19-year-old from Cornwall taking part in SAS: Who Dares Wins
Extreme sports' lover and member of the Army Cadets, Justine, grew up in northern Italy but now lives in Truro
Meet the 19-year-old from Cornwall who will be competing in the new series of SAS: Who Dares Wins.
Justine, who lives in Truro, is a lover of extreme sports and member of the Army Cadets.
She grew up in northern Italy but moved to the UK at 13, after losing her mum to breast cancer.
Justine, known as 'Recruit 3', is believed to be one of the youngest ever contestants to take part in the show.
In an interview ahead of the first episode on Sunday (9th May), Justine revealed producers had "switched everything up", which kind of threw her off!
You can watch a teaser for the news series of SAS: Who Dares Wins below or scroll down to read Justine's full interview.
Tell me about your experience on SAS: Who Dares Wins?
I haven’t been the same person since the day I left those gates. I left a completely changed person. I learnt more there than in my 18 years of life.
The first few days were the worst, but on day three, Billy gathered us all on the parade square in the middle of the night and reminded us “how lucky we were to be there” and “how many people would love to be in our spots right now.” I realised he was right. Every year I’d dreamt of being on SAS: Who Dares Wins and from that moment onwards I embraced every challenge and took it day by day and made the most of it.
That, of course, was made a whole lot easier being surrounded by some of the most incredible people I’ve ever met. And despite my age gap, we all got along extremely well and they were always there to help me with absolutely anything. It’s safe to say I’ve definitely made friends for life.
Did you find it difficult? Was it more difficult than you expected?
As a civilian with no military background, I think you can be as prepared as you want physically but not mentally. My fitness definitely helped me a lot. I felt as though I was at my peak so, kind of what I expected physically but ,again, mentally it was 100 times harder.
Also the fact that this year they had “switched everything up” kind of threw me off a bit to be honest so yes, it was more difficult than I expected.
You experienced a chemical warfare attack as part of the series. This is the first time this has happened on SAS: Who Dares Wins. How did you find that?
The chemical warfare task was my least favourite task, it was dreadful to be honest.
Having said that, I would be willing to re-do it because that’s the only way to learn how to cope with it, is by exposing yourself to more. But I can’t say I would recommend it!
However, the running with gas masks part of the task wasn’t too bad. Once I’d found a good breathing rhythm and accepted the uncomfortable and claustrophobic feeling of the mask, then it was okay. I’d done quite a lot of training with an altitude mask beforehand in preparation too so that helped.
Have you ever done anything like this before?
Obviously nothing anywhere near as intense as this but I have done several similar things that definitely helped me get through the course. For instance, in terms of the military discipline aspect: with the shouting, the time management, the leadership, respecting higher ranking staff, navigation courses - four years in the army cadets definitely came in handy! Again, nowhere near the same level of intensity but it definitely helped me a lot.
The speed marches with heavy rucksacks are obviously a lot harder to do when you are soaked, hungry, exhausted and have nothing to look forward to but doing Ten Tors training for 2 years (34 and 45mile marches across Dartmoor in 2 days with 15-20kg rucks) and doing the trek to Everest Base Camp and the Three Passes trek also helped immensely. A few months prior to the course I also started adding weighted sandbag and ruck runs to my CrossFit training.
Also, when I was younger whenever we went to Slovenia on holiday I loved canyoning, caving, rappelling and rafting, so I’ve never really been scared of heights – water, deep water on the other hand still terrifies me.
What made you sign up?
I’ve always been a huge fan of the show. In fact my first thought on my 18th was that I was old enough to apply for SAS: Who Dares Wins!! Since I was 15, I have been training in bodybuilding, sailing competitively at an international level and two years ago I started CrossFit, so I’ve always been physically strong but I wanted to put my mind to the test too.
I’ve also always known there was something slightly different about me. I wasn’t like my friends. I always ended up muddy, covered in cuts and bruises, and soaked, so I was used to being uncomfortable from a young age.
What training did you do in preparation for this course?
My main form of training was (and still is) CrossFit, which is a combination of Olympic weightlifting, gymnastics and cardiovascular training all in one. It’s very intense. I did heavy ruck runs, sandbag runs, anything that would make my training super uncomfortable. I trained three hours in the morning and then did bodybuilding and more cardio for 3 hours in the evening. I started training for the show when the pandemic first started in March.
Even though I would dread doing it, I’d always get it done and that definitely made me stronger. I also read several mindset books and listened to podcasts.
The only regrets that I have is that I wish I’d undertaken more training in the water and had listened to my coaches when they advised me to intentionally put on body fat rather than stay super lean.
Now that you have this experience, would you like to join the real Special Forces?
For as long as I can remember I’ve wanted to join the military or the Special Forces. It’s always been my dream. My intention is to get a degree and then join military intelligence as an officer.
What was the best part of the series for you?
Meeting the DS. I learned so much from them.
Another “best bit” for me was when we all started chanting Ant’s “exposure, exposure, repetition, repetition” in the freezing cold water during the sickener. It reminded me that we were all in it together, that we were all feeling the same pain and that nobody was going to give in that easily.
What was the hardest part of the series for you?
A couple of the tasks, including the gas-hostage situation.
What did you learn?
The course taught me how resilient human beings can actually be, how far one can actually push themselves – which is far more than we think we are capable of.
Now I use this course as a reminder, or as Ant would say, as “fuel” and any time I feel like giving up or like I can’t do something I remind myself of what I’ve been through. I think “do you have a roof over your head? People that care about you? Are you living and breathing in this very moment?...yes? Then you have no excuse not to get through this.” Not just on the course but also how I overcame other difficult experiences in my life and use it to give me more power.
What is your biggest fear and has this experience helped you get over that fear?
I have always had a fear of deep water, particularly the sea, which I think is more to do with the unknown rather than the actual water itself.
There were a couple of tasks which did involve deep water. I completed both but I can’t say that after completing them deep water no longer scares me.
Mentally, my biggest fear would have to be pressure. I absolutely hate disappointing other people or letting a team down and being selected as team captain on the course on several occasions helped me overcome this to a certain extent but that is something I need to work on more, personally. Not letting people down is always at the back of my mind.
Do you think you found it harder than the male recruits?
I think everyone found it difficult. Everyone had different areas they excelled at, whether it was specific physical tasks or mentally. I was completely inspired by all the other women on the course. They are so fearless, never doubted themselves and are such strong and inspiring women. They definitely motivated me. So much so that I never really questioned whether I was going to be able to do something the guys could do.
But everyone struggles at some point. Males and females. We all gave it 100%.
You had to share all your space with men for the whole time you were there, including sleeping and toilets. How did you find that?
I didn’t really care to be honest. We’re all human and I knew what I’d signed up for. I knew there was going to be no privacy so it didn’t come as a surprise; in fact I think that sharing everything made us all become a close-knit group very quickly!
Would you ever do it again?
As hard as it was, I always felt like “I had more in the tank”. I learned to embrace every challenge and absolutely loved the other recruits. So my answer is yes, in a heartbeat. I’d do it again tomorrow if I could.
What do you think you’ve learnt about yourself?
This question is easiest answered in a list form because I learned a lot!
You ALWAYS have more left in the tank.
It’s 90% mental, 10% physical.
Never get complacent in life, or too comfortable. Push your boundaries constantly and get uncomfortable. That is the only way you will grow as a person.
Surround yourself with like-minded, positive people. That is the most powerful thing you can do.
Don’t keep feelings bottled up inside or try avoiding events from the past. We’re all human.
Has being on the series changed your life in anyway?
It definitely confirmed that I want to pursue a military career and now I don’t particularly care about what people think about me. I know what I am capable of!
The new series of SAS: Who Dares Wins starts on Channel 4 on Sunday 9th May at 9pm.