The ex-special forces and TV star on leaving your comfort zone, how talking about mental health changed his life, and dealing with broken washing machines while at war
Jason Fox is no ordinary human being. After a 20-year military career in which he saw active service as part of the Special Boat Service, he went on to become one of the stars of Channel 4’s cult reality hit SAS: Who Dares Wins. But, despite all that, what Fox wants us all to know is that he’s no different to any of us. And if you’re wondering when you last ran through gunfire in Afghanistan, that’s not what he means.
‘You can’t get away from the fact that people are people,’ he says. ‘You’ve just got to look for the positives as opposed to the negatives.’ He’s especially fond of the recruits on the TV show, believing there are many similarities between them and his ex-military colleagues. ‘Fundamentally, they’re all driven, all perfectionists, they like to be busy, they like travel. And when they get an opportunity to chill out and let their hair down, they do.”
Fox has joined HFM on a Zoom call not just because he’s a thoroughly decent person, but also because he has a new book out, Life Under Fire, which explores how we can build inner strength, confidence and thrive under pressure. But this is not some easy-win commercial venture for the former marine. Listening to him, it’s clear it’s a passion project, and he’s desperate to help everyone fare better in the difficult circumstances many of us can find ourselves in. And his message is clear – if you want to deal with life’s stresses, you need to get out of your comfort zone. Fox is not advocating heading to your nearest war zone, but he does think by exposing ourselves to a bit of fear, we can learn a lot. ‘If people are honest and say, “I’m a little bit unsure of doing something like this,” and do it in manageable stages, they’ll naturally learn how to deal with the situation. Ultimately, those challenges probably will get bigger and more daunting because you’ll become comfortable with everything that’s gone before.’
Similarly, if we want to learn how to thrive under pressure, we’re going to have to experience it. ‘Pressure is very important to becoming a more rounded version of yourself. You can liken it to diamonds, which are made from being under pressure – crappy analogy, but how do you make a diamond person? You put them under pressure, which
