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Explorer set to take on 'biggest challenge yet'

Emma StanleyNorth West
News imageJordan Wylie Jordan Wylie, who has a dark beard with some white in it, stands smiling at the South Pole, next to a marker that looks like a mirrored ball. He has a black coat on with the hood up and is holding a sponsorship flag. In the background are flags and a large flat expanse of ice under a blue skyJordan Wylie
Jordan Wylie said he hopes to inspire young people with his challenges

A former soldier-turned-adventurer is ready to take on his "biggest, boldest, baddest challenge yet".

Jordan Wylie will journey from the lowest point of Earth, the shoreline of the Dead Sea, to the highest point, the summit of Mount Everest.

Within his role as an Army Cadets ambassador, a group of young cadets will be joining him for the hike to Everest base camp "on a life-changing, fully-funded opportunity".

"We need to give young people a glimmer of opportunity and hope and then magical things can happen, we unlock potential," the 42-year-old from Blackpool said.

"I love a challenge and I love trying to help young people," he told BBC Radio Lancashire.

The explorer, who is known for appearing in Channel 4's Hunted programme, said he was "often up to no good" as a teenager and if he had not joined the Army at 16, "it probably would have been a very different life".

News imageJordan Wylie Jordan Wylie and another member of the team stand on a large flat expanse of ice under a blue sky at a sign that says "Geographic South Pole". There is an American flag to the left and the men are wearing black and orange coats and masks and have sledges of equipment covered with red tarpaulinsJordan Wylie
The explorer's most recent challenge saw him trek to the South Pole

He said, looking back, he had lost his "sense of purpose" and really struggled to cope after his decade-long the military career ended.

Following a mental health breakdown in 2015, Wylie said he decided to "use his spirit of adventure" to motivate the next generation.

The explorer, who was diagnosed with ADHD three years ago, said: "My brain's at 100 miles an hour all the time.

"If I stop, my mental health deteriorates and I always have to have purpose in my life, so I always need to be trying to make a difference to help somebody."

News imagePA Media Head and shoulders of Jordan Wylie after being made an MBE at Windsor Castle. He is standing in the gardens, which are blurred, and is wearing a dark suit, white shirt and lemon tie holding his cross-shaped medal with a red ribbon in his right hand next to his face. He has dork spiky hair with flecks of grey, stubble, and is grinningPA Media
Jordan Wylie was awarded an MBE for services to charity and education in 2023

He said the team "still haven't worked out" the logistics of the trip "which is equally as challenging", but he will "spend the next two years preparing and training around the world".

"You don't just turn up because that's when things go wrong," he said.

"It's very dangerous and I need to climb a lot of mountains before I have a go at this."

In 2023 Wylie was awarded an MBE for services to charity and education in the UK and overseas.

He has previously become the first person to explore an uncharted region of Antarctica, climbed Kilimanjaro barefoot, rowed solo across the Bab El Mandeb Strait and set a world record for the deepest underground marathon.

"If I can do it coming from a council estate in Blackpool with no qualifications, to go across all seven continents, and then try and get to the top of the world, what can these kids out there do if they've got their whole lives ahead of them?" he said.

"I want kids to dream big and never give up."

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