Interview with Recruit 8 - Esther
Category: Press Pack Article
Esther
Recruit: 8
Age: 28
Profession: Aesthetician/Dancer
Hometown/Region: Ascot
Background
Despite being part of a loving family, Esther has been causing her parents constant stress since she was a child. As a teenager, she rebelled.
Esther wanted to begin a tattoo apprenticeship which cost £3000. To fund this, she started working in a strip club. At 23, she began stripping, lead her into a vicious cycle of drugs and alcohol. Her parents were devastated to learn about her new career, when her mum found her stripper bag filled with underwear.
In Oct 2019 Esther was involved in a serious car crash after leaving the strip club, which the emergency services didn’t expect her to survive. She believes her drink had been spiked but she was later charged with drink driving. This was the final straw, leading her to get her life back on track and give up stripping and drugs. She now concentrates on living a healthier, fitter, more positive lifestyle.
Tell me about your experience on SAS: Who Dares Wins?
SAS:Who Dares Wins was an experience I will cherish forever. It was nothing like I imagined (it was far worse) and a hundred times harder than they make it look on the TV. It was the most brutal thing I have ever experienced, but I am utterly grateful to be one of very few people that will ever experience this. Having grown up feeling like I was the family disappointment due to the choices I had made in my life (being a stripper) I needed something that I could make myself and my family proud of and I am very proud of myself.
Did you find it difficult? Was it more difficult than you expected?
It was by far the most difficult experience I have ever done, and way harder than expected! I was at least expecting a hot shower and even a nightie to change into albeit having watched the programme before.
Have you ever done anything like this before?
No, I needed something to focus me during lockdown and to help me with the addiction I was struggling with. I went into an industry where I made a lot of wrong choices and I needed to correct these somehow.
What made you sign up?
I needed something to focus on. I have made many life choices but I wanted this to be something my family would be proud of.
What training did you do in preparation for this course?
I had a PT who actually starred in series one of the show, although he was a friend from before. I did many training sessions with him, and I also trained a lot with my sister. I can’t thank her enough for her support and shouting at me when I said ‘I can’t be bothered, there’s no point I won’t be getting on.’
Now that you have this experience, would you like to join the real Special Forces?
I’d love to say yes but that would be a lie! I have a lot of respect for anyone in the Special Forces or army, but I definitely am not cut out for that. There is no way I could of gone to the toilet in those shed style things.
What was the best part of the series for you?
Making lifelong friends who I can now count as a family. We have all developed such a bond that I will cherish forever. I am lucky to experience something that hardly anyone will experience.
What was the hardest part of the series for you?
Lifting that bloody bergen bag over a fence that was probably the same height as me! The bergens were so heavy that I couldn’t even lift it onto my back.
Do you think you found it harder than the men?
I will go by the saying don’t judge a book by its cover. I remember standing on the parade square when we were soaking cold and wet, and even the biggest guys were really feeling the pain.
Would you ever do it again?
Yes, if it was hotter and I had uniform that actually fitted me instead of being three sizes too big.
What do you think you’ve learnt about yourself?
I was not made for the SAS, I was born to be a hustler.
Has being on the series changed your life in anyway?
Absolutely. I can’t thank everyone enough for the opportunity. I may not be here today if i didn’t have something like this to keep my mind so focused on.