‘The irony is that my biggest scars are from ridiculous things‘

The Guardian ran this article last week : Bear Grylls, What I see in the mirror. I think Bear is pretty awesome and am looking forward to reading is autobiography very soon. Read the article below.

My face looks as if it’s lived a lot of adventures. My wife Shara says I frown too much. I’ve had quite a bit of eye damage from too much hanging out of helicopters, desert glare and ice reflections from glaciers. I got a bleeding eye and my surgeon told me, “I’ve been watching your programmes and waiting for you to walk into my office.” I should wear sunglasses more, but I think it looks poncey.

I’ve got three boys and they’re always asking about my scars. I used to be self-conscious about them, but now I don’t mind – each one tells a story. The irony is that the biggest scars are from ridiculous things. People think the one on my back must be from a shark or crocodile, but it’s from when I fell off something small in the desert and landed on a cactus; and I’ve got a big one on my chest from taking a pizza out of the oven with no clothes on.

I like my nose even though it’s wonky. I inherited it from my late dad and it reminds me of him when I look in the mirror.

I’ve got weird bones sticking out all over my body. I broke my shoulder in Antarctica, my elbow on Everest and my back when I was in the SAS. I used to love that quote from Evel Knievel, “Bones heal and chicks love scars.” I see it more as a perfectly preserved body is a wasted life. At the end of my life, I want to arrive skidding in sideways, battered, covered in scars and screaming, “Yahooooo!”

The Guardian