Trekforce Worldwide

Bruce Parry

Bruce Parry, Trekforce Leader, Explorer and BBC TV Presenter

"My return to Trekforce really inspired me, this is what expeditions are all about. An organisation with a great ethos for making a difference where it is needed most, and a true spirit of raw adventure."

Bruce Parry was a Trekforce leader for many years and is a great friend of ours. He supports our work fully and is keen to inspire as many people as possible through expeditions and teaching placements that have real purpose.

Follow in Bruce's footsteps by joining a challenging and worthwhile expedition to Borneo, Belize, Guyana or Papua New Guinea. Come along to an Info event to experience the ethos of Trekforce that Bruce Parry learned so many years ago!

Bruce Parry in the BBC Series Tribe

How it all began...!

As a former Trekforce Leader and staff member, Bruce Parry is just as comfortable leading a Trekforce jungle expedition as he is presenting to the camera. Whether his current television work takes him from Mongolia to India, West Papua to Gabon, or Ethiopia to Venezuela, much of Bruce’s expedition experience prior to Tribe was gained with Trekforce.

Bruce may have now moved on to television stardom, but he still remains an ardent supporter of Trekforce Worldwide. In a recent message to Trekforce he confided:

“I was there with Swaletreks (SE Asia) in the early days, and to me Trekforce Worldwide has the same spirit of adventure and environmental concern that Wandy set up all those years ago. As long as the people at the helm remember the ethos of those early days, I will be there at least in spirit until the end. I see the indefatigable Rob Murray John and Ed Swales as exactly those sorts of people.” Bruce Parry.

After a 6-year career as a Royal Marines Officer, Bruce left the Forces and headed into the jungles of Indonesia with the founder of Swaletreks - the precursor to Trekforce - Wandy Swales. After a successful expedition, Bruce returned to the UK and signed up for a University course, but went back to Trekforce the following summer to lead another expedition. Later that year, the lure of the jungle and the attraction of expedition life proved too much and Bruce quit his University course to work for Trekforce full-time.

Based in Indonesia, Bruce led all of Trekforce’s expeditions into the jungle, assisted by Damian Taylor (who later became Managing Director of Trekforce for 5 years), Rob Murray John (Founder and Director of Trekforce Worldwide) and Mark Anstice (who has now gone on to star alongside Bruce in programmes such as Blizzard: Race to the Pole).

Bruce Parry in the BBC TV Series Tribe

After several years of jungle life, Bruce decided on a change of direction and instead headed into the world of films, working as a location manager with the likes of Blur, the Chemical Brothers and the Manic Street Preachers. Although Bruce enjoyed the hectic social life, he became despondent at the constant negative feedback that sometimes follows in the wake of a film crew. To rectify the situation, Bruce decided to lead another Trekforce expedition, this time heading out to Kenya. Helping to build a school for the local Maasai tribe, Bruce and the Trekforce volunteers received nothing but gratitude from the local people, a stark contrast from Bruce’s previous film work.

Such an experience proved to be a turning point in Parry's life, inspiring him to return to expedition life. Since television was still an area that interested him, however, he made the decision to try and combine it with his love of expeditions. So, as the millennium approached, Bruce and fellow Trekforce leader Mark Anstice headed off to Indonesian New Guinea to climb a remote 15,000-ft mountain. Armed with a camera, the pair headed deep into the jungle, searching en route for an indigenous tribe rumoured to still practise cannibalism.

After an arduous but ultimately successful 3-month expedition, the documentary Cannibals and Crampons was born, which was immediately snapped up by the BBC as part of their Extreme Lives series. The film went on to win a number of awards at both the Banff Mountain Film Festival and the Kendal Mountain Film Festival.

Shortly after this, a new partnership developed between Trekforce and the BBC, which marked the beginning of Trekforce’s new role as an expedition consultancy to television production companies. Bruce was to play a key role in this initial partnership. As expedition leader for the CBBC series Serious Jungle, he and fellow Trekforce leader Emma Jay led a team of eight young people into the jungles of Borneo, where they worked with endangered orangutan. As well as providing leaders, Trekforce also provided the logistical support, safety and back-up system and in-country expertise for the series. The resulting 6-part documentary won a Royal Television Society award.

Riding on the back of this success, the BBC agreed to a second series, entitled Serious Desert, which this time saw Bruce, Emma and the young team working with endangered black rhino in the Namibian Desert. After receiving a BAFTA, a third series was commissioned, entitled Serious Arctic.

This time around Ben Major took the lead, yet another Trekforce leader and staff member, accompanied once again by Emma. Serious Andes and Serious Amazon have since followed, launching a fourth Trekforce leader, Matt Leggett, onto our screens. Matt in particular continues to play a key role with Trekforce Worldwide to this day.

Going Tribal

Each episode saw Bruce living alongside the local people, in a bid to gain a better understanding of their way of life, an underlying principle in Trekforce’s own operations overseas. Along the way he regularly drank fresh cow’s blood, ate fried rat’s tail, had his septum pierced with a 3-inch thorn and embarked on a soul-baring hallucinogenic trip after eating a certain type of tree bark. It is undoubtedly such insatiable curiosity and such dedication to the cause that has seen Bruce accepted and respected by both tribal hosts and viewing public alike.

The first series, which was shown in 15 different countries, received huge acclaim, to such an extent that a second series was commissioned. This time around Bruce based himself in Ethiopia’s Omo Valley, spending time with three very different tribal communities.

Whether milking goats, spearing cattle or dodging firefights, Bruce once again launched himself into the tribal way of life, living alongside the hunters, warriors and farmers of the Nyangatom, Hamer and Dassenatch tribes. Such an experience clearly had a profound effect on him. He confides:

“I think it’s very important to question all of ones own preconceptions, and I feel that I have stripped away many of mine now, which has been quite a long, hard process. So much of what we say and believe in is nothing more than a belief instilled in us from our parents or our peers or our society, and we have no actual personal experience or true knowledge of that belief or view. I’ve realised the danger in this and the way that these views can be used by others to gain power and control over our lives. I try and question everything now and see all sides of the argument where I can.”

A third series of Tribe has now been completed, and Bruce has also found time to star in Blizzard: Race to the Pole. This BBC2 documentary saw Bruce adopting the role of Captain Robert Falcon Scott, leading a team of Brits as they re-enacted the 1911 race to the South Pole.

In a typical example of history repeating itself, Bruce and the British team lost out to the Norwegians, but it was their tenacity and good humour in the face of adversity that made for such enjoyable viewing. Bruce is now filming a brand new series following the trials and tribulations of those that live amongst the jungles of the mighty Amazon.

Just as Bruce was able to combine his interest in television with his passion for expeditions and environmental projects, so Trekforce Worldwide follow an identical ethos. As a leading expedition consultancy service, they excel at enabling television production companies to operate in remote and challenging environments. This they do by employing some of the most experienced expedition specialists in the business. Most of these people have worked alongside Bruce, including Ed Swales, son of the late Wandy Swales, Trekforce’s original founder.

If you are keen to work with some of the most professional and high-profile individuals in the industry, or if you fancy following in the footsteps of Bruce Parry, Matt Leggett, Mark Anstice, Emma Jay and Ben Major, then why not start where they did?

Follow these links for more information on the series Bruce Parry has been involved with: