2023 Camping Hero Of The Year

I'm just a boy who lives in a tent, after all – even though it has been for three years!

(Max Woosey talking to Liz Morrell)

Alongside rugby legend, Jonny Wilkinson, Bear is one of my all-time heroes and most admired role models. He's one of the biggest outdoor names in the world and the commitment and determination he's shown and all the adventures he's had are just incredible. Bear and Jonny know what it's like to go through a challenge physically and mentally and the commitment needed to a cause that you are passionate about. Apparently the same can be said of me, although I don't see it myself.

I've actually been lucky enough to meet Bear a few times. He presented me with my Pride of Britain and Scouting awards and has supported me through this whole journey. I love him to bits, but I have to admit I haven't told him I beat him yet!

In March it will be three years since I began my sleepout on 29 March, 2020. Our friend and neighbour, Rick Abbott, who was terminally ill with cancer, had given me his tent and told me to go and have an adventure. This was in October 2019.

He got to hear about my camping trips with my dad on Exmoor using his tent, but he died in February 2020 before my biggest adventure began. I don't think in his wildest dreams he'd have ever imagined anything this big or this successful. I certainly didn't. But I know he would have loved it and if he was still alive then I can imagine he would be outside and sharing this adventure with me.

My dad's a Royal Marine so I've always loved camping and the outdoors. When lockdown hit I had the idea of using the tent to camp outside for a few weeks and raise awareness and perhaps £100 for the North Devon Hospice which had helped care for Rick.

Originally I told Mum it would just be for a night or two, but really I always intended to be out for at least three or four weeks. At ten years old I had a stack of Beanos to read, my teddies to keep me company and I'd also try to sneak in a tube of Pringles when my mum wasn't looking.

The story of what I was up to began to go viral after the hospice asked if they could put together a short video showing what I was doing. Suddenly Sky News got in touch, and then the BBC.

The camping out was the easy part but that first interview with Sky News had me terrified. The only thing I'd ever done before was a Christmas play in year six in front of 40 parents. This was a different league altogether.

But I was also excited. I wanted to get the word out and share awareness, and perhaps a little more money. Following that first interview the total hit £5,000.

After those first few weeks I said I'd loved the time I'd spent camping out and wanted to make it my goal to do longer. I've always slept better outside and was loving the adventure. It was a dream come true in fact – I got to sleep outside, read for how long I wanted and I had my secret snack stash.

I'd planned to celebrate my first anniversary with a big campout with friends and family. Only then another lockdown happened. Instead, my parents and I came up with the idea of an international Big Camp Out event, which would allow children across the world to camp out or to make a den and just have fun with their families, choosing a charity to fundraise for if they wanted. My parents spoke to JustGiving and we learnt that there had never been a child-led fundraising platform like this before.

I was surprised and so excited to see how many people joined in, from the UK to Singapore and America. The lockdowns were hard for everyone so having a night where you weren't thinking about home-schooling or work and instead were having fun with your family was really important.

As Mum lay with me that night we watched the fundraising total pass the half-a-million pounds mark. On the second anniversary we organised another Big Camp Out, only this time we were able to have a big celebration with around 150 family and friends involved – it was like a mini-festival in our village.

At this point I said to Mum I would consider going inside, for example if we went on holiday, because I knew she wanted to get away. She booked a holiday to Lanzarote later that night and we went away in the October half-term but I still didn't sleep inside – instead I slept on the balcony.

Three years on I'm still outside and have no intention of coming in. It's a way of life for me now. It's good for my mental health and helps me feel calm and to relax. It's the most peaceful thing to sit and listen to the birds and the wind.

That's not to say there haven't been low points. I've had awful weather and tent failures in the middle of the night which have had me in tears. One time my tent flooded, and all my stuff got soaked, but rather than give up and go in, I dug my heels in and stayed out – meaning that Mum had to put up a new tent at 10 o'clock at night.

I've had a few funny wildlife encounters, too. I've had red ants in the tent and I've stepped on slugs. I've had foxes putting their heads in and the funniest moment has to be pheasants chasing me around the garden. I've even had Covid in the tent in the middle of a 31°C heatwave.

It's the heat that's hardest and, alongside wind, is the biggest destroyer of tents – I've probably got through about 18 already. The cold, however, doesn't bother me too much. I've got used to it. Your body readjusts after a while, and you can always put more layers on if you need to.

But I've had some amazing experiences, too, such as the Pride of Britain Awards where I won the Spirit of Adventure award, as well as getting given the British Empire Medal in 2021. I've also got to camp at some amazing places – including London Zoo, 10 Downing Street and Twickenham rugby stadium.

I never started this for the awards or to be in the spotlight, but instead to raise awareness for the hospice and to show that children can do amazing things if they put their minds to it. I'm so thankful for the experience. I'm much more confident and much more resilient now. I'd encourage everyone to do the same. Life is about having opportunities. My advice is to take your comforts with you – so whatever you feel most comfortable around you. At 13 it's anything to do with rugby. You also need to keep warm so take as many layers as you want. Finally, it's about having fun. That was important in lockdown and still is today.

I'm hoping to stay camping out for a long time, but I am also looking for a new adventure, too, anything that's sports-related or outdoorsy. When I'm older I'd like to be a rugby player at the weekends and an adventurer going through the jungle on weekdays – that would be me living my dream.