When did your passion for adventure begin?

I grew up in the rural Highlands, so going off into the wilds to climb trees, build shelter (or snowholes in winter) and have adventures was just what we all did as kids. But although we were in the mountains rather than by the sea, I always wanted to go underwater, growing up with David Attenborough, Jacques Cousteau and Patrick Duffy in Man from Atlantis.

Can you give us a brief overview of your work?

It’s a very eclectic mix but it’s all based around my skills as a skydiver, climber, caver, outdoorsman and diver. The latter is what I do best, as a freediver and more so as a deep and cave diver. This translates to work presenting on TV documentaries, writing, speaking and then also my work as a stuntman.

What has been your most challenging adventure to date?

A hard question as some were difficult because they were physically arduous, some mentally taxing and some required a high degree of skill. We shot a short film called Dive Odyssey over winter in an abandoned and flooded mine system in Finland. We were kilometres into a complex tunnel network at depths of up to 100 metres using mixed breathing gases and a rebreather (which recycles one breath – it’s what they use for space walks). But the hardest part was the temperature. The water inside the mine was two degrees Celsius and in the shallows, where we floated for hours doing decompression, it was zero. We had to break the surface ice to get in and four or five hours later when we returned, we had to break the ice from underwater to get out.

As a new friend of the brand to Panerai, what was it about the watchmaker that led you to this partnership?

Panerai has a long history spearheading the design and creation of truly robust, precision instruments for use underwater, especially in those zones beyond the light. It understands once one submerges and leaves the normal world behind time is precious and control critical. My work may appear dangerous, but all risks are calculated and controlled and I am often wholly reliant on the technology I carry with me, whether operating in the sea, air or on land, to stay alive and explore beyond the darkness.

Panerai watches are renowned for being incredibly robust. How important is the right equipment when heading out on a mission?

In many, if not all, the activities I undertake you find yourself in a position where you are wholly reliant on your equipment. In an underwater cave, many hours’ swim from the nearest exit, if your equipment fails you then the outcome is dire. All these risks are manageable, and the project can be undertaken safely but these are not forgiving environments for mistakes, failures or breakdowns.

Sustainability is at the heart of Panerai’s operations. Can you tell us how conservation and the natural environment feeds into your work?

I grew up surrounded by wildlife and even today live in a forest. People need to understand that if they’re not trying to help the environment for the sake of the planet then do it for themselves. Many people are so disconnected from the natural environment that the idea that their actions impact the environment, and without a healthy environment their existence is at an end, is a very abstract concept. I have children now too and one day they, I hope, will expect me to account for myself.

What is your Panerai watch of choice and why?

I think it would have to be the Submersible Marina Militare Carbotech. It’s tough as hell, and I love the matte black. I do like the new eSteel models it has launched too, which look great when on dry land!

Where will your next adventure take you?

I have some build up dives in some flooded caves in France before exploring new systems in Spain. We also have some projects combining mountaineering and freediving and I am competing for the British Skydiving team in the World Championships in the USA later in 2022.

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