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Official Website of Benedict Allen |
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Explorers on the Edge of Survival. SIGNED COPIES AVAILABLE, see book page |
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Benedict
Allen, author, explorer, TV filmmaker-presenter and international
motivational speaker, is best known for his arduous expeditions to remote corners
of the globe, journeys famously achieved not with a satellite phone, GPS or any
of the usual “backup” but by undertaking a testing journey after
a period of training alone with a remote indigenous community. These and other
ventures are depicted in his ten books - including two best sellers - and six
BBC television series. |
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Need a survival tip? Already established as one of Britain's most prominent explorers, Benedict Allen went on to pioneer the filming of authentic journeys for television. By not using a film-crew, he has allowed millions of people around the world to witness for the first time adventures unfolding genuinely in inhospitable terrain. Few people alive have been so long isolated and alone in so many different potentially hostile environments. |
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What’s exploration, Benedict style?“In a nutshell, it’s about leaving things at home! Your GPS, satellite phone, modern transport, sponsorship and companions – all these things may well be useful, but they each get in the way. They impose a cost on your objective: they keep you in your comfort zone and prevent you from engaging with, and therefore understanding, alien terrain. I‘m not talking here about scientists, who of course need these devices to further a serious mission, but for all the rest of us who are trying to get to know a place. And especially the professionals: how else can we in this day and age claim to be “explorers” if we aren’t truly face-to-face with the environment we are “exploring”? We become less and less explorers, and more and more like adventurers or athletes. Incidentally, all this backup also of course undermines any physical achievement. If you’re dependent on these aids, are you really “unsupported,” or “solo” as you plod on through the wastelands? I know I’m being harsh, but it’s also the sad truth: with such backup at your disposal how do you know that what you’re doing is through you own ability? Maybe you shouldn’t be tackling Everest, but a nearby hill!” Benedict Allen, answering questions on his Into the Abyss theatre tour, 2007 |
![]() Benedict Allen © Steve Watkins |
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His belief in not using the usual back-up systems might seem to make his expeditions precarious – but they also help him tune into the resources available locally in “hostile” or unfamiliar terrain. Likewise, his technique of not using a camera-crew to record his journeys has meant he’s achieved unrivalled authenticity; he’s probably the only adventurer that viewers ever see in such genuine isolation and jeopardy. According to a Radio Times cover feature "television's most fearless man," Benedict Allen happily admits that actually he’s often afraid – indeed, fear is healthy, he says. He’s more proud of having immersed himself quietly and for many months at time among indigenous people to learn from them. |
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BENEDICT IN ACTIONBENEDICT AT HOMEAnswering your questions on being a professional adventurer / explorer. CLICK HERE for VIDEO CLIPS |
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“Benedict is part of the history of television.” “Allen is the best guide to the world’s wilder and weirder cultures.” “In an age of false television and celebrity culture, it’s
a relief to encounter the real thing.”
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