Considering all of the magical ways he utilized urine as a life force on his show Man vs. Wild, you won’t be surprised to learn that Bear Grylls is a big fan of the young adult series, The Hunger Games. "I’m not a great one for fiction books normally, but I read it on holiday and loved it," he recently told GQ. After his publicist recommended the book, Bear was drawn in by heroine Katniss Everdeen’s killing tactic. "Archery. Hunting. One girl against the world," he said. "I love that sort of style."

This earnest conversation about the Hunger Games took place at an odd time for Grylls—a week ago, the Discovery Channel canceled his show due to a contract dispute. The possibility of a new program is unclear. "Yeah, potentially, you know, we’re doing these [live UK shows]," he said. "And then we’re going to reconvene and plan the next steps." We were, however, able to settle a question that had been keeping us up at night: How would Bear Grylls survive the Hunger Game’s post-apocalyptic battle to the death? Gearing up for the U.S. release of his new book, Mud, Sweat, and Tears, Bear told us precisely what techniques he’d use to tackle the bloodthirsty teenagers, survive the brutal arena, and dodge those feral mutant wolves.

**GQ: In the "Survival in the Modern Era" series you did for Dos Equis, you say that rule number one is to "stay alive." Coincidentally, that’s the motto of Haymitch, the mentor to the lead characters in the Hunger Games. **

Bear Grylls: Well that’s the ultimate rule of survival, isn’t it? [laughs] That’s got to be the top goal. Sometimes it requires you to dig deep to go where most people wouldn’t go. The rewards of the wild and the rewards of the survivor go to those who can dig deep, and, ultimately, to the guy who can stay alive.

**GQ: At the beginning of the book, the competitors have the option to be trained in survival, fighting, weapons, combat, archery, weightlifting, knot tying, or camouflage. Which skill would you have chosen? **

Bear Grylls: Well, I liked that [the protagonist] Katniss didn’t use the training sessions as a chance to show off. She knew her skills; she knew she was good at archery. It was interesting that she went for knot tying, the least glamorous one. But if you know how to tie a knot, you can do everything, from making shelters to fire to weapons. It’s like eating the meat of the cake, and not just its cream; she didn’t just go for the fluffy stuff. Camouflage is also important—the simple rules of shape, shine, and silhouette. Shape is looking out for human shapes, the ones you don’t see in nature; shine—watches or jewelry of sweat on the skin; silhouette—not silhouetting yourself against skylines as you walk across hills. It’s simple principles, but knowing them can help you so, so much.