[tribal instrumental playing]
MGK:
When I was in grade school,
I swore to God I was going
to find the Loch Ness Monster.
Come on, Orca.
Come on, Narwhal.
So I've always been
really akin to adventure.
Dude, as you grow older
you just...
Work sucks.
Work blows, dude.
It just sucks the adventure out.
I mean, about two days ago,
I was about to crash and burn.
Honestly, dude, I think
this is just what I needed.
What's up, everybody?
My name is Colson Baker.
Some people know me as MGK.
Actually,
what am I talking about?
Everyone knows me as MGK and
nobody knows me as Colson Baker.
We are here in the beautiful
country of Norway,
and I'm going to be
Running Wild with Bear Grylls.
[theme music playing]
BEAR: MGK.
Rock star.
Rap phenomenon.
Punk.
Pop.
[rock music playing]
Machine g*n Kelly
is many things,
but most importantly,
he's one of a kind.
So sick.
BEAR: From his early career
as a battle rapper...
Let's go.
BEAR:
...to his pop punk stardom,
MGK is a multi-platinum artist
whose music continues
to touch millions.
And it's no surprise his talents
have translated to acting, too.
Oh, my God, those are my pants.
But they look so
much better on me.
BEAR: MGK is always representing
his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio.
But his family
tree hails from Norway.
I'm excited to get him out
of the recording studio,
off the stage, and out into
the Norwegian wilderness
to reconnect with
his Viking roots.
- MGK!
- [cheering]
[adventurous music playing]
[ship horn blowing]
MGK: Bear's left me some
things in this backpack.
Sick.
A really cool knife.
Clearly handmade.
My grandfather
makes knives like these.
Oh, I have so many
of these at the house.
Usually this is for drinking
mead, wine, ale, water.
That is really...
[chuckling] That's the ocean.
I feel like
it's my first day of school
and I'm waiting
for my dad to pick me up.
Oh, is that Bear?
This is so sick.
I'm stoked.
[helicopter approaching
Dude!
This is sick.
Yeah!
[screaming]
- Yeah.
- I'm glad!
MGK: Wow!
[dramatic music playing]
MGK: I thought
I knew helicopters until
you're standing outside of one
while it's going over
the giant rock slope.
I'm so stoked.
BEAR: It's pretty cool,
isn't it?
MGK: Yeah.
BEAR: It's not often
you can look around 360
and not basically see another
house road, sign of people.
MGK: Oh, wow.
- That's crazy.
- Yeah.
BEAR:
Spectacular view from up here.
You can see the whole journey
ahead down to the rivers
and eventually to the field.
But this is going to be
a fun one for sure.
Colson and I have quite a bit
of terrain to cover
in this remote
arctic rainforest.
Time is of the essence.
With these harsh conditions,
we'll need to move quickly.
Starting our journey on
the highest peak in the region,
we'll make our way eight miles
down granite cliffs
and through a dense forest
that is criss-crossed
with raging rivers.
This route will eventually
lead us to a field
where we'll descend
this towering vertical face
and swim its icy waters
to our extraction.
That's the plan.
We just go together.
- Okay. Yeah.
- Ready?
[exciting music playing]
BEAR: So, yeah, you've got
some Norwegian heritage?
Yeah,
my family's from a fjord...
Well, now I don't know
where we are,
but on the west coast of Norway,
which is kind
of the area we're in, so...
BEAR: So, you've got some
proper Viking blood down here.
- Yeah, for sure.
- In fact, now I see it.
Look at you.
You're tall, well-built, blonde.
Damn, dude.
Got some w*r paint
going on as well.
Thank you, sir.
Yeah, for sure.
Oh, yeah, I have
Odin's ravens right there.
Huginn and Muninn.
Amazing, yeah.
That Norwegian is
becoming suddenly quite clear.
MGK: Mm-hmm.
So, where does that come from?
Is that your mum or dad's side?
I don't know
much about my father.
My mom, their whole
family is Norwegian to the core.
Like, my grandfather's a
well-respected Norwegian carver.
But they live in the States?
But they live in
a Norwegian town in the States.
- BEAR: Oh, that's cool.
- So, they live in Minnesota
in this small farm town.
So, great people wouldn't know
that about you.
But then,
and you've named your daughter.
- She's got a Norwegian name.
- Saga.
- Yeah.
- Which means?
Storyteller,
like epic storyteller.
There's debate whether Saga is
also Odin's wife, who is Frigga.
Yeah.
Frigga is the God of maternity
and marriage.
And so, my mom is very,
like if I get married,
I have to get married
on a Friday.
That's the requirements
that come with this blood.
So good.
Heritage is important, isn't it?
- Yeah.
- I bet you're a lovely dad.
That's what I bet.
Yeah, you're a lovely dad.
I try.
MGK: Okay.
Okay, watch out.
Look, this is stuff.
That's slippy, and that's a big
consequence of down that one.
If you slip on this, what we
don't know is what's over there.
If you look at that,
it starts off nice and rounded
like a bowling ball,
and then it's just sheer off.
We've come to the edge
of a massive 250-foot drop.
The rocks are slick,
and getting to the edge
to rappel will be dangerous.
We'll have to carefully
make our way to the ledge
and find something
to tie off to.
Let's just go on our backsides.
- Okay.
- Just go steady.
I know it's not very...
It looks a bit clunky,
but you know what?
It saves us sliding
off the edge of that.
I'm expecting for one
of my b*ttcheeks to hurt
from slipping
on this rock.
Planning to leave
with one bruised buttcheek.
There you go.
- [tense music playing]
- BEAR: Okay.
You know, this looks precarious,
but actually the base of it is
probably really strong.
I mean,
let's just have a little feel.
You know,
feel around the base of that.
What are you reckon?
Oh, yeah, that's way
different than it feels up here.
Yeah. Okay.
You know any good knots?
You'll know my favorite knot,
simplest knot in the world.
- The shoelace knot.
- Shoelace.
I'm just kidding. Dude,
I'm sure that's not a knot.
- This one's even simpler.
- MGK: Okay.
This is a river knot, okay?
It's called a no-knot.
Because you don't even do a knot
- and it holds.
- Okay.
So literally all you do
is wrap it seven times.
So there's no-knot
on that at all.
- There you go.
- Oh, wow.
Put all your weight on that one.
That's good.
It's legit.
The trusty Norwegian no-knot
around the trusty
Norwegian dead tree.
- Bold move, dude.
- For sure.
The dead tree was
not my first choice.
[Bear laughs]
If you pull it,
it will release the rope.
MGK: I'm not scared of heights.
But at a concert,
you could make
a mistake that's seen
by thousands of people
that could be career-ending.
And as you can see,
you could make a mistake here
that is life-ending, so.
That is some irony.
Our lives are depending
on a dead tree.
BEAR: I'm holding it all
the way open here.
My weight's taking me.
If I want to stop, I stop.
Okay, Colson,
I'll see you down there.
It's all...
it's all a cosmic joke.
[wind howling]
Okay, Colson,
I'll see you down there.
Okay, so this is
the committing bit for him
once he goes over this.
Probably 200 foot down
to the bottom there.
But he's got
a good head for heights.
He's going to need it.
I can't wait to go off
this cliff.
I just kind of feel like if I'm
not doing something exciting,
I'm going to metaphorically die.
I've already forgot
my lesson from Bear,
but I like to learn
from experience.
And I also think
it is really hilarious
that he just tells you
one time and dips.
[suspenseful music playing]
I really thought I was going
to be using this helmet
to rollerblade, man.
I'm kind of bummed.
Damn, down to pull it
This is awesome. [laughs]
When I'm getting ready
for concerts,
the last thing I do
before I go on stage is
I put my palm on the ground.
And I tell the land
that I appreciate it
for letting me be there.
And I ask its permission
to go up.
Damn...
Grounding, I guess,
is something I do there.
And quite literally,
and even more so,
I'm grounding here as well.
- BEAR: Well done, Colson.
- MGK: Woo!
[MGK sighs]
Oh, wow. [laughs]
Dude, that's a big drop.
Later.
[chuckling] This is sick.
This is so cool.
It looks epic.
BEAR: Often on these things,
people take a lot of time.
There's fear,
there's adrenaline,
there's nerves
going over the edge.
But suddenly,
it's sort of this flash of red.
Colson's face is pounding down.
Oh, this is so dope.
BEAR: But he says
he hasn't done that before.
He's got
a great natural balance.
Dude, I could like
moonwalk down this thing.
BEAR: Great job.
Well done.
Keep coming.
Keep coming over the path.
Follow the line of the rope.
Good job.
You're such a natural.
I love it.
Also watch out.
It just gets slippery down here.
Come down to this bit,
and we'll get you off.
- Well done.
- Sick.
- Good job.
- That was so cool.
I've done a lot of those over
the years, as you can imagine.
And I've never done it
with someone
who's done it so efficiently,
period.
- Ah! Let's go!
- I'm not joking.
Man, I just don't know
how it took me
I should have been
doing that out the womb, dude.
With the umbilical cord,
I should have been
rappelling off stuff.
That was so awesome.
BEAR: Okay, Colson, just
work our way carefully here.
Just keep leaning into things
where you see
where it's slippery.
So, moving up this dry
riverbed is really treacherous.
It looks dry, but it's not.
It's actually slick rock.
Little things can
have big consequences.
You could slip just three foot,
hit your head on one of these
really sharp rocks,
and then be in trouble.
So, just moving really
mindfully through this terrain.
Keep going.
Okay, we're gonna head off
and do a little bit
of this forest here.
Oh, this tree is so soft.
- [bird chirps]
- It's crazy.
Oh, dude, I was just...
I was just wishing for this.
I was just making sure
that is blueberry,
but yeah, those are blueberries.
Mm. Wow.
Dude, this is fire.
BEAR: It's literally
like a carpet of them.
If you look at it,
they're literally everywhere.
Tell you what,
should we just collect some,
and then we can have that.
When we boil the water later,
we'll give it
some blueberry tea.
- Oh, dude.
- Just collect enough of them.
MGK: Smart.
BEAR: There you go,
stick them in there.
We'll wrap them in here
so they don't get cracked.
And we got them.
That's tea.
- MGK: Very smart.
- BEAR: Look at that bark there.
Let's just grab a bit of that.
This is good for fire as well.
- Look at all of this.
- Ah-ah.
- What you used to burn?
- It's really resonant.
This or the bark?
So, all of that,
just strip it down.
Put a spark on that, it'll
go like nature's fire lights it.
Okay, we're going to take
five minutes,
have a quick rehydrate,
before we pop down
the last bit into the river.
Okay.
We found blueberries for tea,
some birch bark for fire.
You know, the forest,
the ultimate resource
for the survivor.
And I love Colson's spirit of
wanting to learn,
wanting to gather this stuff.
He gets it.
He's very connected actually,
very connected with the earth.
- I love these sort of forests.
- I know.
It's something so spiritual,
that's good.
I was going to say, very mystic.
[bird chirps]
Was music part
of your childhood?
Yeah, music was a big part
of my childhood
because I kind of was like
learning most of the things
from movies,
TV shows, and music.
My dad was really,
really strict too,
so I think even like Grease,
when I saw Grease
for the first time,
that was like a soundtrack
on tape that I was able to have.
And I don't know,
it just made me happy.
It kind of looked like
the dream friend group
or dream high school life
that I would want to have.
And I was simultaneously living
a very opposite school life, so.
BEAR: Did you move around
a lot when you were little?
Yeah, yeah, a lot, a lot.
And how do you look back
on those years?
I mean, it kind of honestly
gave me a really bad complex.
You know, it gave me
the abandonment complex,
the, oh, I never fit in,
I can never be good enough,
I feel forgotten,
I feel overlooked.
And no amount of
success or streams
or awards or whatever seems to
satiate my lack of feeling seen.
I really, you know,
wish my father would
have did it different.
I was a voiceless
voice in that house.
I kind of was like, please,
I want to just find friends.
Like, stop making me
start my life over every year.
- Yeah.
- And it's also like,
why something
so simple as picking
a blueberry and eating it.
Because I had to kind of
grow up so quickly.
That boyishness
lay dormant for so long.
So it's always in there
ready to come out.
So even just wandering
the forest and picking
a blueberry just makes me feel
like, oh man,
like this is a life that I,
this was an alternate life
that I could have had.
Like just being a boy
wandering through a forest.
Yeah.
And never lose that spirit
because that's beautiful.
I agree.
When did you realize music
was going to become
what you wanted to do
for work as well?
When I hit high school,
I was really,
really very certain
that I needed nothing to do
with homework or, you know,
attending school,
I was very much like,
I need to hit the streets
and sell these mixtapes
and rap for anybody
that will listen to me.
So I was on trains,
buses, walking neighborhoods.
Like I was infamous
for just walking around
and doing music
in front of people.
And did you feel, hold on,
I'm getting, I'm good at this.
Yeah. I mean,
when I started making friends,
that was the telltale sign.
And I would just be waiting
when the school bells rang
and all the kids came out
and I would just be
in the parking lot on top
of my car selling mixtapes.
And then all those kids,
I knew that, you know,
they were all the seniors.
They were going to go to
college the next couple months.
And when they would go to
college all over the world,
they were going to spread
the word.
And it really happened.
Like all these kids took
the tapes from this parking lot
and then word started getting
around where they were
like, oh man, there's this
rapper from Ohio blowing up
- in all these colleges.
- Amazing.
What a story.
Okay,
we're going to keep moving.
That's a powerful story.
Such a strong parallel, I think,
with survival and adventure.
And sometimes
you've got to be tenacious.
You've got to be
the never-give-upper.
And that survival spirit has
often served Colson in his life,
obviously, so well.
Okay, Colson, look,
we could refill bottles here.
MGK: I was just wondering
if the water, you know,
coming down through all these
rocks, like if the minerals
and all that kind of purify it.
Clear water isn't
clean water necessarily,
so even though it looks great,
it still can have bacteria
and parasites in it.
But this would be especially bad
because it's stagnant,
so it's not even flowing.
This you wouldn't want to drink,
you'd want to boil it,
but really all water,
ideally, you boil it
and then you know you're good.
So we'll collect that
and then we'll boil it later.
Oh, look. [chuckling]
Look at this guy.
- That's exactly what I mean.
- Oh, my God.
What is that, a crawfish,
a c*ck?
No, that's a water beetle.
A water beetle?
So this guy's come down here
and just died in it.
And that's when
you can actually see all the...
MGK: Yeah, I can see...
As soon as you push it under,
all that gunk coming out of it.
But water beetles you can eat.
- Yeah.
- It doesn't stink.
And actually water beetles,
You want half of this?
I reckon you've
had worse things.
There you go.
I'll get that
and then pull it off.
Oh!
It's a protein snack on the go.
And we've got water.
[blows raspberry]
[Bear chuckling]
This pool has been a result.
In many countries,
those are real delicacies.
Yeah, no, no, totally, totally.
This is just
like a Jolly Rancher.
- Ah!
- [Bear chuckling]
BEAR: Uh-huh.
Oh, yeah.
Totally...
Then throw the skeleton
bit away.
- It's so good. [retching]
- How's that?
Sorry.
I mean, whoever made that,
a delicacy is definitely...
- Messed up.
- Yeah, yeah.
They need some entertainment,
for sure.
They need happiness.
BEAR: Yeah, but you know what?
So much of survival is
little things on the go.
They're not
going to taste great.
But actually, water means
we're going to rehydrate.
A little water beetle,
a little bit of energy,
a little bit of protein.
- We're good.
- I can feel it already. Ah!
I puked.
Got that water beetle energy,
dude.
Are places like
this too cold for snakes?
BEAR: Yeah.
I mean, you will get snakes.
You get adders here.
Here's our river.
Okay, so...
I've set up a way across this.
We just need to follow
downstream until we see it.
Oh, hell yeah.
This will get us
across the river.
I've set up what's called
a Tyrolean Traverse
across this river.
Tied two ropes to the trees,
tensioned it up,
and we're just going to drag
ourselves along under that rope.
And it means
we stay out of the water.
You get taken by this white
water over waterfalls,
you're in trouble.
So, this will do the job.
Get us to the other side,
carry on back.
What is this?
Nature's water filtration.
- Really?
- Yeah, look at this. Look!
- It's a bath.
- What?
You can drink because
it's filtered through that.
So if you grab a load of that.
- Yeah.
- And squeeze that.
You know,
that's 99% good to drink.
- MGK: That's good.
- BEAR: Yeah.
- MGK: What is this?
- BEAR: It's just moss.
- MGK: It's moss.
- BEAR: Yeah.
But it's great
for filtering water.
[intense music playing]
Okay, so I'll clip on,
I'll go first.
It will be quite physical, this.
You'll get a core workout
and an arm workout
because we've got to haul
ourselves across.
It will sag down as well,
so we're going to be pretty
close to the white water,
but we'll be fine.
Thank God
I'm part spider monkey.
Just work our way back.
Slowly sink,
put your weight on it.
The main thing to watch out for
are these pulleys.
Keep your fingers out of it.
Just keep your hands here.
Pulley goes over that,
that's life...
- Yeah,
- Yeah. It's bad news.
Okay. You've got
to kind of keep your legs up
for your muscle through it.
- You're a Viking.
- Okay. Yeah.
We'll let gravity do
the work on the first bit.
[suspenseful music playing]
Fire.
Way more working out than
I thought it was going to be
happening.
BEAR: Oh!
MGK: Dude,
if he's struggling with that,
I'm for sure going to be...
These arms were made for...
Not that.
Come on, biceps.
Do something.
- Okay, Colson, pull it back.
- Yeah.
BEAR:
Okay, you're good to go, Colson.
Just haul yourself across,
you got it.
Not very friendly on
the kibbles and bits there.
[dramatic music playing]
BEAR:
Great job, you're over halfway.
MGK:
I like the idea of training,
but kind of is like junk food
at this point in my life.
It's a good idea,
but I don't act on it.
BEAR: Now you've got
the uphill section.
You're fighting
MGK:
Am I close?
BEAR: Yeah, you're almost there.
Almost there.
MGK:
I'm highly regretting
not having worked out
before I came here.
I'm going to be
asleep like this tonight. Ah!
BEAR: Keep going,
another couple of meters,
then you're getting your feet.
You got it!
Hold on.
You're going to get your feet.
MGK: Ah!
Yeah.
I don't think I ever
want to see a rope again.
Or a river.
I thought we were going
to just be having fun.
I thought it was
going to be just fun.
[sighs] It was not.
It's more physical
than it looks, isn't it?
Oh, my God! Yeah.
The first ten reps are easy.
- Oh! My God.
- Well done.
You're getting
the wills in this workout.
Yeah. I felt it all in here.
My forearms.
Your core too. Everything is
just weight working against
getting to where
you need to go.
It's just a metaphor for life.
BEAR: The river is too dangerous
to wade across,
so Colson and I will
head through thick forest
and try and find another way.
Watch your step down there,
it's going to be quite slippery.
The Norwegian forests
are so easy to get lost in.
To keep on course, we'll
follow the sound of the water
that heads down
to the field below,
and it is there that
we will eventually find
our extraction point.
Wow, check this out.
Looks like I've found dinner.
Oh! Okay!
Oh, dude!
- BEAR: Look at that.
- MGK: Wow!
BEAR: Deer carcass.
Pretty big deer.
That's pretty fresh as well.
That's definitely
going to give us
everything we need for a meal.
That's going to be
better than the water beetle.
[laughs]
Did you think he'd come alive?
I don't know what I'm thinking,
I've never seen
anything like this.
Well, take your pick
of what we want.
We can either go like
a haunch, lungs.
Liver's always good.
Liver is super healthy.
- Right.
- I mean, really, it's a Viking.
We should take the heart,
actually.
- Okay.
- Have you ever had heart?
- Nah.
- Okay, we might have to work
- a little bit to get to it.
- Okay. Do I need my knife?
- Yeah, get yours.
- Okay.
Okay, we'll cut through here.
Okay, wait, I just have to
do something that I just...
To this beautiful creature,
I appreciate your sacrifice,
and we honor you,
and we ask that the nutrients
go into our bodies,
and that we do this
completely out of respect
and for the nourishment.
I appreciate it.
Thank you.
Thank you, yeah.
I don't know. Like, in my head,
I was like, "Oh, we have
these knives for a fish,"
but seeing something
so majestic as a deer,
that's why I wanted to
take a minute and, you know,
share my appreciation with
the animal for its sacrifice.
Here we go.
- Straight in there.
- Uh-huh.
BEAR: Just cut away
from your hand, yeah.
I don't take for granted
that a life has been given
to provide life for us.
- Okay, and then this way?
- BEAR: Mm-hmm.
So that's gonna be
the heart, then.
There you go.
- Whoa.
- That's the heart.
That's the powerhouse.
That experience was
surprisingly spiritual.
And we're gonna eat the meal
and send appreciation.
I feel really connected with
the circle of life right now.
It's a bloody mess over here.
These hands
just took out a heart.
So what do we do with this?
I think we'll cut it
into strips, boil it up.
- Yeah.
- Make a little fire.
We've got the blueberries.
We'll make some tea.
- Heart and blueberries, huh?
- Come on.
I've noticed that with Colson,
you know,
he's got a great,
calm spirit about him,
but also very connected
to the land spirit.
And even though he said
he hasn't spent a lot of time
out in these sort of places,
it's in his heritage,
and that doesn't leave us. You
know, that's something deeper.
- Good job. Thank you.
- Appreciate it.
Thank you, buddy.
BEAR: For me, it's a privilege
to stand beside him
as he reconnects
a little bit with that.
But this meal will be
part of that journey.
Okay, Colson, let's make a fire.
- Boil up that water.
- Yeah.
Cook the heart.
And then you can kind of see
through the forest
eventually leads to the field.
That's where we're heading.
Okay. So we've got
some of that birch bark.
You're gonna light the fire.
Light the fire behind that.
- MGK: Mm-hmm.
- We've got dry grass there.
That's gonna be perfect.
So let's have
a practice with that.
- Yeah.
- There you go, like that.
Try and get it
into this dry zone.
There you go.
MGK: Oh, cool.
Wow, it smells so good.
That's proper forest smell,
isn't it?
- Yeah.
- Well done.
Is that the first fire
you've lit like that?
MGK: Yeah.
Get the deer on as well.
I mean, look at that.
Look at that flesh at the heart.
- Yeah.
- I mean, that is as clean
and fresh as
you're ever gonna get.
- It looks so good.
- So we're gonna just
put that on the edge here.
Cook on the hot stone.
Okay, blueberries on.
Stick that on the edge here.
They always say fires
are like your kids.
If you look after them
when they're small like this,
build it well
in the right place,
put care and attention in,
then when it's big,
they look after you.
So, yeah.
Bit like you
with your daughters.
Yeah.
How's parenting been for you?
Has that been a journey?
Yeah, man.
I mean, a lot of years
of not doing it right
but trying, which to me
makes it be like, okay, well,
I can't be too hard on myself.
I mean, the one thing you figure
out as you become a parent is
that your parents had no idea
what they were doing either.
- BEAR: Yeah. That's right.
- There's no actual formula.
Yeah. Tell me about some
of your crazier years where
you didn't maybe get it
quite so right at the beginning.
[MGK exhales]
Raging, hard drug addict
and alcohol consumer.
And I fight that fight
all the time still,
but my friendships are better.
Everything is just better
in life right now.
My fatherhood is way better.
So, just trying to balance
being Peter Pan and Dad.
- Yeah.
- Because Peter Pan gives me
a lot of that creativity.
It gives me that creative
freedom to just, like,
do something that is
outlandish or unordinary.
And I feel like being unordinary
is what even got me here.
Mmm.
How did you turn
your life around
when it was in a dark place?
Just God humbling me
over and over again.
Being like, "Bro,
you need to wake up."
So, I think it was just that.
It was by force, 'cause
I wasn't doing it on my own.
How has the journey been since?
MGK: I've been in a funk lately.
I've been in a funk
creatively, personally,
which is why I kind of was eager
to get on the plane
and come out here.
Feeling very overseen,
and I just, I mean,
dude, my validation has to stop
coming from outside sources.
I remember my grandpa
used to have
a little thing
written by his bed.
It goes, "There's always
music in the garden,
"but sometimes our hearts need
to be quiet enough to hear it."
[whistles]
- I love that.
- That's...
That's-- I needed
to hear that today.
In my world, we call that a bar.
That, my friend, is a bar.
[chuckling]
[gentle music]
MGK: I gotta
connect to nature more.
That's what
I'm taking away from this.
There has to be something else
that I gotta--
I don't know what it is.
I'm out here searching for it.
I'm in the woods about to eat
a deer heart, searching for it.
[laughs] You know what I mean?
Like...
I think that's a verse
from the good book.
When we seek,
we find eventually.
You know, when we seek, we find.
Should we try some of the heart?
- MGK: Yeah.
- Go on, try a bit of that.
Okay.
Wow, that's--
that is nutrient-dense.
- Fuel.
- Mm-hmm.
Thank you to the forest.
Thank you to the deer.
The blueberry tea with it.
I can't taste the blueberries,
but I can taste the heart.
[Bear laughing] Yeah.
MGK: That's good.
My mom is probably gonna just
watch this and be so proud.
My whole family,
all my uncles, my grandpa.
I'm in the homeland.
This life took all
its twists and turns,
but it finally led me back.
Well, they say it's the longest
journey from here to here.
I know! I know,
I love that quote.
- It's true.
- I love that quote.
Bear creates such
a good space for conversation.
It's rare to get to talk
to someone who listens.
Listening is a rare art.
I kind of focus more on sharing
my story through my music,
so it's nice to just
get to sit and chat.
You might have wondered why
I gave you a horn at the start.
But, uh,
this is non-alcoholic mead.
- Okay.
- It's an old-- as you know,
an old Norwegian drink that--
and when you drink from a horn
with good friends,
it symbolizes connection.
Connection, friendship,
connection to the land,
facing a few fears together,
helping each other
through stuff.
I love it.
Well,
you know what you gotta say.
- Yeah?
- Skal.
BEAR: Skal. [laughs]
Oh, that's good.
Here's to you, Colson.
I feel that--
I feel your journey's
only just getting going.
MGK: Yeah, me too.
BEAR: So I had a really
honest talk with Colson,
and just hearing about
his life and, you know,
the battles he's come through...
Do you want the last?
BEAR: Battles in many ways
are what have made Colson,
and I love that,
'cause that's the wild.
The wild beats you up
a little bit. That's life.
But it's about how you finish,
how you come through it,
and he's done that beautifully.
Very calm, centered spirit now.
And you have to earn that.
Good job. Okay.
Fire out.
And we'll keep moving.
[dramatic music]
Colson and I shared a meal
fit for Vikings.
This was an incredibly bonding
experience to share together
in the home of his ancestors.
Now we have one final push
to get off this cliff
and down to the field below
and our extraction boat.
MGK: Oh, my God.
- That's pretty cool, eh?
- Yeah.
BEAR: Well done.
Well, we made the field.
MGK: Everything is just awesome.
This is, like, the coolest
playground of all time.
It's really a trip.
We're getting close to
the end of our journey
at the bottom of this. If we've
got our coordinates right,
there should be something
waiting for us down there
to help us get out the last bit.
We're out of the forest
and ready for this last push.
It's a big drop off,
probably about 150 foot
down to the field below.
Okay, we're looking for
somewhere to tie off to.
What do you think? One of these?
Oh, yeah, this tree
definitely is our friend.
- You can set this one up.
- Okay.
- Go for the no knot.
- Yeah.
I know we're gonna have to
end up swimming a little bit
from there to reach
our extraction boat.
Happy that's not going anywhere?
- MGK: Yeah.
- BEAR: Sure?
- Yeah.
- Not slipping?
BEAR: Okay. Give that a throw.
One thing I do know is that
I don't have 150 foot of rope.
We'll do another line as well
from your backpack, and then
we're gonna go together.
- Oh, sick.
- Yeah.
Because I'm just not sure
whether the rope's gonna
- go all the way.
- Okay.
Well, we're here on a cliff,
which seems to be
a reoccurring theme.
But I'm not worried.
I'm just excited.
When I was a kid, I was just
in creeks, climbing trees,
basically doing Bear Grylls
on a very tame level.
It's like a bridging of the gap
between my upbringing.
This is just what I needed.
I like a good risk.
BEAR: So we'll just
go side by side.
- MGK: Cool.
- Test that no knot
around the tree,
it's feeling good.
Okay, before we do this,
final thing I want to ask you.
- MGK: Yeah.
- Tell me, have you got, like,
some burning goals still in
life or things you wanna do?
To make as many memories
as I can with my kids
and my family and my friends.
- I've done the work, man.
- Mmm.
I just wanna make memories now.
BEAR: Feels like
you're coming full circle
in so much in your life.
- I agree.
- Proud of you.
- Thank you.
- It's like, you know,
you've had some hard moments,
but you've come through it,
- you know?
- For sure.
And your girls
should be proud of that.
I hope they will be.
You might not realize it,
but you're a beautiful dad.
- Thank you.
- Come on.
[intense music]
Weather's changing again.
The rain is in.
Get that nice, wide stance as
it gets slippery and steeper.
Dude, Bear,
you got to show 'em the cliff.
That is a real cliff, dude.
[both laughing]
That's a--
that's a for real cliff.
♪♪♪♪♪
This is next level.
BEAR: Okay, we should be
able to see it in a minute
if we've got enough
rope for the water.
♪♪♪♪♪
I've just seen the answer to it.
- MGK: I spy not enough rope.
- BEAR: Yeah.
It's a long way down,
my friends.
What we'll do,
we'll get to the end of it.
- MGK: Okay.
- And then we'll kind of
ready ourselves
and one, two, three, go.
But you need to ping out
a little bit, because otherwise
- we're gonna hit the edge.
- Oh, yeah.
You go, and you just let it go.
Ping out, let it go,
it'll run through.
We'll go down. Keep coming down.
Water temperature in Norway
at the best of times
doesn't get high.
We're going into winter now.
This is gonna be icy.
And this water's gonna be cold.
- Yeah?
- I'm not gonna sugarcoat it.
MGK: Rock and roll, dude.
BEAR: But Colson's
a strong swimmer. Strong heart.
Norwegian, Viking bloodline.
He can do this.
You ready?
- MGK: Yeah.
- One, two, three, go.
- BEAR: You ready?
- MGK: Yeah.
BEAR: This water's
gonna be cold.
- I'm not gonna sugarcoat it.
- MGK: Rock and roll, dude.
One, two, three, go.
[splashing]
Oh, [bleep].
And then we're swimming.
[dramatic music]
That boat's getting
blown by the wind as well.
We need to reach that.
Colson is obviously
such a global phenomenon
and a talent, but at heart,
he's also just a regular guy
who's had some
big battles in his life,
but he's overcome them.
MGK:
BEAR: Yeah, Norway.
♪♪♪♪♪
And it takes courage
to overcome battles
and to be honest and vulnerable.
You ready? Give me your hand.
Let's get you up.
That's it.
Great job.
And I think what shines
brightest for me is his spirit.
He knows the value
of great friends
and family and community.
- MGK: Damn, dude.
- Proud of you.
Well done.
Epic.
MGK: That's the real deal, man.
And that connectedness to
his heritage, re-finding that,
it's been a privilege to stand
beside him on this journey.
Ready to get out of here?
Let's do it.
♪♪♪♪♪
Bear, I wanna thank you from
the bottom of my heart
for something that I didn't
realize was so necessary.
I needed an escape and a getaway
to the country of my ancestors,
and rappelling off cliffs
and swimming in an ocean
and running wild through
the woods with your dog.
So, thank you. Thank you.
Well done, buddy.
Well done, you.
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