Bear Grylls was brought up on the Isle of Wight, where his late father taught him to climb and sail. A martial arts expert, Bear went on to spend three years as a soldier in the British Air Service (21 SAS), before suffering a free fall parachuting accident in Africa that left his back broken in three places. Despite this he went on to become the youngest Briton ever to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Now one of the youngest and most sought after motivational speakers, he relates his remarkable experiences to audiences and corporations all around the world. He has also presented several prime-time TV adventure series for Channel Four in the UK and Discovery Channel in America, notably Born Survivor, which was also a bestselling book. Bear lives with his wife Shara, and their sons Jesse and Marmaduke, on a Dutch barge in London and on a small remote Welsh island. His bestselling books Facing Up, about this record-breaking ascent of Everest, and Facing the Frozen Ocean, his inspirational story of leading a team across the treacherous North Atlantic, a feat for which he was awarded an Honorary commission in the Royal Navy, are both published by Pan Macmillan.

He is also the author of several children's books, including the The Jungle Book: New Adventures series, a contemporary update of Rudyard Kipling's classic The Jungle Book.