Bear Grylls opens up on tragic family loss that took him 'to his knees'

Former SAS trooper Bear Grylls says that spending time outdoors offers far more than simply breathing in fresh air. He credits his connection with the natural world as vital to maintaining his mental health, with pursuits like wild swimming—or even just relaxing on grass—serving as the ideal remedy for stress.

Grylls also points to his deep Christian faith as a source of strength during difficult periods, particularly following the devastating loss of his father, Sir Michael Grylls, who suffered a fatal heart attack aged just 66.

The television adventurer describes it as the most profound grief he'd ever encountered: "I felt horrifically ill-prepared and I really struggled," he revealed to the i Paper. "Shara [Bear's wife] and I had just married and she also lost her father 10 weeks earlier. It was a crazy time and I felt pretty out of control and uncertain about life and my future. It took me to my knees, to be honest."

Yet Grylls maintains that personal growth stems from facing hardship: "All the good things in life are on the other side of fear, failures, doubt and pain."

His path to joining the SAS itself followed an initial setback. "I failed SAS Selection the first time," he says. "People don't know that. They just see the headline.

"120 of us lined up on day one," Grylls remembered. "They told us 'there'll be four of you at the end of this'. I got about halfway through. I wasn't fit enough. Strong enough. Smart enough. Good enough."

However, the 51-year-old explorer—christened Edward Michael Grylls—persevered, enlisting in the Territorial Army with 21 SAS as a trooper between 1994 and 1997.

His stint with the SAS came to an abrupt end following a catastrophic free-fall parachuting incident.

Whilst skydiving over Zambia, his parachute malfunctioned during deployment. "I should have cut the main parachute and gone to the reserve but thought there was time to resolve the problem," he later told the Daily Mail.

The shocking result was a plunge of 16,000 feet, among the highest falls ever survived without a functioning parachute. Though severely injured, fracturing three vertebrae, miraculously his spinal cord remained undamaged.

"The doctor said I was a miracle man," Bear recalled. "I had come so close to severing my spinal cord. Because of my age and my fitness, they decided I could avoid surgery."

Yet, a challenging recovery lay before him. The following year involved 10 hours daily of intensive rehabilitation, incorporating physiotherapy, swimming, and ultrasound therapy.

Whilst Bear continues to experience "twinges and pains" in his back today, he remained resolute in reclaiming his adventurous lifestyle. Approximately 18 months post-accident, he conquered the summit of Mount Everest, becoming the youngest Briton to achieve this feat.

Bear chronicled his accomplishment in a book published in 2000, which paved the way for a television career, featuring popular programmes such as Man vs Wild and Running Wild with Bear Grylls.