IT WAS clear that Megan Hine was destined for a life of adventure from a young age. She walked at the age of six months, was uncomfortable in the confined space of a classroom and could not stop herself from exploring wherever she was.
In this extremely candid interview Megan opens up about where her thirst for adventure stems from and shares with us some of the wildest moments of her career to date. Read on as she reveals her journey from behind-the-scenes worker and expert on television shows to her career in front of the camera and roles alongside the great Bear Grylls.
Megan’s passion to keep on exploring is hard not to admire and her enthusiasm for all elements of her life and work truly inspiring. Only time will tell but we’re sure there’s much more to come from this all-conquering and determined lady.
When did you first realise you had a passion for travel and adventure and were there any strong influences early on in life?
I have to admit I was slightly disruptive in school, unable to sit still and daydreaming of the mountains and adventure. I felt so claustrophobic, I felt confined playing court sports such as tennis and would hit the ball as hard as I could to get it over the fence so I could spend the rest of the lesson hunting in the undergrowth for my ball. I couldn’t understand why there were boundaries when there was such a huge world to explore.
I was so lucky that family holidays involved heading off camping and discovering the remote hills of the British Isles, my parents had a big influence both being passionate geographers and my childhood holidays were full of rock spotting. I discovered mountain biking early on, I had no idea it was a recognised sport but cycling home from school one day I wondered if I could ride the bike along the hills. That was it, every day was spent seeing how far I could ride off road and discovering what I could ride down.
I fenced for the British team for several years, heading off every other weekend to compete in world championships and international competitions. I eventually gave it up as I realised I was visiting these awesome countries and only seeing the inside of some dreary sports hall. I needed fresh air and to move with no restrictions and was desperate to explore.
The military cadets for me was a break through, I threw myself wholeheartedly into adventurous training, Scottish winter climbing trips, white water kayaking, anything I could get my hands on. The staff running the cadets and the adventurous training were amazing and super supportive.
Travel was a thing I dreamed of, captivated by tales of climbers and explorers and in particular a book a cousin had given me when I was eight called Land of the Long White Cloud filled with Maori ancestral tales and beautiful illustrations. I longed to visit New Zealand. When I left school I earned enough to travel out and spent a year out there where in one of those strokes of coincidence and luck carried out an apprenticeship working in an outdoor centre in the middle of the Southern Alps instructing and training to become a raft guide. Since then I have not stopped travelling.
Could you tell us about some of your early successes as an adventurer and when did you get your first break in TV?
I started walking much to the frustration of my parents at six months old and haven’t stopped since. I started working professionally in the outdoor industry at 17 and picked up outdoor qualifications early on. I carried out a two-year apprenticeship in bushcraft and taught off road driving on the green lanes of the Lake District while climbing and mountain biking in any down time. I assisted on many survival/anthropological expeditions before becoming a fully-fledged leader. I was lucky to have learnt from the best people in the business in all aspects of my outdoor activities.
My first break working behind the scenes was back in 2007 when I was 22, a survival consultant and rope rigger was needed for a Man vs Wild show and I was asked. I have been so lucky that inadvertently I amassed so much experience in both outdoor pursuits and survival. This combination of skills was quite unique and very much sought after. After this first show I did many more and have worked on many major survival and adventure shows.
During this time I was approached various times about being in front of camera but was never interested, I love my role supporting the shows and my reward is from the job I do, I never sought fame. The first time I appeared on a big TV show it was sprung on me. I was down to do safety for a Swiss channel, spending weeks on end in the desert and then weeks in the jungle with nothing but a machete and a medical bergen looking after myself, a small crew and the inexperienced guy and girl who were being filmed. There were three other independent teams like this that would eventually meet up, my partner Stani leading one of them. We became part of the show and filmed both shows as in front of camera survival experts while doing our safety role. This was a tough but incredible experience as being on the move with only the food and water I could source for myself and my team in the environment with no sleeping systems tested my skills. When your energy is running low and those around you are flagging it takes mental strength to keep hunting for the team and to keep them safe. I loved every moment of this.
What have been some of your biggest achievements and what are the most memorable expeditions you have been involved in?
I spend my life on the road, I will quite literally be on the summit of some snow-capped mountain one day and dropped into the depths of the jungle the next. I lived in the Alps for nine years but gave up the place I was renting last year as I was spending more and more time away and it seemed such a waste of money. I rent a store room and live in the back of my van when I am not working. I have no fixed abode. My biggest achievement is making this lifestyle work. I have been part of numerous world firsts of the adventurous kind. It has not always been easy and it has at times been a rough road.
Being a woman in a male dominated industry is at times pretty tough. I’ve been received both positively and not so positively. It is not malicious but it is still ingrained in society that this is not a woman’s domain, I guess in a subconscious way it undermines the grrr and manliness factor for those that do have a problem. I would not change what I do for anything. Each knock just makes me more determined to push onwards. And the support of people like Bear Grylls has been unwavering since I joined his team back in 2008.
How did it feel to be selected as one of the captains on Bear Grylls Mission Survive and could you tell us about your experience of the programme and some of the highlights?
I was so excited to have been asked by Bear to step out from behind the cameras and take an in front of camera role. We get to take the celebrities drop them into exciting environments, strip away the known and push them out of their comfort zones.
The jungle is a tough environment to survive in, you have to fight to look after yourself and your kit. You have to be switched on at all times to avoid danger and there is no room for slackers. As soon as you switch off or cut corners accidents happen and this remote, accidents can endanger not only yourself but those of your teammates. When I’m guiding on expeditions it is not necessarily experience I admire but it is the willingness and openness to new ideas and initiative that sets the survivors apart and this is what we were looking for in each of the celebrities. A true grit and willingness to overcome anything thrown at them.
My personal highlight was the final day through the mangrove forest, only a small section of what the remaining three went through, dragging the canoes over submerged trees in crocodile infested water channels and being covered head to toe in mud was shown. The day before a human head had been found on one of the banks, the person having been eaten by crocs. It was a gruelling day for the very hungry, sleep deprived celebrities. There is something so primeval about the mangrove forests.
What does being a member of the Adventure Film Collective involve?
Some of us members of the Adventure Film Collective have been working together now for about ten years. We work with each other a lot on different shoots all over the world. It made sense to join together and as a team offer production companies everything they need in one place, camera, sound, director, safety. As safety I know the limits and abilities of each one of the guys I work with and believe me each one of them is seriously hardcore.
We spent three months filming in Mexico a couple of years ago and Dan Etheridge and Jim Anderson ran along behind the jeeps for the entire shoot. Both Stani Groeneweg and I know when we need to step into help them and keep them safe, we have no need to patronise or overdo it, which makes their jobs a lot easier when we don’t restrict them as we would someone we didn’t know. They know our limits too and what they can ask of us and as a team we can achieve the seemingly impossible.
The AFC is a collective of professionals involved in the commercial adventure film business. We are involved in the filming for adventure shows for the major channels such as Discovery, National Geographic, ITV etc. Collectively or as individuals we work behind the scenes on most of the well-known survival and adventure shows aired on TV. We consist of three camera operators, a sound man, a director and two safety and survival experts. We set the AFC up as a way to not only help promote ourselves but to inspire up and coming professional and amateur film makers.
On a personal level I am so excited to see each of the guys at work and could rave for hours about how incredible in their field each one of them is. Their knowledge of filming, maintaining and repairing kit in extreme, remote locations the world over is second to none and I feel incredibly humbled to have my name among them.
Could you tell us about your work as a guide to clients who want to find extreme and beautiful places in the world that are not accessible through a regular travel agent?
For years Stani and I have been offering bespoke expeditions and courses to individuals and groups. Working in the outdoor industry is a lifestyle choice. It can be a hard life with long hours and little pay. Right from the start I knew I wanted to travel and the only way I could see funding my travels was to make it into a career. Over time I have built up a client base of returning clients who will call me up or email me and tell me they want an adventure. Some know exactly what they want and I will set it up and guide them on it and others ask me to choose a location and set them up an adventure. I still have to pinch myself that this is actually what I get to do. I am a perfectionist and I like everything to be logistically flawless before departing.
Once on the ground anything can happen and I love the randomness of dealing with issues on the ground but knowing my support net is set up behind me. I have formed such a great bond with my clients and I love catching up with them and look forward to each trip.
What is it about adventure that keeps you passionate and what have been some of the craziest moments of your career?
For me adventure and pushing my personal limits is an addiction. If I don’t have my daily dose of adrenalin I get a rising panic starting in my chest threatening to bubble out. I need to move and in my personal time walking the fine line between adventure and misadventure is such a rush.
When I am guiding there are two things that keep me passionate, first mixing up what I do, I constantly hop between environments and trips. I may be in the jungle one week and in the Arctic the next. I need this, I would struggle to spend a season leading or guiding the same route over and over and stay enthusiastic. I have a very short attention span and need constant stimulation. My clients also help keep me passionate, seeing them achieve their goals or overcome fears and hurdles makes me so proud of them and makes all the moments where they have ‘hated’ me for pushing them vanish.
There are so many crazy moments; I have been hunted by lions, stalked by hyenas, I have survived weeks in the jungle, the desert, the mountains and cold places with little more than a machete or a knife and the clothes I stand in. I have fallen into crevasses, been caught in an avalanche, been bitten by a snake, stung by scorpions, hunted by illegal Opium growers through the jungle, I could ramble on and on each crazy moment makes me feel alive and appreciate what I have.
What exciting plans do you have for the rest of the year and beyond?
The rest of the year is pretty manic. I am off to China now to film for six weeks and then straight on to the next country to film the second season of Mission Survive. I get back mid-November when I start training proper for an exciting adventure which is happening next spring. I am so incredibly excited it’s hard not to blurt it all out. You’ll have to watch this space however.
