Never been camping? Well, I have, of course growing up in our house that was a prerequisite along with fishing and other outdoor activities. But MSNBC’s Tamron Hall didn’t even make it to summer camp… and for that matter, she never wanted to go camping, but who can say “No!” to Bear Grylls?
We got to speak with Tamron about her experience, what she learned and would she do it again…
Tamron is a very animated and inspirational woman who is an anchor for MSNBC. Not only was she the first African-American woman to co-host the “Today” show, but she has never let a challenge bigger than her scare her as she reveals in her interview with us (and other members of the media) below.
Question: What made you want to do the challenge of being a survivalist for 48 hours?
Tamron’s Answer: “I’ve never done anything like this. I mean, I went to church camp… I think I was 8 years old. I called my dad, who is a Master Sergeant in the Army, and I pretended I have a stomachache so that he can rescue me. Maybe I was there – maybe 12 hours…It could have been an hour drive from our home, but I was ready to bolt.
…So for me at this age it was incredible to have this experience, to have it with someone like Bear Grylls who, you know, is an expert at this…it’s the real experience that he appreciates and that he wants to share with others. So I jumped on the opportunity…I probably wouldn’t have ever done anything like this. Not on my own.”
Question: What would you say after going to the whole experience that you can say about yourself as a person has changed because of that experience?
Tamron’s Answer: …”my friends call me the queen of self-help books, but I try to eliminate the word fear or afraid from my vocabulary… in my daily life… When I was with Bear I was terrified… and something that I learned about myself is if I don’t have time to think about it I can do it…not having that time to think it over or worry about the consequences, I was able to complete it. ”
Question: What is it about Bear that you found out that maybe viewers don’t know?
Tamron’s Answer: “I think the man you see is the man he is, but I was taken aback by how nurturing he was and is.
…And I quite admire – and he talked a lot about his, you know, his wife and his children and he had that same tough but nurturing spirit even when he was discussing his children.”
Question: Would you do this again?
Tamron’s Answer: “I don’t know. I’ve asked myself that several times and it changes from day to day. I guess when the journey was over my immediate reaction was no. I remember feeling this tingling sensation after we wrapped that I’ve never felt before in my life. Almost like a vibration in my body that I cannot describe to you. And I thought I will never do this again.
…And then I saw Bear about a month ago… you see his smile and he has this way of kind of like hyping you up and I was thinking, “Where is my camel, I’m ready, you know.”
…And now talking to you in my cozy bedroom I’m like, “No, thanks… but I can tell you, the landscape of Utah and where I was I have to go back there… it really just magical and I have to see more of our country in that way.”
Question: And then, similar to the ALS challenge, who would you challenge to do this with Bear? Who would you like to see?
Tamron’s Answer: “…who would I challenge? Definitely Willie Geist. Excited with Willie. Willie is really tall. Some might say freakishly tall and I’d like to see if Bear can, you know, put those long legs to work and something like that.
Chris Matthews. I’d love to see if Chris Matthews could do it for just reasons of laughter. That’s for me, but it’s funny.
And let’s see, who else I’d like to see. Kathie Lee Gifford. I don’t know if she would whine on the trip, but it should be so amazing and so funny to see. Because I know Hoda could do it. Matt is over competitive. He’d pull it off. Natalie, my gosh, she runs America every other weekend. So did, Al, but Kathie Lee, that would be so hilarious.”
Question: You’re the first African-American woman to co-host Today which is amazing, and what would be your Number 1 piece of advice for any woman who want to like break through barriers like that in their own career?
Tamron’s Answer: “Don’t look at barriers. I just had a young lady come to me and seek advice and she said, “How hard is it being a woman? How hard is it being a black woman, you know, in this business?” And I said, “To be honest with you, if I look at the roadblocks I would never be able to see the road.”
Well said, Tamron! We’re looking forward to seeing your episode with Bear!
Watch Running Wild with Bear Grylls Mondays 8 PM on NBC
Here’s a brief video with Tamron Hall talking about her episode with Bear
#RunningWild is all new tonight at 8/7c
NBC’s Running Wild with Bear Grylls, sees Bear partnered one-on-one with celebrities in some of the wildest and most remote locations in the U.S. and around the world. The format aims to test their minds and bodies in a 48-hour journey of a lifetime. Participating celebrities include actor-director Ben Stiller, actor Channing Tatum, NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, actor Tom Arnold, MSNBC and “Today’ anchor Tamron Hall and actor Zac Efron.
About Bear Grylls
Bear’s passion for the outdoors was forged during his childhood in the UK on the Isle of Wight where his late father taught him to climb and sail. Trained from a young age in martial arts, Bear went on to spend three years as a soldier and combat survival instructor in the British Special Forces, serving with 21 SAS. It was here that he perfected many of the skills that his fans all over the world enjoy watching him pit against mother nature. Bear is best known for his international TV series Man vs. Wild, which has achieved a global audience of over 1.2 billion followers as well as his latest NBC series: Running Wild with Bear Grylls.
Want to have an outdoor challenge with Bear?
Bear Grylls Survival Academy launched in the U.S. in July 2014 with three locations based in New York, California and Colorado where outdoor enthusiasts have the chance to learn his extreme survival techniques. Courses take place in the Catskills Mountains, New York, Sierra Nevada Mountains near Yosemite National Park in California and the Colorado Rockies. Designed by Bear Grylls himself, the course will consist of several survival techniques and run by his close team of highly trained survival experts. Information, including course dates, can be found at http://www.beargryllssurvivalacademy.com.
