Leah was born in Canada, conceived in Israel, and raised in Vancouver, B.C. by new immigrant parents.

 

Growing up in Richmond, B.C., daughter of a boxer. Leah became involved in martial arts, Tae Kwon Do and Kickboxing. After being told she should never fight again because she had herniated disks in her back, Leah won the Bantamweight World Kickboxing Championship at age 17, against a 25 year old fighter a foot taller than she was!

 

Leah felt a deep desire to serve her time in the Israeli Army, (a mandatory 2 years for women and 3 years for men). 

 

Leah knew that she wouldn’t be satisfied just being a soldier, she wanted to become the first woman ever to be an Elite Commando. She didn't just become an elite commando, she became a Krav Maga specialist, and became the first female Elite Commando Instructor.

 

After leaving the Army, Leah pursued a career as a professional cyclist in Europe and North America. After a serious accident in 2005, Leah spend 2.5 months in the hospital where she was informed by doctors that she would never race again, let alone walk without a cane. 

 

Leah proved them all wrong, and came back stronger than ever before, she went on to win the Women’s Solo Division of Race Across America (RAAM) - the Ultra Endurance, 3000 Mile, 12 day, single stage race in 2011, and coming in second in the women’s division and fifth overall in 2019. She came back again in 2021 and at 52 years old made history by becoming the 1st female ever to WIN the overall SOLO division of RAAM.

 

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Website: leahgoldstein.com

 

Instagram: @goldstein_leah_ 

 

Facebook: @leahgoldstein1 

 

Twitter: @NoLimitsLeah 

 

Youtube - www.youtube.com/channel/UCJh1irQOXvIYF-tnn370IlQ

 

Book: No Limits: The powerful true story of Leah Goldstein-World Champion Kickboxer, Ultra Endurance Cyclist, Israeli Undercover Police Officer 

Born the youngest of 6 children and raised in small town in Northern B.C. Canada, Julie never expected she would end up in Mongolia, feeding, caring for and educating hundreds of Mongolian children in need at her two Children of the Peak Sanctuary or Narnii Huuhduud charity kindergartens. She and her husband, Chelvan, a Mining Engineer and the President of Veloo Foundation, have lived and worked in Indonesia, Australia and The United States before settling in Mongolia.

 

During her 10 years here, Julie has taken up horse back riding and now, every year, with Saraa and Baagii of Horse Trek Mongolia hosts and rides the longest annual charity ride on the planet – The Gobi Gallop – along with a suite of other charity rides across Mongolia. 

 

In 2022 she will ride the record breaking 3,600 km / 84 day Blue Wolf Totem Expedition to raise funds for her charity project projects. 

 

All of the money the people pay for these rides stays in Mongolia and helps the children, local businesses, artists and artisans and local herders. Julie, herself, works running these rides and the charity projects on a volunteer bases. Since first riding here at the age of 50 Julie has logged in excess of 35,000 km on horseback across the wilds of Mongolia and all of it to help the children.

 

Julie is passionate about Mongolia and all things Mongolian and is committed to sustainable and fiscally transparent philanthropy. She is thrilled to be able to incorporate her love of Mongolian culture and history into Veloo Foundation’s Soaring Crane Summer Camp out in the countryside of Sonjin Boldog. 

 

The camp is a traditional Mongolian themed camp experience in English and Mongolian alike and offers 3 paying camps a year in English to fund the remaining camps for 250 Mongolian children in need. In addition to the two Narnii Huuhduud Kindergartens and the Soaring Crane Summer Camp, Veloo Foundation also operates the Fran London Centre for the Fabric Arts.

 

Now 60, Julie expects to continue her epic long distance riding her in Mongolia and will continue making a difference in the lives of children in need as long as she is able.

 

New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday at 7am UK time - Hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss out. 

 

The Tough Girl Podcast is sponsorship and ad free thanks to the monthly financial support of patrons. 

 

Support the mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media. Visit www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast and subscribe - super quick and easy to do and it makes a massive difference. Thank you.

 

 

 

 

Veloo Foundation - Helping Mongolian children and families in serious need through a series of educational, health and vocational programs.

 

Website: www.veloofoundation.com

 

Instagram: @VelooFoundation 

 

Horse Trek Mongolia - Ride. Explore. Help Children. We connect travellers to authentic Mongolian adventure . Home of the #gobigallop - 700 km / 10 days for charity!

 

www.horsetrekmongolia.com 

 

Instagram: @HorseTrekMongolia 

 

Personal IG: @JulieVeloo 

 

Mongolist, Sharing horseback & other adventures with you all.  LIFE PLAN= DO Good. HELP Children. KEEP going. No plans to stop… #AdventurerForGood

 

Anna is an up and coming British trad climber based in the Lake District. She has multiple climbs in the E6-E8 range on her CV and favours bold and often unprotectable climbs

 

Anna started climbing at age 10. 

 

Competitions didn't really suit her, and she quit the sport in her teens for a while before getting into outdoor bouldering age 17. 

 

At 19, on a family holiday, she discovered she had a taste for hard trad and hasn't looked back.

 

Anna has lived in the Lake District all her life and works as a route-setter at Kendal Wall.  

 

Anna's 2019 climbing spree*

Lake District climbs

 

8 July, Disorderly Conduct E8 6c, lead, Reecastle Crag, Cumbria

26 June, Hare Today, Gone Tomorrow E5 6b, solo onsight, Hare Crags, Cumbria

27 May, Right Hare, Right Now E7 6c, lead, Hare Crags, Cumbria

22 May, Scrogbank Ravers E7 6c, lead, White Mines, Rusty Wall, Cumbria

20 May, No Nuts (Just Balls) E7 6b solo, Harrop Tarn Crag, Cumbria

4 May, Relentless Rage E7 6a, lead, Gouther Crags, Cumbria

29 April, Hang the Gallows High E6 6b, lead, Black Crag (Wrynose), Cumbria

17 April, Fat Guy Goes Nutzoid E6 6b, lead, Tilberthwaite Quarry, Cumbria

21 April, Big Tree Corner, E1 5b, lead, Tilberthwaite Quarry, Cumbria

 

Notable climbs from trips away

 

22 June, Bad Life Choices E7 6b solo, Polldubh Crags, Glen Nevis

17 May, My Halo E7 6b, lead, Serengeti, North Wales slate

13 April, Nosferatu E6 6b, lead, Burbage South, Peak District

 

 

Commenting on Instagram, Anna wrote about her challenge: 

 

'Well that's that. Two months ago I set off from Penzance with the intention of linking all of the Classic Rock routes together by bike. I didn't have a clue how to cycle tour, or how I was going to get all the climbs done if the weather crapped out, but bit by bit I learned, and here we are. So that's just over 1,500 miles on the bike, and 83 out of 83 climbs (68 of which were solos, either free or with rope), in a mostly continuous round (I did have to duck out for a work trip at one point).

 

'Big thanks to @neil.gresham for coming up to do the last few climbs with me in appalling conditions. The weather has often been unkind throughout this trip, and because of this things were difficult and pretty treacherous right up until the very last second. Still, we had a fun, mildly epic adventure sliding around on the Cioch, and the Cuillin Ridge was, to put it frankly, f**king grim. It wasn't quite the scenic finale I had in mind, but was quite a fitting ending in the sense that virtually nothing about this trip has ever gone according to plan.

'There's been some good and very memorable moments though. Climbing The Long Climb on the Ben in a bubble of mist feeling like I was the only person in the world was ace, as was the watery fight to get out of The Chasm (though that was perhaps more of a type 2 fun sort of day). Routes like The Devils Slide on Lundy and The Clean Sweep on Hells Lum were also highlights, and all that definitely made up for the times I was frozen, wet and off-route, or regretting my life choices cycling up endless hills. It's not been a perfect trip by any means, but I've learnt a lot (mostly about soloing), and I'm looking forward to putting some of that knowledge to good use on future projects. For now however, I'm just appreciating being warm and dry, and I'm pretty relived to have got this over with before it starts snowing.'

 

Anna was also part of a large expedition in 2019 to climb the prow of Mount Roraima (a giant Tepui deep in the Amazon rainforest).

 

Take a listen to Anna now!

 

New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday and Thursday at 7am UK time - Hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss out. 

 

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Instagram: @anna_taylor_98 

About Pammy:

 

Born in the 60’s in inner city Coventry to a Sikh immigrant family. At 16, a school trip introduced her to the mountains where she experienced the WOW moment that changed her life. A force much bigger than her took her to explore wild landscapes of the world! Not something her parents or community were keen on. “It’s not what our girls do!.. what will everyone say??!!” Her drive was so strong she did it anyway at the risk of totally losing her world.

 

She encountered many complex and painful challenges with people of all backgrounds including her own family/community. Through these emotional and physical challenges, she discovered her own core values. This was a journey of self-discovery, understanding and respecting differences and a passion for environmental protection.

 

Pammy has been an outdoor/environmental practitioner since 1979 and in 1995 it struck her hard as she noticed the lack of Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic role models in the sector, at every level, from service users to Board level and felt very strongly this had to change.

 

In 1995 she laid the foundation for what is now Backbone..

 

Backbone is a leading Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic outdoor environmental education organisation acknowledged on a national and global platform for successfully addressing diversity and inclusion in the sector. 

 

The key to their success is partnership working based on the values of:

 

They provide a safe and comfortable space for people and organisations to grow in their uniqueness.  

 

Together with their partners they are making a difference in the sector and to the communities they serve.

 

 

Learn more about Pammy and the work that Backbone is doing. Listen now via the Tough Girl Podcast. New episodes go live every Tuesday at 7am UK time - Hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss out. 

 

The Tough Girl Podcast is sponsorship and ad free thanks to the monthly financial support of patrons. 

 

Support the mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media. Visit www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast and subscribe - super quick and easy to do and it makes a massive difference. Thank you.

 

 

 

Website: www.backbone.uk.net 

 

Instagram: @backbonecicdiversity 

 

Facebook: @backbone.cic 

 

Twitter: @BackboneCIC 

Minnesota native. Earned a teaching degree from the University of Oregon and taught a short few years before joining a team to dogsled to the North Pole. 

 

As first known woman to travel across the ice to the top of the world, I made a promise to not only follow my dreams but create something bigger than my own personal ambitions. 

 

All my expeditions since have education with them - thus inspiring millions of kids. One focus always is helping girls and women find their voice and potential in whatever they do. 

 

This theme traveled as I became first women to ski to both poles, lead the first all women's expedition to the South Pole in 1992/93 - Lead a team of all women across Greenland 1992 and later cross Antarctica with Liv Arnesen. 2000/01. Many wonderful trips in between on rock and snow, or on water - frozen and liquid. 

 

I started the Ann Bancroft Foundation in Minnesota that gives small monetary grants to girls to try an experience to find courage to find their way in the world as strong and confident and engaged humans.

 

New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday at 7am UK time - Hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss out. 

 

The Tough Girl Podcast is sponsorship and ad free thanks to the monthly financial support of patrons. 

 

Support the mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media. Visit www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast and subscribe - super quick and easy to do and it makes a massive difference. Thank you.

 

 

 

The Ann Bancroft Foundation empowers girls to imagine something bigger through grants, mentorship, and ongoing development opportunities. The Ann Bancroft Foundation is giving Minnesota girls the strength to achieve their full potential.

 

www.annbancroftfoundation.org 

 

Instagram: @abfdreamers

 

Facebook: @AnnBancroftFoundation 

 

Twitter: @ABFdreamers 

Since becoming a wheelchair user Debbie has campaigned tirelessly to break down barriers in all aspects of promoting accessibility for all.

 

Debbie lives on a sheep farm in Cumbria, on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park.  She is a member of the Local Access Forum for the YDNP and chair of the Access For All group. She is a volunteer for the National Park with the responsibility of auditing the ‘Miles Without Stile’ routes.

 

For the past 6 years Debbie has been the expert in inclusion and diversity for The Outdoor Guide, a free online resource dedicated to enjoying the outdoors. Co-founded and fronted by television personality Julia Bradbury.  

 

Debbie is a Get Outside Champion with Ordnance Survey. In 2020 she was nominated for 'Outdoor Personality of the Year' by TGO magazine readers.

 

Debbie is a presenter, motivational speaker, writer and consultant and is able to deliver tailor made training and presentations. She is a regular contributor for the BBC Countryfile Magazine

 

Although Debbie specialises in walks for wheelchair users, she is able to create multi- sensory walks for people with visual and hearing impairment.

 

Her motto is “Making the inaccessible accessible”

 

New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday at 7am UK time - Hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss out. 

 

The Tough Girl Podcast is sponsorship and ad free thanks to the monthly financial support of patrons. 

 

Support the mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media. Visit www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast and subscribe - super quick and easy to do and it makes a massive difference. Thank you.

 

 

 

Website: www.debbienorth.org 

 

Instagram: @debbienorth29n 

 

Facebook: @debbieNorth 

 

Twitter: @debbienorth29 

“In the blink of an eye, I went from being an active, autonomous athlete to  suffering a traumatic brain injury (TBI) that took 70% of my vision and nearly my life. Now I aim to be mindful in every moment and strive to make every second count while adventuring in mountains around the world.”

 

Jill in her own words:

 

“On a day that began like any other in a high school Physical Education class, September 2014 began an expedition of survival. A line drive, a hardball to the head, began a climb testing personal strength and human potential. A medical team, hundreds of hands from 7 hospitals across 3 countries, guided me towards a peak that felt impossible to climb, traumatic brain injury (TBI). While I craved to climb alone, they got me to the summit but my work was just getting started. Now I am traversing an avalanche triggered by the TBI which left me days from death, with 70% vision loss and a life threatening eating disorder.

 

No mountain can challenge me the way traumatic brain injury has. I chose to adventure in massifs around the world with the intention to adapt to vision loss and acceptance of the trail my life had taken.

 

From surviving to thriving, I have run, climbed, and skied my way around the world embracing the 30% vision I am fortunate to have. My trails have connected with the Andorra Pyrenees, Italian Dolomites, French and Swiss Alps, Slovenia’s Julian Alps, Iceland, India and Nepal Himalaya, New Zealand, Argentina, Peru, and the American Rockies.

 

As a traumatic brain injury survivor and visually impaired athlete adventuring in mountains around the world, I have a complex story of resilience to share. Speaking to resilience, head injuries, eating disorders, visual impairments, trauma, or mental health or simply sharing my story, I can make connections through authentic tales of my trails from depths of darkness to adventuring in the highest of the Himalayas.”

 

CONTENT WARNING - We discuss; Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), eating disorders, anxiety, PTSD and thoughts of suicide.

New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday at 7am UK time - Hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss out. 

 

The Tough Girl Podcast is sponsorship and ad free thanks to the monthly financial support of patrons. 

 

Support the mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media. Visit www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast and subscribe - super quick and easy to do and it makes a massive difference. Thank you.

 

 

 

Website: mountainsofmymind.com 

 

Instagram: @mtnsofmymind 

 

Facebook: @mountainsofmymind 

 

Twitter: @mtnsofmymind 

Having only started cycling in 2018, Biola immersed herself in the community, showing great enthusiasm for her own progression and that of other women too. 

 

She is the chair of Velociposse, a club for women and non-binary people in London. 

 

Biola is relentless in her energy to push the club forward and increase diversity, collaborating with the Women of Colour Cycling Collective.

 

New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday at 7am UK time - Hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss out. 

 

The Tough Girl Podcast is sponsorship and ad free thanks to the monthly financial support of patrons. 

 

Support the mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media. Visit www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast and subscribe - super quick and easy to do and it makes a massive difference. Thank you.

 

 

 

Instagram: @biolasarah 

 

Velociposse - A cycling club for all women, all trans, and all non-binary people in London.  

 

Website - www.velociposse.cc 

 

Instagram: @velociposse 

 

Adelle is a British middle distance track athlete, who has competed for Great Britain over 800m on a number of occasions. Adelle has competed internationally on a European, Commonwealth and World stage for over 10 years.

 

Adelle's international debut was a the European Youth Olympics in 2009, where she won a Silver medal at 16 years old. 

 

Since then, she has gone on to compete for Great Britain at a senior level competing at two European Athletics Championships in Amsterdam 2016 and Berlin 2018, at the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Portland 2016, World Athletics Championships in London 2017, World University Games in Taipei 2017, the Commonwealth Games for team England in Gold Coast 2018 and at the European Indoor Athletics Championships in Glasgow 2019.

 

Throughout competing as a senior athlete on the international stage, Adelle has balanced her life off the track working as a Hair & Makeup artist.

 

Adelle is a Woman's Sport Trust 'UNLOCKED' Alumni and proud ambassador for the British Dyslexia Association & Dementia UK, two causes very close to her heart.

 

"Sport has so much to offer, I’d love all woman to have the opportunity to enhance their life with sport. There is so much power in lifting each other up and continuing to create spaces for woman & girls to flourish.” - Adelle Tracey

 

New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday at 7am UK time - Hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss out. 

 

The Tough Girl Podcast is sponsorship and ad free thanks to the monthly financial support of patrons. 

 

Support the mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media. Visit www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast and subscribe - super quick and easy to do and it makes a massive difference. Thank you.

 

 

 

 

Website: www.adelletracey.com 

 

Instagram: @adelletracey

 

Twitter: @adelle_tracey 

Anisah is the founder of the new blog: Outside Our Way which features interviews from other disabled and chronically ill folks, sharing their stories of their outdoor experiences.

 

Anisah in her own words:

 

My name is Ani. I have multiple chronic illnesses and I am disabled. That probably brings an image to your mind of what it means to be ‘disabled’, But when you look up the definition of ‘disability’ you’ll find various ways you can categorise it - as well as plenty of opinions about what it means to be disabled.

 

The UK Equality Act 2010 classifies disability as: “a physical or mental impairment and the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.” 

 

The truth is there are so many variations and types of impairments that fit this definition. There are visible physical disabilities, there are hidden physical disabilities, there are learning disabilities, and there are mental health disabilities. The variations and combinations are endless and as a result each person’s disability or impairment is unique. How that affects their daily life is completely individual to them.

 

I have what is called hidden disabilities or invisible illnesses. I’m diagnosed with Lupus SLE and Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder (HSD). I have chronic pain, fatigue and memory loss along with other symptoms that affect me daily. 

 

People often think that I’m not disabled or chronically ill.  There’s a common stereotype that comes to a lot of people's minds when the words “sick” or “disabled” is used, and like so many I don’t really fit that image. Most of the time when you look at me I don't look like I’m in pain or fatigued. I walk without aids. I take part in active outdoor activities. 

 

People don’t realise that I don’t look in pain or fatigued because I have a lifetime's worth of experience pretending I’m not. I time my painkillers to kick in before I see someone. I’ll make sure the environment I'm in when I'm with people is one that won’t drain too much energy or add to the pain. I’ll plan my week prior and after to ensure I’m rested enough and won’t crash. 

 

Finally, when I’m too exhausted to handle a simple conversation despite all my planning and methods… I will cancel and you will not see me in that state at all. The same amount of work goes into planning any outdoor activities. I have to use tactics and creative methods just to take part. I need extra preparations and plans to get by in a world that was created with non-disabled people in mind. This is the aspect of disability that people might miss. 

 

Which brings me to the question - how can we help change this?

 

I can only be an expert on my own experience/disability/illness (and even then, that’s iffy!). After brief conversations with others with chronic illnesses or disabilities, I have come across some amazing tips to help manage my own disabilities outdoors. I have found people who can relate to my feelings like no-one else can, and have helped me pass challenges I’d previously faced alone. I've realised that there’s so much that I don’t know about people who are chronically ill/disabled and so much more I should learn. 

 

I want to talk to people with different disabilities and conditions to mine. I want to see what challenges they face when they access the outdoors, what hurdles they have to navigate when going outdoors. I want to ask them what everyone should do to flatten those hurdles as much as we can. 

 

Outside: Our Way is a collection of interviews to show that we as a community are here. These interviews are a chance for disabled people to shape their own narratives and tell us about their way of going outside. It’s aim is to shine a light on what it’s really like to be an outdoor enthusiast and disabled/chronically ill.

 

To those who are disabled or chronically ill - I hope you can find something to relate to. There’s a beautiful community that have shared experiences and can truly understand what you might think or feel. 

 

To those who are non-disabled - I hope to show you what it takes to be disabled/chronically ill in the outdoors. And perhaps prompt you to consider how you can help us access the outdoors our way.

 

Listen to Ani on the tough girl podcast - New episodes go live every Tuesday at 7am UK time - Hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss out. 

 

The Tough Girl Podcast is sponsorship and ad free thanks to the monthly financial support of patrons. 

 

Support the mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media. Visit www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast and subscribe - super quick and easy to do and it makes a massive difference. Thank you.

 

 

 

Instagram: @ani_went_outside 

 

Outside: Our Way - A blog sharing stories from from across the outdoor sector and disability and chronic illness landscape.

 

Hosted by @alltheelements

 

 

Instagram @outside_our_way