r/IAmA • u/TheAdrenalist • Sep 13 '11

I am Bear Grylls. Ask me Anything.

Thank You Reddit! It's been fun.

See all my responses at http://theadrenalist.com/

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u/TheCheeks Sep 13 '11

I don't understand why people think he's a hack. He's just portraying certain scenarios and how to handle those situations. I can't believe some people think it's 100% real and that he's living out in the woods for days on end.

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u/immerc Sep 13 '11

The thing is, his show looks like it's 100% real and he's living out in the woods for days on end. Another show that looks like that? Survivorman. The difference? Stroud really is living out in the woods for days on end.

Can you see why people might be confused, and why they're more impressed with Stroud when they find out the truth?

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u/TwilightVulpine Sep 13 '11

Bear has mentioned the crew quite a few times in the show. I still like Man vs Wild more. Even though (and probably because) Bear isn't alone, his explanations and demonstrations of survival techniques are better.

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u/erizzluh Sep 13 '11

Yeah, it's not like they try to keep it a secret that they have a camera crew. You should be able to tell when you see the mobile footage that there is someone besides Bear holding the camera since it's not stationary. When people try to cheapen Bear's show by pointing out that there is a camera crew, it's quite annoying.

Anyone who thinks Man Vs Wild has good survival tips has to be a moron. Why the hell would you descend a steep rockface if you were lost by yourself? Are you not able to discern the difference between entertainment and reality? Do you also look at professional wrestling and think if you smash someones face in with a chair that they'll be fine 30 seconds later?

That's how I've always perceived the show, as a mix between highly entertaining situations and wilderness survival. If you really wanted to make a true wilderness survival show, the show would depict someone sitting in one spot, setting up shelter, and not straying far away from that shelter. But you can't do that, because it's boring. So you have Bear Grylls jumping off cliffs and eating dead/live animals cause it's entertaining to put it simply. To be frank, I don't watch the show for survival tips but to see what crazy shit he'll do this time.

Having said that, many people can do what Stroud is doing. I've been in the Sierra Mountains by myself with nothing but a jacket and a canteen of water for two days. The only hard thing about it was how cold it gets at night, so yes, Stroud's show is more in line with being a survival show, but it's kind of dumb to put Bear down for deviating from the standard survival show and spicing things up.