SAS: Who Dares Wins – Jungle Hell – Interview with Joshua

SAS: Who Dares Wins returned to Channel 4 on Monday 23 January and this time the recruits are going to find themselves in Jungle Hell! It’s time to meet the recruits. Joshua is a 24 year old professional Boxer from Ilford. He wants to push himself beyond his limits.

Why did you decide to take part in SAS: Who Dares Wins?
To see if I had what it takes to push myself beyond my physical capabilities and also to mentally challenge myself and see how I would react in extreme conditions.

What did you hope to get out of this experience?
A fresh outlook on life and build my self-confidence. Also to see how I would react in certain situations and how I would deal with the challenges presented to me.

Did it meet your expectations? What was different? What was as expected? And why?
It surpassed my expectations. The whole experience was unbelievable. I’ve taken many things away from the experience, such as learning to be comfortable when things are uncomfortable. Being beasted and shouted at was expected but when you are there live in the flesh under extreme pressure and crazy climates, it’s a completely different mental and physical ball game. I don’t think any amount of training could’ve prepared me for the course although some military training techniques I done before helped me a bit.

What did you learn about yourself from this experience?
That majority of things in life come down to your mindset and how you view a situation. Also that it’s good to get outside my comfort zone, experience new things, meet new people and face my fears head on.

Did you manage to confront and rid yourself of any demons whilst on the course? What happened?
I suppose so, there were some things I kept quiet, like I thought I feared heights, but I learned from the course that I don’t. Also, that when I feel like giving in, I can dig even deeper to make sure I see it through even though I feel like I have nothing left to give

How did you prepare for the course? Any particular training?
Yeah, my boxing coach was a former Marine, so he made sure I was mentally prepared for all the mind games waiting for me. Also I did a lot of strength and conditioning training and he took me for an hour long beasting with a 40lb Burgan to give me a taster of what was to come. A lot of pull ups, press ups and running with the 40lb Burgan.

What part of the course were you most nervous about before the course? Was it as bad as you expected or were you pleasantly surprised by your strength?
The thought of interrogation worried me the most – purely because of the 12 hour stress positions.

Which part of the course did you find the hardest?
Anything swimming related, and being away from my family.

Mental or physical – which did you find the most challenging?
Mental

How did you cope with the humid Vietnamese heat? Were you prepared for the climate?
Definitely made things much harder, I wasn’t prepared for how humid it was

Tell us about your experience under the Directing Staff? Did any of them surprise/inspire/change your life?
All the DS were inspiring in their own each individual way, just knowing that they’d been through what we was experiencing and more, was motivational in itself. It was really an honour to meet them and be able to soak up their life experience and knowledge and study and learn from them. The 4 of them are literally 4 real life super heroes.

Were you surprised by the new DS line up?
Not really, I wasn’t focused on that.

What did you learn or take from each of the DS?
Foxy – his calmness and leadership skill
Billy – his overall life experience, grittiness and determination
Rudy – his charisma and enthusiasm in any giving situation
Chris – leadership skills, fitness and drive

Did you form any close bonds with your fellow recruits?
I had a good relationship with Hillary and Levi

What is your biggest fear? Is that still the case?
That I don’t fulfil my potential in life.

What did you miss the most while you were in Vietnam?
My family and food.

What’s the first thing you did when you finished the course?
Call my family and eat.

What’s the first food you ate?
I ate Burger King in the airport.

Summarise your whole SAS: Who Dares Wins experience?
Unbelievable, once in a lifetime experience that money cannot buy. One of, if not my greatest personal achievement to date.

Would you change anything about your time on the course?
I would have been more open a bit earlier on in the course and come out of my shell.

Would you ever do it again?
No, once will do

SAS: Who Dares Wins – Jungle Hell airs Mondays at 9.00pm on Channel 4.