Bear Grylls Copycat Sells Story To UK’s Daily Mail


Bear Grylls Copycat, Sam Woodhead has sold his survival story to the Daily Mail in a media deal worth thousands.

The 18-year-old British backpacker was lost while jogging last week in the Australian outback, 130 kilometers south of Longreach, Queensland. Woodhead survived for three nights drinking his own urine and contact lens fluid.

The Courier Mail reports the Woodhead family signed the deal with the Mail on Sunday edition of the Daily Mail for thousands of dollars, though the full amount of the deal has not been disclosed.

Locals have labelled Woodhead as another Bear Grylls copycat, doubting that jogging was his only motive for heading out so far into the wilderness. “From what his mum told us about him wanting to be in the Royal Marines and being big fan of Bear Grylls, that’s probably why people are angry, thinking that’s what he was doing…There’s just the unanswered questions,” local man, Adrian Roots told The Australian.

Woodhead’s cousin, Rob Derry has told the Courier Mail that the proceeds from the media deal will be donated to organizations that were involved in the search.

More than 50 locals from the Upshot Station area searched more than 450,000 square kilometers for Woodhead using helicopters, motorbikes and horses. Woodhead was found suffering kidney failure and minor cuts.

“It’s still a bit surreal, to me,” Woodhead told the Courier Mail. “It was just surviving and I didn’t realize there would be any of this (attention) at all.”

Outback Queensland Tourism general manager, Lloyd Mills told the Courier Mail that it is the responsibility of tourists to research the dangers of the outback. “The information is available, you just have to look for it,” he said.

What do you think? Should tourism boards have better measures in place to prevent another Bear Grylls copycat getting into trouble?

Share this article: Bear Grylls Copycat Sells Story To UK’s Daily Mail
More from Inquisitr