Believe in Yourself
This is a copy of the original Superman Movie poster which sits in my office. When Richard Donner set out to make the film his aim was to make the world believe that a man can fly. I love this film and I remember as an 8 year old watching it for the first time and my jaw dropping watching a man fly.
Richard Donner and his team’s persistence is a great example of if you put your mind to it you can achieve anything. These are a few of the speakers we work with who through their own resilience went on the achieve something that many may have seen as impossible.
Martine Wright MBE is a Paralympian and inspirational and motivational speaker, who lost both legs in the Circle line bombing during the 2005 terrorist attacks in London.
The day after London had won the Olympic Games Bid, Martine was on the Circle Line Tube train that was targeted by a suicide bomber. Sat three feet away from the bomber, Martine was trapped for over an hour, losing 80% of her blood supply as well as both legs above the knees.
Remarkably she survived and after a year of rehab and learning to walk on prosthetics, she slowly rebuilt her life.
Living life to the full, Martine not only got married but learned to skydive, got her pilots license and
became captain of the British Paralympic Sitting volleyball team, and competing for Great Britain at the London 2012 Paralympics
Few people can captivate audiences with charm alone. Fewer still can inspire them to great heights by telling powerful stories about their own choices, obstacles, failures and triumphs, and point to ways their efforts have led to the tangible enrichment of hundreds of lives. Maria Conceição is one of those people.
She is more than her description: innovator, humanitarian, the first Portuguese woman to summit Everest or trek to the North and South Pole. She’s a philanthropist, a teacher, a mother figure to dozens of successful young people – and a compelling public speaker who elevates her audience as she relates her own incredible journey. In July 2024 Maria became the first Portuguese Women to Summit K2.
Born into poverty, Maria began cleaning toilets. No one would have expected that she would ever rise beyond an early marriage and a life of grueling manual labor. Through sheer force of character, however, she became an elite flight attendant who traveled the world in luxury. Most would have accepted this as a satisfying definition of success, but Maria hadn’t even begun. Her purpose became clear the day she witnessed unspeakable poverty in the slums of Bangladesh, and she vowed to do something, anything, to lift the children she saw living there out of crushing, hopeless circumstances.
Through a series of challenges designed to raise money for these children’s educations, she overcame staggering odds. Never an athlete, she trekked to the North Pole and the South Pole. With no background in mountaineering, she trained for the arduous physical task of climbing Mt. Everest. With incredible endurance and sense of purpose, she learned to swim so she could cross the English Channel, raise money, continue her philanthropic work and work toward her goal: to help transform the lives of others less fortunate.
Jon White is a former Royal Marine, who while on his final military command was on patrol in Afghanistan with his Troop, stepped on a Pressure Plate Improvised Explosive Device and lost three limbs. Since June 2010 he has been on the road to recovery, continually seeking new challenges and proving that a strong will and sharp mind can overcome almost anything.
His completion of the Devizes to Westminster Kayak Race in April 2012 epitomised this. He and his colleague Colour Sergeant Lee Waters Royal Marines completed the race in just over 28Hrs and were awarded the Gluckstein Trophy for their endeavour. Building a family home was a different challenge, testing his ability to lead in a domain where he had no knowledge. Channel 4’s Grand Designs documented this successful project.
Jon specialty is on Leadership and for his book, Who Leaders Lead, Jon interviewed high-level leaders from across the Globe and from different disciplines, including Kofi Annan, Steve Waugh the former Australian cricket captain and General Philip Breedlove USAF.
Benjamin Mee is the renowned author of the international bestseller “We Bought a Zoo,” whose extraordinary story inspired the Hollywood movie starring Matt Damon.
After starting a career as a bricklayer and decorator, Benjamin began to study and write about animal intelligence, studying psychology at UCL and then completing an MSc in Science Journalism at Imperial College. He then became a contributing editor to Men’s Health magazine and a Guardian columnist.
After moving to Southern France he began writing a book on the Evolution of Humour in Man and Animals. Formerly a journalist and columnist for The Guardian and Men’s Health, Benjamin’s journey took a dramatic turn when he and his family purchased the struggling Dartmoor Zoo in Devon. With no experience in zookeeping and facing immense personal hardship, including the loss of his wife Katherine to a brain tumour, Benjamin reopened the zoo against all odds, a feat captured in both his writing and the acclaimed film adaptation.
Shot 14 times. Multiple massive injuries. Bleeding on the ground for 3 hours. 30 seconds from death. 2 years later, against all odds, returned to full duties. Post Traumatic Growth not PTSD.
Most people break. Some bounce back. The truly exceptional go beyond Resilience to Human Durability. Derrick McManus doesn’t just epitomise resilience – he embodies Human Durability. Where resilience gets you back to where you were, Human Durability makes you unbreakable. Human Durability is your capacity to ‘Sustain Optimal Performance’ while everything around you is falling apart, to grow stronger through what should destroy you, and to thrive when others fall apart or merely survive.
Doctors and professionals predicted he’d never walk properly. Never work again. Never return to work, let alone to an elite level. When Derrick said he wanted back in the STAR Group, they laughed in his face.
They stopped laughing when he proved them wrong. Every. Single. Time. Two-and-a-half years later, he returned to full duties as a Police STAR Group sniper, tactical diver and counter-terrorist operative – an elite unit trained by the military elite SAS. His journey is more than a story of resilience; it’s about achieving and sustaining optimal performance under extreme pressure.
Darren Edwards has faced life’s greatest uncertainties head-on, drawing from his experience leading record-breaking expeditions and overcoming a life-changing injury. Speaking with unmatched authority and authenticity, he shares how to conquer fear and thrive in the face of challenges. With a natural gift for storytelling, Darren captivates audiences by blending inspiration with practical insights, offering real-world solutions to even the most daunting obstacles – all grounded in his extraordinary personal journey.
After a time in the armed forces, and pursuing his mountaineering passion, Darren trained as a teacher. Shortly after qualifying, he was climbing in North Wales when the ledge he stood on fell away, and he plunged over 100 feet. Lucky to survive, he broke his back in two places, severing his spinal cord. Darren was paralysed from the chest down. As well as dealing with the trauma of his new circumstances, he faced a gruelling rehabilitation regime and an uncertain future.
Within days of leaving hospital, Darren found purpose. Determined to return to his outdoor adventures, he bought a kayak and took to the water for the first time. It was the start of a series of adventures that saw him kayak the length of Britain with fellow ex-servicemen and become the first wheelchair user to complete the 777 challenge – seven marathons on seven continents over seven days. Later this year, he will sit-ski across Antarctica to the South Pole.
As always if we can help with any enquiries please contact us on enquiries@scampspeakers.co.uk