Served in the British Special Air Services (SAS).

Climbed Mount Everest.

Black Belt in Karate.

Broke his back in three places on a parachuting jump over Southern Africa.

In June 2005, Grylls broke a world record by hosting a dinner party at a table suspended below a hot air balloon at 24,500 feet.

Is an avid skydiver.

Led the first unassisted crossing of the frozen North Atlantic Ocean in an open, rigid inflatable boat.

Grylls owns an island on the Welsh coast, which includes a nature reserve, and lives on a converted barge on the River Thames with his wife Shara and their sons Jesse and Marmaduke.

He spends time as a motivational speaker.

His father died in 2001.

Third son, Huckleberry Edward Jocelyne Grylls, born January 15, 2009. He weighed 7 lbs. 7 oz.

In May 2009 he was appointed Britain's Chief Scout. At 34, he was the youngest person to hold the position.

Lives in a 100-year-old houseboat on the Thames in London (2010).

Counts Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984) as one of his personal favorite films.

Americans are cool, if you show just a chink of vulnerability, they respond so much. They'll pat you on the arm and say, 'Hey kid, you're all right'. Brits will respond but they are much more cynical.

I loved climbing because of the freedom, and having time and space. I remember coming off Everest for the last time, thinking of Dad and wishing that he could have seen what I saw. He would have loved it.

"I remember collapsing to my knees and just crying and crying inside my mask as all those emotions from so long began to flow. Neil and myself, with our oxygen off, just hugged. It is an extraordinary place and you see the curvature of the earth at the edges and at 7.22am we watched as the dawn came up over all the land of Tibet 20,000 ft below." - On Climbing Everest.

And here it starts...

MAN VS. WILD host, author and seasoned adventurer BEAR GRYLLS began a lifetime of exploration at an early age. Bear grew up on the Isle of Wight, and as a young boy would go mountain climbing with his father.

He served three years with the Special Air Service, a special forces unit of the British army. During his service, he broke his back in three places in a parachuting accident over Southern Africa.

Despite the accident and severity of his injury, Bear went on in 1998 to become, at age 23, one of the youngest ever climbers to summit Mount Everest. He wrote about his experience in the book, The Kid Who Climbed Everest.

Not content to slow down, Bear achieved another first when he and his Everest climbing group circumnavigated the United Kingdom on jet skis. He also led the first unassisted crossing of the frozen North Atlantic Ocean in an open rigid inflatable boat. His book about this adventure, Facing the Frozen Ocean, was shortlisted as the U.K.'s "Sports Book of the Year." Bear was awarded a commission in the Royal Navy in honor of leading this record-breaking expedition.

In June 2005, Bear broke a world record by hosting a dinner party at a table suspended below a hot air balloon at 24,500 feet. He rappelled from the balloon's basket to the table, where in full naval uniform he ate a three-course meal before saluting the queen and skydiving to earth. His goal was to support the work of two charities: the Prince's Trust and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award.

Bear hosted a 2005 television series for the U.K.'s Channel Four, called Escape to the Legion, in which he took a group of young men to the Western Sahara Desert to undergo the French Foreign Legion's infamous basic training. A second Channel Four series, titled Born Survivor: Bear Grylls, completed its U.K. run in April 2007.

On May 15, 2007, Bear set another world record when he became the first person to fly over Mount Everest by powered paraglider. Supported by the GKN Mission Everest Team, Grylls and fellow pilot Giles (Gilo) Gardozo flew specially developed paramotors. Though a fault in Gilo's machine forced him to abort only 1,000 feet below the summit, Bear continued to ascend until he reached 29,500 feet and was able to look down on Everest as he circled above some of the most famous peaks in the Himalayas. Then his own engine developed problems and he, too, had to glide back to safety — but he had achieved his goal. The mission raised $1 million for the Global Angels Foundation, a charity that supports children in Africa. Filmed by the Planet Earth team, Bear and Gilo's undertaking was made into a two-hour documentary for Discovery Channel and Channel Four in the U.K.

Bear's most recent book, Born Survivor: Survival Techniques From the Most Dangerous Places on Earth, was released in spring 2007. It is listed on the Sunday Times Top 10 Best-Seller List.

He has hosted the Discovery Channel's MAN VS. WILD, in which he strands himself in remote locations to demonstrate localized survival techniques, since November 2006.

Bear lives on a converted barge on the River Thames with his wife Shara and their young sons Jesse, Marmaduke and Huckleberry.

Bear Grylls and the crew receive support when they are in potentially life threatening situations, as required by health and safety regulations.

On some occasions, situations are presented to Bear so he can demonstrate survival techniques.