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Outside & Active

Ben Fogle – The Outdoors is part of me

Season 3, Ep. 2
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Podcast with Ben Fogle

You don’t realise what you have until you don’t have it anymore.


It took being locked indoors for lots of us to realise the value of grass, trees, forests, rivers and lakes! The outdoors has been such an important part of Ben’s life and personal development. The outdoors is part of him.


Isn’t it weird that we have to differentiate between being “indoors” vs “outdoors”? Ben talks about the outdoors being the niche or the unusual. Maybe we’re seeing a shift as more people realise that the outdoors is an amazing place. It’s not just for long beards, expensive walking shoes and goretex jackets.

New Lives in the Wild

We talk about many things in our podcast about the great outdoors including some of Ben’s experiences with the inspiring people he’s met whilst filming New Lives in the Wild (catch up on demand here) with people figuring out how to lead a life that suits them. It’s not longer about trying to smash a square peg into a round hole and measurements of “success” are changing from high paid, high-flying jobs to, well simply happiness. Through some of the "stars" of the show, we also talk about diversity in the outdoors and opening the opportunities to a wider circle of outdoor enthusiasts, something Ben is incredibly passionate about.

Are you conforming to expectations to society or are you moving to your own beat? It’s very easy to become the sheep, but if you’re brave enough, a common thread through New Lives in the Wild series, you can achieve what you set out to do.

We also talk to Ben about:

  • Rowing the Atlantic
  • Cold water emersion and swimming to Alcatraz
  • That moment when he ran shirtless in the snow
  • Embracing the cold with cold water swimming, swimming to Alcatraz, that moment when he ran shirtless in the snow (bareskin running) as well as a little about the Wim Hoff method
  • Being Patron of the Wilderness for the United Nations.
  • How to adapt your adventures with children

We loved chatting to Ben. What did you think of the episode? What was your favourite bit?


Outside and Active Podcast

Welcome to the Outside & Active podcast where we aim to inspire you to lead a healthy active lifestyle outside with interviews from guests such as Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Dame Kelly Holmes, Ben Fogle, Kadeena Cox OBE, Julia Bradbury, Sean Conway, Paula Radcliffe MBE, Anna McNuff & Jamie McDonald.

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