00:00Hello, we actually did your wedding last year.
00:02Okay, okay. Yes, that's right.
00:05So what's going on with Bear Hunt? Was this your idea of a honeymoon, Boris?
00:11No, but I'm a big fan of Bear Grylls and I've seen a lot of his shows.
00:18When he had Barack Obama in Hawaii, I watched him climbing the Swiss Alps with Roger Federer.
00:24I know he's a big tennis fan. I've seen him in the Royal Box of Wimbledon a few times.
00:27So whenever the approach was from Bear Grylls to participate in the Bear Hunt, so to speak, in China, Costa
00:35Rica, I was very excited.
00:37I've heard from the other contestants that you struggled with some knee problems during your time there,
00:43which must have been, as an athlete, of course, so frustrating for you.
00:48I mean, how was that just feeling like slightly limited?
00:51And well, it sounds as well like you became sort of like the camp sort of coach as well.
00:56Yeah, yeah. I became the mentor of the camp together with Shirley Ballas, shall I say.
01:04No frustrating. I'm a competitor. I like to win.
01:07Eggs and pains is part of a professional life.
01:10But my knee problem got actually worse, you know, without giving too much away.
01:15I ultimately had surgery on my right menisk after I came back home.
01:20But I did spend another week after it happened in camp and I did what they asked me to do.
01:26Having a bit of life experience, maybe more than some of the other participants.
01:30I felt like I can handle difficult situations.
01:34So can you.
01:36So I became a mentor of some of the younger people.
01:40Well, from my interviews today, it sounds like everybody really appreciated it.
01:45Have you all stayed in touch since the show?
01:48We have. You know, that's another beautiful thing is that we really bonded.
01:51I mean, you had 12 different personalities, characters in a confined space over, you know, two or three weeks.
01:58So, you know, there's no technology.
02:01There's no phone, no television, no newspapers.
02:03So you ultimately have to speak to one another and you have to open up because there's nothing else to
02:08do.
02:09So so we did that.
02:11And I think I found 11 new friends now.
02:14Yeah.
02:14Oh, I love it.
02:15I mean, speaking of you being in the confined spaces and all really opening up to each other.
02:20I mean, straight out of the gate, you're having very in-depth conversations with your with your fellow campmates.
02:26It sounded like, you know, you all really bonded.
02:28I mean, did you enjoy having those sort of conversations?
02:31Because it looked quite cathartic.
02:34Well, there's a level of trust that you very quickly have to have.
02:38Yeah.
02:39And I enjoyed it.
02:41I think so did everybody else.
02:43But, you know, who's who's opening up the door more to your life?
02:47And I think once everybody was comfortable with each other, I think we told each other stories that we usually
02:54wouldn't tell strangers because because that's who we were when we started.
02:58But I think that speaks of the character and the personality of all participants, that they were all there for
03:04a reason.
03:05I've heard as well that there was like there was no showbiz chat either.
03:09Like you were all there with a real common goal and really passionate about the show.
03:13I think that comes with the territory, literally speaking.
03:16I mean, you're you're in the jungle in Costa Rica.
03:19You're surrounded by, you know, white animals.
03:21So, you know, everybody has to cut the BS out of it because that's the wrong place to, you know,
03:28nobody nobody had the right to be the macho or the diva.
03:31We were all, you know, in this together and we needed one another as well.
03:35So you have to you have to be real very quickly.
03:38And one of the things I mean, speaking of speaking of being real, you know, you're in I think it's
03:43episode one.
03:44You're having a conversation where someone asks who your biggest challenger was and you said it was the man in
03:49the mirror.
03:49And I mean, which is very, very profound, Boris.
03:53It is really, really interesting.
03:55And but did you go on the show wanting to learn something new about yourself?
04:02Well, I'm always a type of guy that is pushing my own boundaries.
04:06Yeah.
04:07I always wanted to find something new about myself, what I can handle.
04:12And you have to you have to get out of your comfort zone and you have to be comfortable being
04:16uncomfortable.
04:17It's just part of me all my life.
04:20You know, Wimbledon Center Court is a very scary place if you're not sure about it.
04:23Right.
04:24Yes.
04:24So and I felt I felt the charm in Costa Rica, you know, with Bear and with Holly.
04:30It was very similar to just to just to, you know, be there and try to make the mess of
04:37the situation.
04:39I think it's just my character.
04:41Did you have to be persuaded to take part or were you instantly really interested?
04:46Well, when Bear Grylls wants you on your show, you know, it's your honor, your privilege.
04:53I'm a big fan of his work.
04:55He's a real adventurer.
04:57Yes, he's also a tennis fan.
04:59I've seen him in the Royal Box at Wimbledon a number of times.
05:02So I felt honored that he was thinking about me.
05:05I love it.
05:06I love it.
05:07And what was your favorite part of the experience?
05:10But my favorite part was really meeting 11 strangers on the first day and leaving with 11 new friends.
05:19That was my my best experience.
05:22I think I got to know Bear a little bit, too.
05:24I think I got to know Holly Willoughby as well.
05:27I think the whole the whole production was was really real.
05:31I mean, I've done a few productions in my life, but but everybody sort of was in the same environment.
05:35You know, it was hot.
05:36It was muggy.
05:37Everybody was out of the comfort zone.
05:39You know, the cameraman, the producer, everybody.
05:41So I think it became a huge, you know, tight knit group altogether.
05:46Did you really get on with Bear and Holly as well?
05:49How was it working with them?
05:50Well, you don't really want to spend too much time with Bear, meaning he caught you.
05:56And Holly, Holly was a lovely lady, but she would always then tell you the challenges and who was participating.
06:03So it was always we were always in our edge, meaning Bear or Holly.
06:08But, yeah, I've you know, I've met I've met a couple of people that I've never, never met before.
06:14I mean, I really bonded with the big zoo.
06:17You know, we come from different part of the world, different background, different career, different look.
06:23And we really got along like a house on fire.
06:26Were there any moments of the filming that you'd rather forget?
06:30You know, look, getting injured pretty early on is something that was a real bummer.
06:36I mean, I wanted to wanted to be strong and powerful throughout the whole whole series.
06:42So that was unfortunate.
06:44But other than that, I'm not embarrassed or ashamed of any other situation because we were all in the same
06:52thing.
06:53And everybody, everybody tried their best.
06:56And that's all you can ask.
06:57Absolutely.
06:58And how will you be watching this, Boris?
06:59Are you watching it with your loved ones?
07:01Are they excited?
07:04I was quite a shock to my loved ones when they found out that I was participating in the bear
07:09hunt in the jungle in Costa Rica.
07:11They say that you're out of your mind.
07:13So I'll be watching it with my wife, you know, from tomorrow onwards to see what actually happened.
07:20Yeah.
07:21Oh, she's going to be so proud of you.
07:22I hope so.
07:24I hope so.
07:26I hope so.
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