The “Bear Grylls Survival Challenge” will culminate with a festival featuring music, brand activations, merchandise and more.

NORTH AMERICA–IMG and international TV host Bear Grylls have teamed up to launch a series of survival events, called the “Bear Grylls Survival Challenge.”

The inaugural “Bear Grylls Survival Challenge” will take place in Los Angeles in April 2018 and will see participants compete on a 4 mile, off-road journey that travels through 18 survival scenario challenges. The course will also run across five environments including: an apocalyptic highway, cave complex, deserted village, mountain ascent/descent and a snake infested swamp.

Furthermore, to “gamify” the “Bear Grylls Survival Challenge,” the event will deploy RFID technology as well as a proprietary algorithm to provide a survival score for each participant immediately upon completing the event. Each participant will also receive a custom Bear Grylls survival pack, containing everyday items for application on the course.

“I developed this course with one simple principle in mind: being fit is one thing; but the true test of strength is survival,” says Grylls. “This is a natural progression for endurance sport. Seeking to test not just our physical capabilities, but also our mental agility, resourcefulness and never-say-die spirit in real-life survival situations.”

Following the survival challenge, the event will culminate with a festival featuring music, brand activations, merchandise and food and beverages.

“Working with Bear and his team on the creation of this property has been exciting as it opens up a whole new category of sport in survival,” says James Leitz, senior vice president, action sports and mass participation, IMG. “Together with Bear, we share a very specific vision that will evolve the endurance experience to appeal to everyone including the obstacle course racing fanatic, Weekend Warriors, Bear’s fans and adventure enthusiasts.”

The “Bear Grylls Survival Challenge” will also visit additional stops in the U.S. and Europe.