Bear Grylls 

Nick Name: Bear

Birthday: June 7, 1974

Nationality: British

Also Known As: Edward Michael "Bear" Grylls, Edward Michael Grylls

Sun Sign: Gemini

Age: 44 Years

Born In: Donaghadee, Northern Ireland

Famous As: Adventurer

Height: 1.82 M

Spouse/Ex-: Shara Grylls

Father: Michael Grylls

Mother: Sarah Grylls

Siblings: Lara Fawcett

Children: Huckleberry Edward Jocelyne Grylls, Jesse Grylls, Marmaduke Mickey Percy Grylls

Religion: Catholicism

Net Worth: $20 Million

Bear Grylls who is renowned for his reality show ‘Man vs. Wild’, is an adventurer, traveller and explorer. Adventure sports such mountaineering, sailing and sky diving interested him ever since he was a child. He got trained in these sports by his father who was associated with the ‘Royal Yacht Squadron’. He was keen to learn martial arts and at an early age earned a black belt and even became a cub scout when he was eight years old. Adventures are accompanied by risks and demand immense physical as well as mental strength. Bear too had to face many injuries and at one such occasion he even landed up injuring his spine. This courageous individual not only emerged of the bodily injury but also overcame his psychological hindrances. His determination to climb Mount Everest remained undeterred and with his intense determination he again ushered into his adventurous pursuits, when people were sceptical about his locomotive organs being functional. Since then he has been more zealous and has also established himself as a television presenter of reality shows where he embarks on adventures. To know more about his life and works read on

 

Childhood & Early Life

• He was born to Sir Michael Grylls and Lady Sarah Grylls on 7th June, 1974, in Donaghadee region of Northern Ireland, and christened Edward Michael Grylls. His elder sister is named Lara Fawcett, and it was she who nicknamed him as Bear.
• When he was four years old, his family shifted to Bembridge village on the easternmost point of the Isle of Wight. He was trained in climbing and sailing by his father when he was a child. He turned into a cub scout when he was eight years old.
• He received education from institutions such as ‘Ludgrove School’ and ‘Eton College. He initiated the establishment of a mountaineering club in the ‘Eton College’.
• In his youth, he trained in skydiving and also obtained a black belt in Shotokan karate.

 

Career

• He joined the ‘Territorial Army’ (Army Reserve UK) and worked at the ‘Special Air Service’ unit of the army for three years. He was a combat survival instructor and learnt demolitions, parachuting, unarmed combat, evasive driving and trauma medic.
• During this period, he met with an accident which caused him spinal injury. He underwent medication and rehabilitation in order to recover from that injury.
• In 1997, he climbed the Mount Ama Dablam and became the youngest British to climb this mountain.
• He went hiking in the Himalayan Mountains of Sikkim and West Bengal, and on 26th May, 1998, he climbed Mount Everest and registered his name in the ‘Guinness Book of Records’.
• He went on a fund raising expedition for the ‘Royal National Lifeboat Institution’ (RNLI) and led a team on Jet Skis to circumnavigate the UK in the year 2000. This was a pioneering initiative and the expedition took 30 days to complete.
• In 2001, his first book ‘The Kid Who Climbed Everest’ was published which narrated his journey to the mountain peak. He then penned another book named ‘Facing the Frozen Ocean’. His third book was entitled ‘Born Survivor: Bear Grylls’, and he authored ‘Bear Grylls Outdoor Adventures’
• He completed a part-time graduation in Hispanic studies from ‘Birkbeck, University of London’ in 2002. He also attended the ‘University of the West of England’.
• In 2003, he went on an expedition to the north Atlantic Arctic Ocean, accompanied by a team comprising five members. They sailed from Nova Scotia to Labrador, Greenland, Iceland and then Scotland.
• This adventurer created a new record in 2005, when he along with mountaineer David Hempleman-Adams and Lieutenant Commander Alan Veal, leader of the ‘Royal Navy Freefall Parachute Display Team’, organized the highest open-air formal dinner party. The same year, he shot the television series ‘Escape to the Legion’.
• He undertook an expedition and led a team to paramotor over Angel Falls, Venezuela, which is the highest waterfall of the world in 2005.
• In 2006, his tele-series ‘Man vs. Wild’ was launched which showed how Grylls survived in harsh environments. This show was initially entitled ‘Born Survivor: Bear Grylls’ and was broadcast in UK by this name.
• He created a new record in 2007, when he flew a Parajet over the Himalayas. The following year, he accompanied by double amputee Al Hodgson and Scotsman Freddy MacDonald, created a Guinness World Record of the ‘longest continuous indoor freefall’.
• In the year 2009, he was made the Chief Scout of ‘The Scout Association’ when he was thirty-five years old. Thus, he became the youngest individual to hold the position of Chief Scout.
• This voyager accompanied by a team of five embarked on Northwest Passage expedition in a rigid-inflatable boat sailing through 2,500 miles, in 2010. The same year, he appeared in a Discovery channel show named ‘Worst-Case Scenario’. The following year, he featured in the show ‘Bear’s Wild Weekend’.
• In 2011, his book ‘Scouting For All’ was published. He also wrote a series of books under the head ‘Mission Survival’. This series consists of books ‘Mission Survival: Gold of the Gods’, ‘Mission Survival: Way of the Wolf’, ‘Mission Survival: Sands of the Scorpion’, ‘Mission Survival: Tracks of the Tiger’ and ‘Mission Survival: Claws of the Crocodile’.
• The explorer inked his autobiography ‘Mud, Sweat and Tears: The Autobiography’ in the year 2012. This was followed by the publication of books ‘A Survivor Guide for Life’ and ‘True Grit’
• In 2013, he presented the show ‘Get Out Alive with Bear Grylls’, and the same year, ‘Bear Grylls: Escape From Hell’ also premiered. The following year, he hosted the show ‘The Island with Bear Grylls’ which was about thirteen men in a desolate island in the Pacific.
• In 2014, his show ‘Running Wild with Bear Grylls’ was launched which featured celebrities such as Tamron Hall, Zac Efron, Tom Arnold, Ben Stiller, Deion Sanders and Channing Tatum.
• He hosted another reality show ‘Bear Grylls: Mission Survive’ in 2015 which featured eight celebrities who had to perform certain tasks in order to survive in the show. The winner of the first season was DJ and model Vogue Williams. The show will be back with a new season in 2016.

 

Major Works

• His television show ‘Man v/s Wild’ has been a huge success and has made Grylls an international figure. The adventures he experiences are unique and the survival strategies which he employs are bizarre. This show was launched in the UK as ‘Born Survivor: Bear Grylls’. The show ran for five years and had seven seasons in total.

Awards & Achievements

• This voyager was felicitated with an honorary rank of Lieutenant Commander in 2004, in the ‘Royal Naval Reserve’.
• In 2013, he was bestowed with an honorary rank of lieutenant colonel in the Royal Marines Reserve.

 

Personal Life & Legacy

• In the year 2000, Bear Grylls married Shara Cannings, and the couple is blessed with three children named Marmaduke, Jesse and Huckleberry.
• He is associated with many charitable organizations like ‘The Prince’s Trust’, ‘The JoLt Trust’. Most of his expeditions have been aimed at raising funds for organizations such as ‘Global Angels’, 'The Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme', 'Royal National Lifeboat Institution', 'SSAFA Forces Help', 'Hope and Homes for Children'.
• This television personality has a net worth of $10 million as per estimations by Celebrity Net Worth.

Net Worth

• This television personality has a net worth of $10 million as per estimations by Celebrity Net Worth.

Trivia

• He owns a franchise of the dietary supplements brand ‘Juice Plus’.