Adventurer

Her passion for adventure is evident with two world records under her belt so far, including being the first woman to skydive Everest and race semi-wild horses 1000 kms across Mongolia in just nine days. She has raised over £300k for charities through her adventures so far. 

Conservationist 

Few people know that 96 African elephants are poached each day for their ivory. At this rate they will be extinct in the next decade. Holly has turned this disheartening statistic into a powerful and award-winning campaign, entitled 'How Many Elephants', which presents a physical commentary on the devastating impact of the elephant ivory trade.

2008: WORLD RECORD: FIRST WOMAN TO SKYDIVE MOUNT EVEREST

2009: WORLD RECORD: RACED 1000KMS ACROSS MONGOLIA ON HORSEBACK

2017: SUMMITED MOUNT EVEREST (8848M)

Show notes

• Turing 40
• Combining her passions
• What life was like in her early 20s
• How 60 seconds of pure terror changed the direction of her life
• The boldness of youth
• Working as a sky diving camera women 
• How her dream job changed
• Deciding to go back to university at 24
• Deciding a sky diving computer program and selling the company
• Deciding to get more active in the world of adventure 
• £24,000 needed….in 9 months!
• Falling out of the plane!
• Dealing with the media!
• Getting back to the UK and not having a plan
• Dealing with the adventure blues
• Being invited to take part in another world first expedition
• Having 9 months to train for a 1000km horseback ride across Mongolia
• Why it was more about the experience rather than winning
• Being scared in the mountains
• Putting everything into perspective
• What a typical day was like out in Mongolia
• Picking the craziest horses!
• Galloping with 400 wild horses!
• What she learned from spending time in Mongolia
• Doing a first ascent of a mountain in Western Mongolia
• Accidents in remote places
• Having too much reliance on luck
• Qualifications and experience 
• Setting up the charity - How Many Elephants
• Going back to university to study for a Masters in Sustainable Design 
• 96 elephants poached every single day in Africa
• Being on the front line and working with the Black Mambas
• How she fits it all in 
• Being able to travel with work
• Building up a team of ambassadors
• Plans for 2019
• Moving to New Zealand
• What a typical day is like
• Final words of advice - “Think Big - Dream Bigger"

Social Media

Holly

Website - http://www.hollybudge.com 

Instagram @hollybudge 

Facebook @hollybudgeadventure  

How Many Elephants Campaign

Website - https://www.howmanyelephants.co 

Instagram - @howmanyelephants 

Kate grew up largely in Scotland, bar a few years in Penzance, and now lives in Cumbria with her partner, Chris. She is a keen sea kayaker – preferably around remote, wildlife-rich islands – hill walker and bookworm, as well as a cyclist. 

A former university lecturer, first in environmental philosophy and then outdoor education, Kate now works freelance. Her overall aim is to help deliver a massive wake up call: raising awareness and inspiring effective, intelligent action on some of our most urgent environmental challenges. 

Kate has written widely on environmental issues. Her book, The Carbon Cycle, Crossing the Great Divide s based on a bike ride from Texas to Alaska exploring climate change. She is currently writing her next book on her last adventure, cycling South America on a bamboo bike!

Show notes

• Who is Kate
• Growing up being outdoorsy but not being sporty
• Taking a gap year after school and falling in love with bikes
• Her first big cycle challenge (1986)
• Being inspired by - The Crane Cousins - Bicycling up Kilimanjaro 
• Quitting smoking 
• Being a post grad at Glasgow University in Environmental Ethics 
• The Bamboo bike - “Woody” - how it came about & building the bike!
• Getting passionate about climate change 
• 2006 - Cycling from Texas to Alaska - to raise awareness for Climate Change - 
• Writing the Carbon Cycle Book (2006)
• What Adventure Plus is  
• Highlights from the trip & the challenges faced while being on her own in Alaska
• What’s changed in relation to climate change 
• The Andes Cycle Ride in relation to bio-diversity 
• Doing challenges solo
• Doing research, blog, social media, arrange visits 
• Deciding to cycle South America - how it came about 
• Having to quit her job to go on the adventure
• The money - how much does it cost to do adventures
• No children and having a very supportive partner 
• Spending approx. - £10,000 over the year 
• Travelling on a cargo ship  - (The Cruise People)  
• Wanting to take unpaid leave (and expecting to get it)
• Not feeling prepared for the ride
• Trying to learn Spanish.. 
• Ageing and the judgement of others
• Taking us back to the start… Columbia
• Having a challenging beginning and why it was so chaotic at the start!
• Accommodation and camping…
• The biggest challenge while on the bike
• The beauty of the landscapes
• Safety while in South America
• Reaching the end of the trip and running out of time!
• Being even more passionate about the environment
• Writing her next book - The Life Cycle 
• Life of a freelancer
• Future cycle plans and why she’s loving the UK
• Final advice and top tips for you and why you don’t have to be an expert
• Find out more about Kate

Social Media

Website  - http://www.outdoorphilosophy.co.uk 

Twitter - @CarbonCycleKate 

In April 2018, Anna Blackwell and Kate Culverwell set out on a world first tandem kayak expedition from England to the Black Sea. This journey saw them paddle over 4000km along canals and rivers through 11 countries, including navigating almost the entire length of the Danube River, Europe’s second longest river.

The expedition was raising money for Pancreatic Cancer Action in memory of Kate's father, David Culverwell. While paddling, Kate and Anna also collected data to contribute to the research of FreshWater Watch, an Earthwatch research project investigating the health of global freshwater ecosystems.

Show notes

• Being a full time adventurer
• Dedicating her life to adventure
• Learning more about Anna
• Deciding on the next challenge
• Explorers Connect - Belinda Kirk
• How she ended up partnering up with Kate Culverwell
• Hitting it off straight away
• Funding the expedition
• 6 months to finish the route, sort out the kit, training and financing the challenge
• Budgeting and costs for the trip
• £15,000 of financial sponsorship
• Focusing on local companies
• How people became personally invested in what they were doing
• Training for the event and getting comfortable paddling for hours
• The relief of getting to the start line
• Starting from Westminster Bridge from London
• Crossing the English Channel
• Wearing adult nappies!
• Getting use to the new reality of life 
• Dealing with over 250 locks…
• Wild camping by the canals
• Having to make drastic changes in order to make it to the finish line
• Reaching Serbia and getting ill
• Being frustrated and demoralised on the water by lack of progress
• Making changes to the plan and having to commit to an end date
• Feeling like failures  
• What Anna learnt from the experience
• Friendship and teamwork
• Post expedition blues
• Raising funds for charity

Social media

Website/Blog - www.kayakingthecontinent.com 

Instagram @kayakingthecontinent  

Kate - @kateculverwell 

Di is a global leader and award-winning woman of influence who has inspired more than 30,000 people off the couch through shared hiking adventures, while raising over $30 million for charity and helping women lead adventurous lives they love. She does work she loves with people she loves the way she loves and she’s keen to help families, friends and workers do the same. She is passionate about motivating women to lead adventurous lives they love, creating pleasure, power and productivity from hiking adventures.

She has climbed many extreme altitude peaks and holds the record for the world’s highest handstand on Mt Ama Dablam, 6,982m, Nepal.

Show notes

• Growing up and having an adventurous spirit
• Having a difficult time as a teenager 
• Looking for alternative places to achieve her dreams
• Being called - bossy when she was younger
• Learning about leadership
• Getting injured after becoming the Australian National Champion in Gymnastics
• Deciding to become a PE teacher
• Discovering adventure in her 40s
• Turning 40 and why it was worse than turning 30!
• Going to climb the highest mountain in the Southern Hemisphere!
• Being told she was a bad mother…
• Not summiting Aconcagua and what she learned from this ‘failure’
• The importance of having a goal booked in the calendar
• How she handled the haters
• Not making decisions based on fear
• Maintaining the motivation over the 6 months before the challenge
• Having a goal buddy
• How she was feeling at the start of the challenge
• Life on the mountain, fearing for her life and learning about herself
• The disappointment of not making the summit
• Deciding to start - Wild Women on Top
• The power of failure and why you learn the most from failure
• Going back 8 years later to summit Aconcagua!
• Having a surprise baby in her 40s
• Being a mum to 3 children and dealing with the end of her marriage
• Coming up with the idea for Coast Trek 
• Inspiring over 30,000 women and raising over AUS $30,000,000 for charity 
• Using adventure to help her over come the challenges in her personal life
• Walking 100K and how it pushes you mentally and physically 
• Building your own inner strength
• Words alone are not enough - you need to take ACTION
• Going to climb Mount Kilimanjaro & Mount Elbrus
• Living and breathing the mountains and trekking
• The fear of going back to Aconcagua and not making it to the summit again
• Working as part of a team
• Turning 60 next year! (60 adventures in one year)
• Turning 50…. and heading to Everest base camp
• Turning a negative into a positive
• Advice for younger women - trying new things and trusting your body
• Coast trek  - Sydney & Melbourne 
• Book - How to prepare for world class treks

Social Media

Twitter - @DiWestaway 

Instagram - @diwestaway

Facebook - @DiWestawayCEO 

Wild Women on Top

Website - https://www.wildwomenontop.com 

Twitter - @wildwomenontop 

Instagram - @wildwomenontop  

Facebook - @wildwomenontop 

Bex started out with her blog, The Ordinary Adventurer, in 2016 and a year later founded Love Her Wild. In just over a year, she grew the community to over 5,000. Her blog now receives over 10,000 visitors a month and she regularly delivers talks and sell-out expeditions. She was shortlisted for TGO personality of the year 2017 and made the 2018 San Miguel Rich List.

Since we last spoke with Bex in 2017, Bex has gone on to do numerous challenges and expeditions, which have included; kick scooting the length of the United States from Vancouver in Canada to Mexico, hikes in Israel, climbing mountains in India and eco trips in Africa.

During this podcast Bex shares more about her adventures, the issues of fundraising, getting sponsorship, how she handles the stress of being on the road and making decisions, and why after 3 years she has decided to have a permanent base for a while.  

Show notes

• Where is Bex currently?
• Kicking the States!
• 1750 miles from Canada to Mexico on a scooter!
• Putting personal adventures on hold
• Doing a big challenge which hadn’t been done before
• Deciding to fundraise for charity
• Heading off in May and not having much time to prepare
• Having to share your trip on social media
• Feeling under pressure
• Getting the trip sponsored by Vivo Life
• The pressure and challenges of fundraising 
• Why raising $10,000 is one of the proudest moment of her life
• The challenges she faced on the road
• Legs & scooting!!
• The John Wayne Joke!
• Her scooter muscle!!
• Having a 3 month visa
• The unknown factors and trying not to stress about it
• Going back to the start of the trip in Vancouver
• Handling the uncertainty and getting use to it 
• Doing an expedition with her husband - Gil
• Finishing the challenge and the relief she felt and being ready for it to be over
• What happened after the end of the challenge
• Heading off to India and leading a hike in Israel
• What Love her Wild is and how it came about
• “The Everest Adventure”
• The gap for all female expeditions
• So many different expeditions to choose from!
• Focusing on conservation and being environmentally friendly as possible
• Working with whale sharks in Tanzania!
• Going on an adventure with Cal Major and Holly Hughes (who have both been on the Tough Girl Podcast!)
• The problems she faced on the hike
• Handling the issues and problems and how she handled them
• Doing what she needs to do 
• Deciding to change from being nomadic
• Going to move to Bristol
• Why travelling stopped being fun
• Why normal living is not a negative thing
• Deciding on Bristol and why it was a quick decision
• Plans for 2019!
• Where to connect with Love Her Wild
• Advice and tips for other women to find their wild

Build Your Brand Workshop

6th & 7th April  —>> LONDON

More info can be found HERE —>>  https://www.loveherwild.com/build-your-brand-workshop/

Georgina credits the mountains and a life of adventure to shaping who she is today. She is passionate about sharing the gift of adventure and wellness with others to unleash the power within and enjoy life a bit better.

Georgina is a social entrepreneur, adventurer, public speaker, consultant, and coach combining over a decade of Corporate, Start-up, and Adventure experience. She is a social innovator working to accelerate gender equality globally and exploring new ways to unleash full human potential in life and business from a holistic mind, body, spirit approach. She's passionate about building healthier and more socially conscious entrepreneurial ecosystems that combine business and spirituality.

She firmly believes that women are the world's largest untapped resource and that given the proper resources and equal opportunities they can change the world. She’s on a mission to do her part to change this statistic. 

As an accomplished mountaineer, climbing 6 of the 7 highest peaks on each continent, including Mt. Everest twice, she is fascinated by the power of human potential. She loves working with people to help them unleash their full potential and bring to surface conscious and subconscious roadblocks in order to help them reach their dreams, goals, and objectives in business and life. She is currently in the process of completing the Explorer Grand Slam, a feat that less than 15 women globally have completed. 

Georgina credits the mountains and a life of adventure to shaping who she is today. She is passionate about sharing the gift of adventure and wellness with others to unleash the power within and enjoy life a bit better. 

Show notes

• Who is Georgina
• Coming from a small family
• Growing up in LA and San Diego
• Now living between the West Coast and Amsterdam 
• Getting into the adventuring world and being an unlikely adventurer
• Discovering rock climbing
• How being playful could benefit your life
• Going above 10,000ft
• Not being able to run a mile
• Figuring out what your body can do 
• Deciding to go public with her goal of the 7 summits - 2007
• The article that changed her life
• Being 10 years into her challenge
• Why the result don’t always come over night
• Climbing Mount Elbrus 
• Saying her goals outloud for the first time
• Being brought up in a traditional Latino household
• A message from ‘a real climber’
• How she keeps going after her goals even without family support
• How she decided when to summit Mount Everest
• Deciding to climb Mount Denali first (May 2010)
• Not making it up Everest on her first attempt (2011)
• Learning from failure and why her approach in 2013 was different
• Spending 30 hours in the Death Zone
• Making the decision to turn around
• Getting over the “failure”
• Why you need to train your mind
• How Georgina pays for her adventures
• The misconception about sponsorship and money
• The remaining challenges
• Saving Antarctica until last
• She Ventures
• Life is trail and error
• Top tips for you to step outside your own comfort zone

She Ventures 

Website -  www.sheventures.co 

Facebook -  @SheVenturesCo  

Personal

Website - www.georginamiranda.com 

Instagram - @gg_miranda  

Twitter - @georgina_here 

Facebook -@georginamiranda0