Dwayne Fields
Fields in 2023
Born
Jamaica
Alma materUniversity of East London
Occupation(s)Polar explorer, television presenter, and speaker
Websitedwayne-fields.com

Dwayne Fields FRGS is a British polar explorer, television presenter, and speaker. He is the first black Briton to reach the North Pole.[1][2][3]

Early life

Fields was born in Jamaica and grew up in Stoke Newington, London, from the age of six.[4] During his early life, he witnessed violent crime, including one incident where he survived an attempt on his life in a rival London estate because his adversary's gun jammed.[5][6] He holds a degree in Psychology and Business Management from University of East London.[6]

Career

Fields was inspired to visit the North Pole after watching a breakfast television article about Ben Fogle and James Cracknell looking for a third member to assist in their expedition of Antarctica. Though he was too late to apply, his enthusiasm for the project was noted and he was asked to recreate the 1908–1909 expedition by Robert Peary and Matthew Henson, which reached what was believed at the time to be the Geographic North Pole.[6] As well as the first Black British person to reach the North Pole, Fields is the second black person in the world after Henson.[2]

Fields has appeared as a guest on BBC's Countryfile and Springwatch with Chris Packham. On his Countryfile appearance, he said that he believed that some Black British people do not regard the countryside as "somewhere that's for them" and undertook his North Pole expedition to show that things are not necessarily impossible to achieve. He was one of the explorers on the series Welcome to Earth, and is currently presenting his own series, 7 Toughest Days,[7] with National Geographic and Disney+.[6][8]

His work with youth groups has led him to co-found the WeTwo Foundation, which provides adventure opportunities for underprivileged young people, their inaugural trip to Antarctica was in November 2022, and Fields is a named ambassador for The Scout Association.[2]

Awards

Fields was awarded the Freedom of the City of London in 2013.[9]

References

  1. ↑ O'Brien, Verity. "Dwayne Fields". National Outdoor Expo. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "Dwayne Fields". stratfordscouts.org.uk. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  3. ↑ "Dwayne Fields – From Jamaica to the Arctic. An inspiring motivational speaker". www.performingartistes.co.uk. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  4. ↑ Usborne, Simon (3 May 2021). "From gangland London to the wilds of Antarctica". Financial Times. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  5. ↑ Scott, Caroline (13 October 2019). "A Life in the Day interview: the adventurer Dwayne Fields on being stabbed and the great outdoors". The Times. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Mistlin, Sasha (28 October 2021). "Dwayne Fields, the first black Briton to reach the north pole: 'I spotted this polar bear stalking us'". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  7. ↑ Bedirian, Razmig (22 February 2023). "7 Toughest Days: Dwayne Fields's extreme survival stories in 'relentless' environments". The Natiional. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  8. ↑ "Great Lives | Matthew Henson, Arctic explorer and pioneer". BBC Radio 4. April 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  9. ↑ Syma, Mohammed (14 October 2020). "Polar explorer from Hackney awarded freedom of the city of London for voluntary work". Hackney Gazette. Archived from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
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