Fearless and full of faith
Though his TV contract is relatively strict when it comes to speaking about religious matters, Bear has a natural and gentle way of bringing across his beliefs. In one particular episode, Bear was in Patagonia trying to start a fire (without much success) by rubbing two sticks together. Wet, cold and tired, it took Bear 30 minutes to generate enough friction for a small spark to light the tinder, and during this tedious process he shared his thoughts on life saying:
“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. Some say Christianity is a crutch. I say it may be so, but it is also my backbone.” And boy, does Bear need backbone for some of the stunts he does! Whether it is parachuting out of a moving plane into the barren Australian Outback (Bear has a fear of heights) or sailing in the swamps of Indonesia (after the 2006 tsunami hit) in a rotting Zebra carcass, Bear puts his money where his mouth is (literally) to bring the viewer a ‘realistic’ experience.“Ordinarily I exercise six times a week and eat as healthily as possible, avoiding processed food, meat and dairy, but out in the wild, I have been forced to forage for whatever food is available. My worst experiences include eating frozen Yak eyeballs, goats testicles and maggots the size of a baby’s hand.”
