{"id":1259,"date":"2015-07-21T17:37:51","date_gmt":"2015-07-21T22:37:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/culturated.com\/?p=1259"},"modified":"2015-07-21T17:50:20","modified_gmt":"2015-07-21T22:50:20","slug":"bear-grylls-interview-on-running-wild-second-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/culturated.com\/bear-grylls-interview-on-running-wild-second-season\/","title":{"rendered":"BORN TO BE WILD: Bear Grylls Interview on Running Wild’s New Batch of Celebrity Survivors"},"content":{"rendered":"

With Donald Trump going completely off the deep end (and yet somehow emerging as the leading Republican Presidential candidate by a wide margin), Bear Grylls<\/a> has emerged as NBC\u2019s most popular reality show host.<\/p>\n

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With Get Out Alive<\/em><\/a>, The Island <\/em><\/a>and Running Wild<\/em><\/a>, the iconic survival expert has had three different shows on the network in recent years. And the recently launched second season of Running Wild<\/em>, which pairs Grylls with celebrities such as actress Kate Hudson and New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees in often grueling wilderness environments, suggests Grylls isn\u2019t going away anytime soon.<\/p>\n

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In our Bear Grylls Interview, Grylls\u2013 a former reservist in the British Special Forces (SAS) who later climbed Everest and crossed the North Atlantic<\/a> and the Northwest Passage in an inflatable boat\u2013 recently spoke to us about the spirit essential to survival, his favorite (and least favorite) environments to explore, and Running Wild<\/em>\u2019s second season.<\/p>\n

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\"Bear<\/a><\/p>\n

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Can you talk about the survival spirit you look for among the people you feature on your shows?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think the wild is always revealing, you know? I say to these guys right at the start, “Don’t impress me with your words, impress me with your actions.\u201d I explain to them the qualities that keep people alive in the wild, and these are the qualities I’m looking for. It’s courage, resourcefulness, determination, teamwork, humility and kindness. It’s easy to show those qualities when everything’s going well\u2013 when you’re well-fed and the weather’s kind to and you’ve got all you gear. But it becomes harder to hide when you’re starving and the weather’s just torrential driving rain.<\/p>\n

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Do you think anyone can be taught to hack it as a survivalist, or does it require a certain type of personality?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We all have it in us. Some people come at it with machismo, thinking they’ve got it all, but when they’re pushed they actually don\u2019t. Other people come at it saying,”I’ve never done anything like this and I’m terrified.” But you just give them a few pointers and hold their hand a little bit initially. Then, when the squeeze comes on, they fly. So it’s all about putting that squeeze on and getting to the real heart of people. We all have the heart of the survivor, but sometimes it’s buried under a lot of stuff.<\/p>\n

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\"Bear<\/a><\/p>\n

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What sort of advice do you give to people who want to learn how to survive in the wild?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Probably the most important advice I give them is at the end of their training. It\u2019s really about the psychology of this brutal experience they\u2019re about to go through. You\u2019re going somewhere where there\u2019s a bare minimum of everything. You\u2019re going to be dehydrated, you\u2019re going to be starving, sometimes not eating for days and days and days on end. You\u2019re sleeping on the ground, which is rough. You\u2019ve got snakes and bugs to contend with, and it can be really brutal. But remember the pain won\u2019t last forever, and this is your chance to show what you\u2019re made of. If you\u2019re made of sterner stuff, you don\u2019t crumble when the pressure is on.<\/p>\n

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For Running Wild<\/em>, how do you select the location and celebrity to experience it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We try and pick diverse wildernesses that will stretch these guys. And we kind of elongate it according to who we have. Some people are fitter and stronger than others. But the great thing about Running Wild<\/em> is that it\u2019s not really about how fit or strong people are. It\u2019s about getting to know these guys in a really honest and open way, and then pushing them a little bit and empowering them with cool skills. Hopefully we get a great adventure along the way.<\/p>\n

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