Who is Steven Kelly – the Commando behind South West Survival?

If you’re trusting someone to teach you survival, you want to know they’ve actually lived it.

South West Survival is led by Steven Kelly – a serving British Commando, survival instructor, and TV survivalist, best known for appearances on Naked and Afraid, Naked and Afraid: Apocalypse and Naked Alone and Racing to Get Home.

But behind the TV credits and Instagram clips is something much more important: over two decades of real military experience and a genuine passion for helping people build confidence, resilience and practical outdoor skills.

This is the story behind South West Survival – and the man who runs it.

From Liverpool lad to British Commando

Steven Kelly grew up in Liverpool and joined the British Army as a teenager. Over more than 23 years of service, he has spent the majority of his career with 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery, operating in some of the most demanding environments on earth.

He has:

• Deployed on operations and exercises around the world

• Trained in jungles, deserts and Arctic conditions

• Taught soldiers from the UK and allied nations how to stay alive in challenging terrain

Survival and fieldcraft aren’t a hobby for Steven – they’ve been a professional responsibility for most of his adult life.

The turning point: eye injury and a new mission

A few years into his career, Steven suffered a serious eye condition that threatened his sight and brought him close to medical discharge from the Army.

That moment forced a brutal question:

“If I lose the uniform tomorrow, who am I – and what skills do I have to offer the world?”

The answer kept coming back to the same thing:survival, resilience and teaching others how to thrive outdoors.

Instead of waiting to see what would happen, Steven began building something alongside his military career – a small, no-frills survival and bushcraft outfit on Dartmoor that would eventually grow into South West Survival.

Why South West Survival exists

South West Survival started with a simple idea:

“Take the best bits of Commando training – the mindset, the fieldcraft, the respect for the environment – and make them accessible to normal people.”

From those first weekend sessions around a campfire, the business has grown into a full survival and bushcraft school offering:

• Adult survival & bushcraft courses – from beginner-friendly days to tougher overnight experiences

• Family and kids’ sessions – teaching young people how to be safe, confident and capable outdoors

• Corporate and team-building events – using real-world challenges to improve communication, leadership and resilience

• Veteran meet-ups and fire circles – giving serving personnel and veterans a place to decompress around the fire

All of it is grounded in Steven’s real experience as a Commando and TV survivalist, but designed for ordinary people – families, workers, students, veterans and anyone who wants to feel safer and more capable outdoors.

What it’s like to train with Steven Kelly

Training with South West Survival is not about pretending to be special forces for the weekend. It’s about learning real skills at your level, in a way that’s safe, relaxed and genuinely fun.

On a typical session with Steven you might:

• Learn how to light a fire safely in wet UK conditions

• Build a shelter from natural materials

• Discover how to filter and boil water in the field

• Practice navigation and situational awareness

• Talk about the mindset he used on operations and on survival TV shows

You’ll get honest stories – the good, the bad and the uncomfortable – from someone who has actually been cold, hungry, exhausted and under pressure for real.

There’s no Hollywood nonsense, no fake “hero” talk. Just:

• Clear instruction

• Practical demonstrations

• Time to ask questions and try things for yourself

Whether you’re a complete beginner or already outdoorsy, the goal is always the same: you leave more confident and better prepared than when you arrived.

How TV survival shapes South West Survival

Steven’s TV work on shows like Naked and Afraid and Naked and Afraid: Apocalypse has given him a unique perspective on what people think survival looks like – and what it’s really like.

That experience influences South West Survival in a few key ways:

1. Mindset over machoTV proved what Steven already knew from Commando life: the person who stays calm, adaptable and humble survives longer than the person who just looks tough.

2. Reality over filtersSocial media loves the dramatic moments – storms, snakes, big fires. On courses, Steven focuses on the boring-but-critical stuff TV skips: preparation, planning, risk assessment and gradual skill-building.

3. Story as a teaching toolHearing about a real mistake Steven made on a jungle challenge, or how he handled fear when the cameras were rolling, sticks with people far more than a line from a textbook.

Students don’t just learn what to do – they learn why it matters when the pressure is on.

More than skills: building a survival mindset

Yes, South West Survival teaches you how to:

• Make fire

• Build shelter

• Handle knives and tools safely

• Move through the woods without wrecking the environment

But there’s a deeper layer running through every course: mindset.

From his Commando career, eye injury, time living out of a roof tent on Dartmoor, TV challenges and even being the face used in online romance scams, Steven has lived through a lot of real-world adversity.

Those experiences shaped a simple philosophy that underpins South West Survival:

Control what you can, accept what you can’t. Break big problems into small, winnable steps. Look after the people around you. Keep a sense of humour – even when things are rough.

Participants often leave a course surprised by how much the day was about life, not just the woods.

Who South West Survival is for

You don’t need to be super fit, ex-military or outdoors-obsessed to train with South West Survival. The school is for:

• Families who want their kids to grow up confident, capable and less dependent on screens

• Individuals who want to feel safer outdoors, travelling or during emergencies

• Teams and businesses looking for meaningful, shared challenges that actually build trust

• Serving personnel and veterans who want to reconnect around a fire and learn from another Commando’s journey

Courses are based in the South West of England (often around Dartmoor and surrounding areas) with the option of bespoke events elsewhere in the UK and abroad.

Why train with South West Survival instead of just watching YouTube?

You can learn a lot online – and Steven would be the first to say there are some great resources out there. But survival and bushcraft are hands-on skills.

Training with South West Survival means:

• You get immediate feedback on your technique

• You learn UK-specific skills for our weather, terrain and laws

• You can ask honest questions about kit, planning and safety

• You get to practise with someone who has relied on these skills in real operations and extreme TV challenges

Most importantly, you build something you can’t get from a video: real confidence.

How to book a course with South West Survival

If you’d like to train with Steven Kelly and the team at South West Survival, you can:

• Visit the South West Survival website to see upcoming survival and bushcraft courses

• Get in touch to arrange a bespoke course for your family, team or organisation

• Follow South West Survival and Steven on social media for tips, dates and behind-the-scenes content

Whether you want to try your first campfire, prepare your family for emergencies, or push yourself on a more advanced survival experience, South West Survival gives you access to real-world Commando knowledge in a friendly, down-to-earth environment.