"No matter how hard it gets, never quit": Mykel Hawke talks all things survival and his mentorship on India's Ultimate Warrior

Mykel Hawke's story is one of strength and perseverance. The former U.S. Army Special Forces officer, author and television presenter is among the four mentors on Discovery Network's one-of-a-kind reality show, India's Ultimate Warrior.

The reality television series is all about finding the ultimate yoddha (warrior). Hosted by Indian actor Vidyut Jamwal, the six-part series follows the journey of 16 contestants across diverse backgrounds and professional capabilities, and one of them will emerge as India's Ultimate Warrior.

Mentors such as Mykel, who guide the contestants on the show, belong to various combat disciplines. He was awarded black belts in Aikido and Judo and was on active duty in the U.S. Army Special Forces for over 30 years. He is also a combat veteran who has fought rebels, trained UN peacekeepers in war-torn Africa and conducted search-and-rescue missions during the drug war in Columbia.

A perfect fit as the mentor of the show, Mykel Hawke has dedicated his life towards survival. From surviving as a soldier to surviving life in general, he has also been part of many reality TV shows, including Lost Survivors, Man, Woman, Wild, and One Man Army, to name a few.

In conversation with Sportskeeda, Mykel Hawke talks about his survival life as well as his experience on the show. He revealed his "life mantra" as:

"No matter how bad it looks, no matter how hard it gets, whatever you do, don't quit."

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Mykel Hawke talks about life lessons he learnt the hard way

For Mykel Hawke, the survival journey began ever since he was a young boy. Reflecting on his struggles, he revealed that all of the situations that felt difficult back then have shaped him to be the person that he is today. He said:

"You know... We were discriminated against, and of course people would pick on us, and beat us up, me and my little brother. I am the oldest; I have a brother and two younger sisters. So, it was a bit rough."

Once he joined the military, he also started studying martial arts to learn the different ways in which he could defend himself. It took him a while to study various aspects and fields of the art and find the right instructor - a trait he feels people who begin to study any form of martial arts or combat training should inculcate.

He met his wife, Ruth England, while they were working together on a show after he came back from serving in the war in Afghanistan. Since then, they have accompanied each other on several survivor shows.

Mykel Hawke talked fondly about his son, who is now 16 and taller than his father. Upon asking if he'd imparted any of his learnings and experiences to his son, he said:

"From those life lessons, I've imparted to my son both skills on how to survive and and how to fight, but most importantly, how to be loving and how to be kind and understanding, because if you have that, you can almost always avoid the other two situations."

Mykel Hawke also shared valuable insights from being in the special forces, with one of them being how to face death. He said:

"The big lessons I learnt from that was that - those hard moments will come... Those moments you don't think you can handle or survive... And you have to ask youself, 'If I'm gonna die, am I gonna face my death and be brave or am I gonna be afraid and run?' and I made a decision a long time ago, 'I'm gonna face what I fear.'"

Mykel Hawke's intensive research and training in combat disciplines as well as his time training UN peacekeepers has played out quite well in the show. Reflecting on his experience with his mentees, the four contestants assigned to him on India's Ultimate Warrior, he said:

"We just go to the full distance, no matter what. From seeing so much war, so much death, I've learnt that it's life and love that's really why we fight... To protect that... And so I was able to translate that and to teach them that 'being the warrior doesn't make you the toughest... It means you're dedicated to serving other people and becoming your best self.'"

For Mykel Hawke, it was his first visit to India, but he was always fascinated by the language, culture and history of the country, and his experience on India's Ultimate Warrior only added to that. Speaking about his experience on the show, he said:

"I only got a little teeny taste of [India]. But what I did see was across the board, all of the warriors that they sent were amazing... And I think there was a growth of love and mutual respect for all the mentors and all the warriors. Even beyond that, everyone on the set; the camera people, the crew, they were all dedicated and passionate about [the show]."

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Other mentors who accompanied Mykel Hawke on India's Ultimate Warrior to provide their guidance included Bollywood action choreographer Shifu Kanishka, rugby player and combat trainer Shaun Kober and pro MMA fighter Bi "Killer Bee" Nguyen.

India's Ultimate Warrior can be streamed on Discovery+. It can also be viewed across 12 Discovery channels, including Discovery Channel, Discovery HD, Discovery Tamil, Animal Planet, Animal Planet HD, TLC, TLC HD, Discovery ID, Discovery ID HD, Discovery Science, Discovery Turbo, and Eurosport.