“Man vs. Wild” star Bear Grylls has announced the launch of his first ever Bear Grylls Survival Academy in the USA, offering outdoor enthusiasts across the country the chance to learn his extreme survival techniques.

Designed by Bear Grylls himself, the course will consist of several survival techniques and will be run by his close team of highly trained survival experts.
 
The first academy is set to kick off in the Catskills Mountain region, a wild undulating area of New York State in November. In addition, a further Academy will be opening in Texas at a later date. Comprising of a combination of remote land/water survival and adventure tasks, the course will culminate in a wilderness expedition designed to put the participants’ new found skills to the ultimate test. Techniques include fire lighting, emergency shelter building, knife skills, foraging for grubs and rodents, remote medical trauma, a range of dynamic activities including rappelling, tyrolean traverses and scrambling, extreme weather survival, river crossings and of course Bear’s famous Gross Eat challenge!
 
Lead instructor and course developer Scott Heffield, who also works closely with Bear, says, “The Catskills provide the perfect backdrop for Bear Grylls Survival Academy course to launch. Topography, rivers, lakes, extreme weather conditions and wildlife are all important factors to consider and the Catskills provides the perfect setting to recreate an environment that simulates real life Bear Grylls survival situations.”
 
Bear Grylls, born in  Donaghadee in County Down, is arguably the most recognized face of survival and outdoor adventure, with experience gained during his seven seasons of Discovery’s Emmy nominated hit TV show “Man vs. Wild” and NBC’s new “Get Out Alive with Bear Grylls.” The course is based around the skills he learned from his time with the British Special Forces and his many survival missions to every extreme wilderness on the planet.
 
“So many people have asked me over the years where they can learn extreme, practical survival - the type that requires spirit, determination and the skills to self-rescue against the odds, in some of the harshest terrain around. So it is with great pride that we can now finally launch the Bear Grylls Survival Academy in the USA to be able to share some of these skills and what it really means to be able to look after yourself when the chips are down,” says Bear Grylls. “Oh, and it may hurt a little.”
 
To help deliver the course, Bear has teamed up with Worldwide Experience, experts in delivering high quality experience-lead conservation and volunteering courses around the world. Paul Gardiner, Managing Director of Worldwide Experience explained, “Nature, conservation and education are really important to us and we are so excited to continue working with Bear and his team as the Survival Academy launches in the USA. Our aim is to inspire people to reconnect with the natural world and the course will give people a really raw but fulfilling experience hopefully leaving people feeling challenged but with big smiles on their faces!”
 
Updated information can be found at www.beargryllssurvivalacademy.com. The official opening dates will be announced on the website.

Here’s the most viewed clip of Bear Grylls on YouTube. A clip from “Man vs. Wild” of Grylls eating larva...not of the faint of heart: