Tough Girl Podcast Katy Parrott - Finalist in the BBC Special Forces: #UltimateHellWeek. Adventure Seeker, Wildlife & Expedition Filmmaker. Army Reservist.
Katy 'KP' Parrott has been described as "Tinkerbell crossed with the Terminator". Katy found her passion for adventure at a young age and when she was 17 went on an expedition to Nepal. Her love of nature and the outdoors led her to gain a First in Biology from the University of Bath and a Masters in wildlife film making for which she had to make a video out in the wilds of Bulgaria.
She was a 'recruit' in the BBC programme Special Forces: Ultimate Hell Week, which she was selected for out of thousands of applicants, and made it to the final six in the show. It was an experience she found 'life-changing' and one that has inspired her to train to become an Army medic.
Most recently she has done her first 100K and half ironman. Katy also shares more about her future challenges and she wants to undertake!
** Please note during this episode we do talk briefly about her friend who lost of her life to suicide**
Show notes
- Living in Bristol
- How Katy would describe herself - "tinker bell crossed with the terminator"
- Growing up in Bristol, spending a lot of time outside playing sports
- Heading to Nepal at 17
- Not knowing how much adventure was going to play a part of her life
- Doing sport, theatre, and paining, but also having a passion for wildlife
- Having a passion for adventure and why it snowballed
- What the BBC TV show #UltimateHellWeek was all about
- Having 5 weeks to prepare…
- 15 men and 7 women
- Why she wanted to apply and the shock of finding out she had made it!
- Mentally not knowing how she was going to cope
- Preparing her body and training at various times to get herself use to different situations
- Coping with the unknown and getting anxious about what was going to happen next
- Going in with an open mind - "why there was nothing that would make her quit during the process"
- Getting respect
- The task that almost pushed her over the edge, being locked in a coffin for most of the night
- Being made Team Leader!
- 4 women making it to the final 6
- What she learned from going through this experience
- Planning a 400K hike through the Bulgarian Mountains!
- Mental tips and tricks - why it is always going to finish at some point
- Heading out to Bulgaria to hike
- Crashing after 4 days into the hike
- Finding old Russian military maps from the 1980s
- Having feet issues
- How she recovered once she got home
- Wanting to take on another challenge & signing up for the Army Reserves as a Combat Medic
- Deciding going full time in the Army isn't the right decision for her
- Doing the Cotswold Way Ultra - 100K (62 miles) from Bath to Cheltenham
- Managing her feet before and during challenges & why she swears by talc
- Diet, food and drinking
- Future challenges and goals including wanting to walk the full length of Sir Lanka, an Ironman and maybe rowing an ocean
- Not letting her height stop her
- Advice for other women who want to take on new challenges
- Why you should say Yes and worry about it afterwards
- The marines letting in women
- Being rubbish with social media!
Social Media
Twitter - @ParrottKaty
Instagram - @katy.parrott