Best known as the chief instructor on Channel 7's hit series SAS Australia, Ant Middleton has become an expert on survival and endurance on and off the screen. Photo / Supplied
Best known as the chief instructor on Channel 7's hit series SAS Australia, Ant Middleton has become an expert on survival and endurance on and off the screen. Photo / Supplied
To many, Ant Middleton may seem like an anomaly.
Best known as the heavily muscled, military-trained host of SAS: Who Dares Win, Middleton has pivoted in recent years from breaking people down to building them up, embracing a newly positive outlook on life, writing several best-selling life advice books, and announcing a new speaking tour.
In his new live show titled after his mantra "Mind over Muscle", Middleton, 41, aims to provide New Zealand audiences with an extensive look into his upbringing, military career, and brand new outlook on life.
The SAS host says his inspiration behind his Auckland show this evening stems from his desire to teach "resilience and emotional intelligence", two traits he was able to fully master during his 2018 Everest climb.
He reveals how out of all the emotionally and physically demanding encounters he's gone through - including a stint in jail for assault - reaching the summit of Everest was arguably the hardest.
Clinging to the side of Mount Everest as temperatures dropped and howling winds picked up speed, Middleton explains how it was that moment of extreme "psychological distress and a lack of control" that acted as the catalyst for the next stage of his life.
"My body was shouting 'stop' but my mind was telling me to go. It was that psychological understanding that helped me survive. It's what separates the good from the elite," Middleton says.
Middleton hopes that audience members will walk away from his show with a "positive new attitude and mindset, ready to tackle whatever is ahead of you". Photo / Supplied
The triumphant climax to the SAS host's journey swiftly became a harrowing fight for survival after a raging storm turned into a "total white out" where multiple people ended up perishing. Despite his lengthy tenure with the special forces, this was a situation he had never experienced.
"It wasn't like going into combat where I had the lads behind me," he recalls. "On the mountain, you can't control the weather and you can't control the people around you.
"It was a totally different type of hardship and a different type of psychological pressure to combat," he says.
Middleton has faced unimaginable hardship before - he boasts a formidable military career across the UK's elite special forces - but he still says that one of the toughest moments of his life was experiencing that split-second "moment of madness" where he truly believed he wouldn't make it home off the mountain.
"That thought went against everything I've been through and everything I've preached. I remember telling myself to get a grip and to snap out of it because if you don't you'll freeze up here and die.
"Those moments of madness on the mountain were really unique" he laughs.
In the years since, Middleton has seemingly taken the lessons learned on Everest to heart, writing multiple best-selling books and touring his show internationally. Even over the phone, he is noticeably excited to bring "Mind over Muscle" to New Zealand for the first time and share the life skills gained from his near-death experience with a new audience.
TV personality Vogue Williams takes on the Royal Marines physical fitness test accompanied by special forces veteran Ant Middleton at the Crystal Palace Athletics Track. Photo / Getty Images
Recently, Middleton's name has been associated more with drama than decorum, but Middleton says he's unbothered. He owns up 100 per cent for his mistakes over the years, from his time in prison to his premature dismissal from Celebrity SAS, and says that actually "what I love about my story and my failures, is that a lot of people can relate to it".
"I think people have this picture-perfect view on people, but no one is picture perfect. As long as you hold yourself accountable for each and every mistake."
The outdoor adventurist expects everyone from young children to 70-80-year-old couples to attend his show. "It's never too late to change your mindset," he grins. "That's what's so fascinating about life, I will never get to the best version of myself. That's perfection and that doesn't exist.
"I'm always chasing that carrot of self-improvement without ever reaching it."
