode of Man vs. Wild when he was in Patagonia, the most southern area of South America. After building a fire, he was sitting down at the end of the day and said this (I left out the conversational “you know’s” and “and’s”):
I think the magic of places like this is that everything slows down and life becomes much more rural. Those things that keep you going in life suddenly become much more prominent. For me, certainly that’s my Christian faith. [It] is a big part of that and it’s helped me through so many difficult and often quite lonely times. For me, that’s my backbone, I think.
This was great to hear. Again, while discussing how he prepares for doing each episode, this quote comes from a post on Bear’s blog:
The final part of the equation is my Christian faith…I look at this as the thread that binds all these other elements together. I pray daily for my family and we also have little quiet times together, and I pray hard when out filming for safety, good judgement and for protection in all the dangers.
He discusses again the importance of his Christian faith here on his website. Also, Bear lists some Christian books in his Top 10 books list, as well as mentions Mother Teresa and John Wesley in his Top 10 people with whom he wants to have dinner.
I already had tons of respect for Bear as a “manly man,” but now, I respect him even more for having such influence as a public figure and still being open about his Christian faith. What a true picture of what the Christian man should be: not necessarily the eating raw animals and drinking water from camel dung, but the mixture of adventure and strength with humility and dependence on God.
It [Christian faith] feels like the rock in my life and it has taken me a long time to no longer be afraid to say that. But I have learnt that it takes a proud man to say he needs nothing.
:: Bear Grylls
Photo of Bear Grylls from here
So Matt Tivos Bear and I end up having to watch him eat all that nasty stuff…which somehow always seems to be when we’re eating supper. Did you see the one in Panama where he bites the head off of a snake, eats part of it, then puts the rest in his pocket for later?? But I do love Bear though. I did not, however, realize that Bear is not his real name…kinda disappointing. : )