SAS: Who Dares Wins S5: Interviews with Bethany #2 & Elouise #23 - Sisters
Category: Press Pack ArticleAge: 27 & 26
Profession: Bethany is an Art Teacher and Elouise is a Solicitor
Hometown/Region: Cornwall
Background
Bethany and Elouise grew up on a farm where their parents taught them to question everything, especially authority. As a result, they don’t always fit in with everyone else. They stood out at school and didn’t fit in with the other girls.
Bethany has lived with mental health issues since she was a teenager. At times, it has caused her to withdraw massively, impacting her relationship with her sister. Eventually, Elouise realised that the problem would not go away on its own and hatched a plan to make Bethany better by getting her involved in her own interests of Crossfit and nutrition. Bethany eventually learnt that she could control her mental health with diet and exercise. They then became best friends again.
Both sisters compete in cross-fit and Olympic weight-lifting, with dozens of podium finishes between them. They now see each other every day and are extremely close again – even living just down the street from each other.
Tell me about your experience on SAS: Who Dares Wins?
Taking part in the series was a huge mix of emotions for me -I’m so glad I took part. There were certain elements of it I didn't expect. Having been through a lot, I thought I knew myself pretty well, but it turns out there was still more to discover and the show helped me deal with a few issues I hadn’t dealt with yet. I realised I’m physically stronger than I thought I was and mentally I can keep going until my body gives up and even after that.
Did you find it difficult? Was it more difficult than you expected?
I expected the course to be based on physical fitness and mental toughness, but what I didn't realise is that you can't be physically fit enough. They make you hold in the press-ups position or do your max press-ups, wait until you fail.. then take you past that and make you do more and more and more – it’s never ending.
From the start I was carrying men up hills. I carried Mark, who is 6ft 4 and nearly 100kg, James who is 93kg and Chris who is around the same. This played on my mind from the start because the other girls were allowed to carry the girls but I always seemed to be paired with the men. I know this was done to push me to my limits and it certainly did that. My max clean (olympic lift) is 100kg, i never expected to be walking up a mountain with this weight. When i had to carry Chris in the baby carry position, my mind was tough enough to continue and I kept getting back up, but my body was giving up because the weight was beyond my limit. Especially with the lack of food.
Were you surprised to find out this course was taking place in the home of the SAS – Scotland?
Yes, I thought it was quite cool because Scotland has so much varied terrain.
How did you cope with the harsh Scottish weather conditions? Did the weather conditions play a part in how hard you found the course?
It was very cold. I think some people will think it’s easier than series four because Chile is in freezing conditions. But we were in and out of the water constantly, the accommodation was cold and I was near the door so I never really warmed up. We all really struggled with being so cold and wet all of the time.
Did spending so much time in freezing water make the course more difficult for you?
I didn't mind the time spent in the freezing water. The problems started when we got out - the gale force wind paired with the cold from the water meant we never really warmed up after getting wet until we changed our clothes. Our wet kit was very rarely dry, so the effects of the cold water were not just felt while we were in the water, it was constant.
You were the first recruits to take part in weapons training. How did you find that?
This was exciting! I enjoyed the weapons training session.
Have you ever done anything like this before?
I have only shot an air rifle before, I’ve previously hunted rabbits. I've never used a ‘real’ weapon like that before.
What made you sign up?
My great grandad worked alongside the founder of the SAS - he was part of the Long Range Desert Group in the Barc raid and received the military medal among other accolades.
I wanted to prove to my family and myself that after my mental health struggles with bipolar disorder, I’m ok now and I can not only cope with the stresses in competing in a sport and everyday life, but I can take on one of the most stressful and challenging courses and come out the other side just as mentally strong as before. Having bipolar disorder no longer holds me back and I can manage my symptoms really well. I wanted to show that someone with a mental illness can overcome it and achieve things that seem impossible. To a lot of people bipolar disorder is a life sentence of struggling with very severe depression and mania, but I want to show people that recovery is possible.
Also following my weightloss journey from 18 stone, morbidly obese and pre-diabetic, to a fit, healthy and active crossfit athlete all two years, I wanted to take on one of the toughest physical challenges to see what my body can do now.
Plus, growing up in a gender neutral household, I never believed that my gender held me back from being as strong as the guys. It was only when I got to school that I was told I was weak because I was a girl and couldn't move the tables or carry the books like the boys. I hate being underestimated for being female. I wanted to prove that a woman who trains as much as I do, can complete crazy physical tasks that men can and be just as strong and just as fit. Passing the fitness test which is equivalent to the men’s military fitness test made me realise I could do it if i pushed myself.
What training did you do in preparation for this course?
I train for CrossFit six days a week. This consists of Olympic weightlifting, gymnastics and cardio. On the lead up to the show I added in some more training with odd objects like sand bags and I completed lots of weighted runs with 20-25kg on my back in a Burgan. I also completed some CrossFit style workouts with push ups, pull-ups and weighted sit ups. We were given a training program but it was less work than I would normally do in a week, so I doubled some days, added extra reps and extra weight to some of the exercises.
Now that you have this experience, would you like to join the real Special Forces?
Although I really enjoyed the experience and all the exciting tasks we took part in, I love my job and the course made me realise that the Special Forces view emotional resilience as keeping it all in. I’m a teacher in a social, emotional, mental health school and we view emotional resilience as being able to feel your emotions, let it out, understand why we feel that way and deal with it. I think I fit better in that environment.
What was the best part of the series for you?
I loved abseiling - that was something I never thought I would get the opportunity to do. I enjoyed the backwards dive and murder ball a lot! I’m a bit of an adrenaline junkie and I love anything that gets the heart racing!
Do you think you found it harder than the male recruits?
It’s bound to be harder for females because men are genetically stronger than women. A women can train to be as strong as a man and I have done that to the best of my ability. But I think the test was made to push everyone to their limit depending on where that was. The expectations were higher for you if you were physically stronger or fitter - I think that showed in the pairings when we did partner carries as I only carried one female the entire time and that was my sister in a midnight beasting and I only carried her for a few metres. Every other occasion I was carrying men that were around 90-95kg!
You had to share all your space with men for the whole time you were there, including sleeping and toilets. How did you find that?
This didn’t bother me at all. I get on with men really well. Often better than I get on with women because i was brought up in a gender neutral environment and I've always gravitated more towards ‘boy things’ like sports, lifting and getting muddy.
Were you surprised to find one of your ‘fellow recruits’ was a mole?
Yes, finding out that Jay was the mole was really difficult for me…we were quite close in the accommodation and finding out he was one of the DS made me question our whole friendship and whether we were actually close, or whether he was doing that to gather information.
What were Ant, Foxy, Ollie, Billy and Jay like?
Billy was lovely. He was also one of the more chilled out ones and joked around with us. He could also be harsh but I felt like it was to get the best out of us. Foxy was similar. He could equally be harsh but also jokey and him and Billy were very knowledgeable when it came to the tasks. They were good at teaching us and I learnt a lot from them. I didn’t get to know Ollie that well. He was the first person to shout at me for smiling which made me a bit scared of him, but I got the feeling he just wanted us to get the task done and he wanted the best out of us. Ant was quite intimidating, especially as we didn't see him in the training sessions. He has (rightly so) very high expectations of us and pushed us all right to the edge of our limit and past it.
I realised the DS were trying to get the best out of us and there was method behind the things they were doing. They helped me realise a lot of things about myself and deal with the issues I hadn’t yet dealt with. They made me realise i could do things I never thought possible as well. I’m thankful to all of them for that.
Would you ever do it again?
Yes, I would do it again. Knowing what I know now, I probably would have approached it differently and tried harder to reign in my visible emotions earlier on. I still believe I am physically and mentally tough enough to complete the course, but I also recognise now that it’s not necessarily about that.
Elouise
Tell me about your experience on SAS: Who Dares Wins?
My experience on SAS: Who Dares Wins was unforgettable. I actually really enjoyed every minute of it. I would do it again tomorrow.
From the moment I arrived, I began to realise that my upbringing had prepared me for the course. I grew up on a farm and my parents were very outdoorsy. We would regularly go swimming in the sea, climbing, abseiling and kayaking. I loved the physical side of the course but, unexpectedly I also enjoyed the mental side. Early on I decided that whatever I was told to do, I would do it, without thinking too much about it. I wasn’t going to let any of my fears get in the way, I was so determined to get to the end of the course.
My sister also went on the course and it was incredible sharing the experience with her. As I am very protective of my sister, I would find myself worrying about her unnecessarily. We would be out on a run or doing a challenge and I would find myself looking for Beth to make sure she was ok (she always was) but, it is something that I do unconsciously probably because I know what she has been through. She was so determined and strong throughout the course. I am guilty of always helping others before focusing on myself. During my time on the course I realised that I can actually push myself further than I ever thought possible.
Did you find it difficult? Was it more difficult than you expected?
An element I found difficult was the brutal climate. I can't even begin to describe how harsh the weather was. It was constantly raining and the wind on some days actually took me off my feet. I was so unbearably cold, my clothes were constantly wet and a couple of days in someone took home my Burgan which had my dry kit in it. I was left with no dry clothes and had to beg and borrow so I wasn’t constantly in my wet kit. We slept in a barn and I drew the short straw with a bed next to the door which was always left open and even when closed, let the coldest draft in. We were essentially sleeping outside with nothing more than a flimsy sleeping bag.
How did you cope with the harsh Scottish weather conditions? Did the weather conditions play a part in how hard you found the course?
The weather conditions were absolutely brutal. The wind was so strong, the rain was torrential and the water was freezing. This coupled with the lack of adequate clothing really was life-threatening.
Did spending so much time in freezing water make the course more difficult for you?
I have a lot of experience in open water, I wasn’t afraid to get in and I think I was better than most dealing with the temperature in the sea. However, only having limited clothing and not being able to have a warm shower or get dry after was extremely difficult.
You were the first recruits to take part in weapons training. How did you find that?
I really enjoyed the weapon training but as I have dyspraxia I initially struggled. Co-ordination is not my strong point and Idon’t know my left from my right. This was initially hard as I couldn’t just pick up the weapon and fire it with just instructions. However, after I had found the triggers and knew where they were, I was set and during the task I shot without hesitation.
The weapon task was a difficult one for me, I acted purely on instinct and shot the Canadian in the tunnel. I felt under threat and without hesitating I shot. Afterwards, I was criticised for shooting an ally but, in the moment, I felt under attack and I believed that the uniform could have been a disguise. I have a great deal of respect for the members of the services - it is such a difficult call to make, whether to shoot or whether to hold fire and it could be life changing.
Have you ever done anything like this before?
I have done allot of climbing, hiking, kayaking, swimming, coasteering and generally rolling around in mud in our fields as children.
In 2014 I climbed Mt Kilimanjaro for charity and this gave me a little bit of an idea as to how the hiking tasks would feel. Climbing Kilimanjaro was tough. The long days walking broke me mentally and physically and I really had to find something to keep me going. In my head I would say to myself, just keep putting one foot in front of the other, don’t think about the task at hand, break it up into single steps. I used this allot during my time on the course, there were times I wanted to give up but I just told myself to keep putting one foot in front of the other and not actually think about the magnitude of the task.
What made you sign up?
My sister initially applied for the course and I have always watched it on TV and wanted to have a go myself. I love a challenge and I think that I can achieve anything I put my mind to. Not much phases me and I am such an adrenalin junkie so tasks like abseiling really excite me.
What training did you do in preparation for this course?
I have always been extremely active and before the course I trained six days a week doing Crossfit and Weightlifting.
Crossfit prepares you for everything and is actually very similar to the beestings in the yard. One thing I did add to my training for the course was more swimming. I started to swim 3 days a week in the pool and in the sea. I live in Cornwall, five minutes from the sea, so I really had no excuse. This really helped me when it came to the course. One thing I wish I had practiced was swimming in army boots. It was so difficult. I remember feeling the boots pulling me down. They became so heavy and it made swimming so much harder.
Now that you have this experience, would you like to join the real Special Forces?
I have always been interested in joining the forces but I also love my job as a solicitor. I love the challenge the course presented and I would enjoy doing a job that used some of the physical skills I've gained over the years. However, I have the upmost admiration for those in the forces, I do not know how they spend so much time away from family and the sacrifices they make are incredible.
What was the best part of the series for you?
The best part of the series for me was the challenges. My favourite task was abseiling. I also enjoyed pushing myself to my limits and seeing what I am capable of.
What was the hardest part of the series for you?
The cold temperatures and seeing my sister in hand to hand combat with a man.
Do you think you found it harder than the male recruits?
I don’t think I can say whether I found the tasks harder or easier than all of the male recruits. Some recruits found different tasks easier and others harder but it had nothing to do with their gender. I would say that strength and lifting weights is one of my strengths and I found the barrel holding and carrying tasks easiest.
I particularly struggled with the high ropes task where we were told to fall from the ropes and pull ourselves up again. Unfortunately, none of the women managed to do it but I don’t think it's because we were not strong enough. I can do multiple strict pull ups in the gym and muscle ups but I could not get the hang of the manoeuvre and therefore I failed the task.
There were men who struggled more with the barrel than me and my sister and I have a lot of experience carrying odd objects so I found those tasks easier too but, again it's not due to my gender, its due to my different strengths and weaknesses.
I strongly believe that men and women should be treated as equal and that strength is trained. The perception that women are weaker than men is not true. We all passed exactly the same fitness test to get onto the course and I was happy that we were treated as equal throughout.
You had to share all your space with men for the whole time you were there, including sleeping and toilets. How did you find that?
I was unphased by sleeping and using the toilet next to the male recruits. I actually have lots more male friends than female as I get on much better with men. At school I would often be found playing cricket or football with the guys not painting nails and doing my hair with the girls.
Were you surprised to find one of your ‘fellow recruits’ was a mole?
I was extremely surprised; I was probably the closest to Jay out of all the recruits. When Jay was told to pick the recruit he was closest to, he picked me and then I was given a beasting by the DS.
I think people thought I would feel betrayed by Jay but I actually felt quite the opposite. I have a great amount of admiration for Jay and the other DS, we were being given an insight into their profession and a small glimpse at the struggles they have had to endure. Any comments made by Jay or the other DS about me, my sister or the other recruits will be based on a huge amount of experience they have in the forces and if we were not up to scratch, I fully expect them to voice their opinions. I’m sure I would do the same to them if they had a go at my profession.
Did getting to know Jay as a recruit make it difficult for you to have the same respect for him once he became one of the DS?
Getting to know Jay actually made me have more respect for him as one of the DS. I don’t feel as though Jay was putting on a persona when he was the mole, he was the same person, he just dulled down his experience alot and told us he had a different job. When he became one of the DS I actually think I listened to his tips and instructions more than I did the other DS. He’d seen the other side of it too so I think he took that into consideration when he was one of the DS, not that he went easy on us,, he definitely didn't.
What were Ant, Foxy, Ollie, Billy and Jay like?
I admire them all, they all have a tone of experience in the forces and they have experienced some things we cannot even begin to imagine.
I did not speak to Ant a lot so I can't say much about him. I think he is softer than he lets on. He is so inspiring.
Foxy has a very dry sense of humour which I did not realise from watching the series previously. Watching him board the ship from the speed boat is something I will never forget; it was the most impressive thing I have seen. I never knew whether I could trust his smile.
Ollie was very kind to me. He is extremely knowledgeable and he can abseil down a cliff faster than anyone I have seen before.
Billy was again very kind to me. When we were in the helicopter together, I hung off every word he said and listened to his instructions carefully.
Jay firstly as a recruit was hilarious. He has such a dry sense of humour and was constantly cracking jokes. He was the recruit I spoke to the most in the accommodation and I remember creating strange door contraptions with him and staring at some dead fish on the ship for quite a while. As one of the DS he was the most forgiving. Seeing him abseil down cliffs like they were nothing after previously pretending to struggle made me realise how experienced he was.
Would you ever do it again?
I would do it again in a heartbeat. If I was asked to do it tomorrow, I wouldn’t even hesitate to say yes. It was such a rewarding and enlightening experience and it has empowered me to be more adventurous in my home life. I am now an avid climber and planning hiking expeditions and other crazy adventures.