CALUM BEST – RECRUIT NUMBER 3
Category: Press Pack ArticleAge: 41
From: London
Occupation: TV Personality & Entrepreneur
Since losing his father to alcohol addiction sixteen years ago, Calum changed his life around, focusing on wellness and mindfulness. With his own history of alcohol and drug dependency, he is keen to use the Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins course prove to himself and others, how far he has come.
Why did you want to do Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins?
I’ve wanted to do this show since it started and finally the opportunity came! It’s the coolest, most intriguing, entertaining show on TV because it shows people being challenged in a way you never get to see. It looked terrifying but I’d been asking for it for so long, so bring it on! I've been through some challenges. I've had some mental growth, some personal growth, some physical growth. And if I can go on there and try to put all these things into action and check myself to see how far I've come or how much more needs to be done, then I'm going to jump on this opportunity.
Did you feel like you had anything to prove?
No, not at all. I only felt like I had something to prove to myself. This experience was really just a battle of mental and physical on a personal level. I don't ever do any shows to prove anything to anybody. I have lived a life of having an iconic parent that was a legend to so many. And for a long time, in my younger years, I didn't really know how to cope or kind of deal with that. What road do I go down to even try to compare myself or follow in those footsteps? I chose the wrong road for many years, but you know, that was a part of just growing up. I feel like I've fought some of the toughest battles mentally and physically. And this thing was just a place for me to go in and show who I am and the growth I'd been through.
How did you prepare for the show?
I like to believe I'm quite active. I train most days I do both cardio and weight lifting and I play football. I keep myself quite physically fit. So I thought, “okay, there's nothing that they're going to throw my way that I might not be able to do physically”. I knew the mental battle would be, I think the biggest struggle, but then when you get there, it's just a different breed of any shit you've ever done in your life! No football game, no cardio class, no weightlifting session, compares to the absolute abuse of running 5k with a gas mask on in the middle of the Jordanian desert.
What would you say was your biggest fear or your biggest concern about the course?
On a personal level, I was excited. I was a little bit nervous. I had a chat with the psych beforehand and I said, "I'm not going to lie. I'm really nervous. I don't know how I'm going to do this.” I was starting to doubt myself, but I just thought, “you know what, Calum? You got to just go and do your best”. And as silly as it might sound to some, when you go through certain struggles in life, whether it be trauma, loss or whatever it might be, if you can get through that and turn these things into a positive, there's nothing that they're going to bring that's going to break me. I know I can get through it. It's just about how fucking far I can get really.
How did you feel when you saw the celebrity line up?
Ashley I've known for ten years. We've had some great times together. We met in the party life and then we turned our life into talking about positive mindset and changing our lives for the better. And we've had a very similar, cool journey. When I saw Ashley was there, I thought, you can come in with your own drive, your own motivation, your own challenges but when you see someone who’s dealing with something so raw and fresh and emotional and you see how he's trying to turn it into such a positive, you know there's a lot of hurt and a lot of pain, but you also see this driving force and you go, wow. No matter what I thought I was going to do, this guy was motivating me to step my game up.
What impact did having all the sports stars in the line up have on the group?
I knew there would be people from entertainment and sport, but then all of a sudden, I look around and saw we had Shannon Courtenay, world champion female boxer; Dwain Chambers, a legend in his field; Jade Jones, with how many Olympic golds? Fatima, I mean, legend. So I think I'm physically fit, but these people are actual professional athletes and then I realised that this is really going to be a challenge.
How were you feeling about the Directing Staff before you started the course?
I was excited to meet Foxy and Billy because I felt, off of the course, I would get along with them. And the new Americans, I didn't know much about them but because I was born in California I thought there might be some sort of compatibility there, but I also knew that the Marines are hardcore individuals. So there was a fear of an unknown, but also excitement of the unknown.
What was it like being screamed at by them?
So that was actually one of my biggest worries. My friends and family know that I'm not the greatest with authority at all. I'm not. When it comes to rules and regulations, I'm very much an Aquarius and I want to do my own thing and kind of create my own life. I'm not about rebelling but I don’t want to be told what to do and instead create my own way to do it. There are obvious rules and laws that you follow, but creating a life for yourself, I want to be able to create my own. I thought if I'm going to be regulated and screamed at and yelled at, I'm going to struggle with that a lot. But I also knew that the name of the game is that you have to follow a certain code to pass this course, like you were setting yourself up for what people do to pass. I knew that was about falling in line, getting the job done, not talking back. I think for a while, I did quite well with that!
Which challenges did you enjoy?
Oh, I fucking loved being gassed! It was the strangest thing. It was the most challenging. And that's why I liked it the most. It was every single part of my body saying no. But everything else said fuck yes. Like when I came to jumping off the cliff, hell yeah, let's go. When I came to diving backwards, oh my God. I'm excited. When it came to jumping out the helicopter, bring it on. When it came to the gassing, when I took my mask off, every part of my being said, "You cannot deal with this. We hate it." You couldn't breathe. You couldn't see, you couldn't speak. You couldn't do anything. And everything is screaming, "Get out, get out." You literally fight every natural instinct of yours to cope with it. And that's why I think I liked it the most because it was the most challenging. I felt my mind, body, and soul went no, but something in me tells me to do it. And that's what I did. I did it.
In terms of the other celebs, you said you knew most of them going in, but who would you say surprised you the most?
Ashley. I feel that the rawness of what he's been through in life is very much a driving force. And now he's actually living the motivational lifestyle through hard times, which I admire a lot. But I think Maisie as well. Maisie kept her mouth shut, there was no complaining. She just knuckled down and got everything done. She accomplished most of the challenges. She was always there, always ready. She never stops. I remember looking at her climb up the mountain and just thinking, “fucking well done. Good on you.”
How would you sum up the experience?
It was one of the most challenging, yet rewarding things I've ever done. I'm so grateful for it because of what it did to test my mind and my body. I think that if everybody, at some point in their life, can step out of that comfort zone and do something that tests you to your absolute limits, all you will do will grow from it. It might be horrible at the time, but you will be happy that you tried. And I am more than happy that I tried my hand at that world.