The gay star of ‘SAS: Who Dares Wins’ is sticking two fingers up to his childhood bullies
Glenn Mainwaring opens up about his gruelling ordeal in Attitude's Body Issue.
By Will Stroude
As part of Channel 4’s SAS: Who Dares Wins, Glenn Mainwaring pushed his body and mind to the limits as part of the ultimate endurance test.
What kept the 30-year-old Welshman going during his gruelling ordeal, however, was knowing that for every formidable task he completed he was sending a clear message to the childhood bullies who picked on him because of his perceived sexuality.
A week on from his exit from the series, which sees ex-Special Forces soldiers put 30 guys through a recreation of their secret selection process, Glenn says that he had a point to prove when he decided to undergo the arduous process.
“Growing up, there were people who doubted me or who told me I couldn’t do things because I am gay,” he explains in Attitude’s Body Issue – available to download and in shops now.
Photography: Markus Bidaux
“Being from a small town in Wales, there were no gay people who I knew of and it definitely wasn’t spoken about. I was targeted quite a lot because I sounded feminine and hung out with girls.
“I am also really short and that has always made me easy prey. I wouldn’t necessarily hang out with the other guys — I didn’t feel comfortable around them.
“When I was going through the beastings [the show’s intense fitness and psychological challenges], I was thinking about those people. ‘How great will it be to come out the other side of this course and be able to stick two fingers up at them’.
“To be able to say, ‘You were so wrong to treat me like that’. That gave me huge motivation.”
See Glenn’s full shoot in Attitude’s Body Issue – out now. Buy in print, subscribe or download.
