Ryan Campbell

Overview:

Ryan Campbell is a firm believer in resilience – our ability to endure, bounce back, and be better because of it. Ryan’s greatest lesson in resilience did not come from a Guinness World Record breaking solo flight around the world or after learning to walk again following a plane crash and paraplegic diagnosis. It was, unexpectedly, an unnecessary purchase of an Elvis inspired Pink Cadillac through which Ryan discovered a truth that changed his life. What’s Your Pink Cadillac? is a joy-fueled journey of resilience and the transformational power of our hobbies, interests, and simple pleasures – the things we do that make us smile like a kid.

BIO:

Ryan Campbell
Youngest Solo Pilot to Circumnavigate the Globe, One of Australia’s 50 Great Explorers, Plane Crash Survivor, Incomplete Paraplegic, and Best-Selling Author
Born and raised in an Australian coastal town, Ryan discovered his passionat a very young age — flight. Aviation would be the dominant fixture in the young Australian’s life, providing some amazing but also traumatic, life-altering experiences.

As a 14-year-old fixated on becoming a pilot, Ryan took on a number of after school jobs to finance his flying lessons. Shortly thereafter, he went on to achieve his first prominent goal in life as he flew an airplane solo for the first time on his 15th birthday. The passionately determined young man soon found himself researching a goal so lofty it had never been accomplished before—to fly a single-engine airplane solo around the world as a teenager. The next two years of Ryan’s life would prove to be transformative. He was forced to grow up at a young age as he personally fundraised $250,000, trained, and planned for a world circumnavigation. Ryan made international headlines as he flew his way around the globe in a rented airplane, including a feature story on 60 Minutes, countless television appearances, radio, and print interviews. The world watched this young man chase his dreams. It was an expedition for the history books.

Ryan’s life blossomed as he was named one of Australia’s 50 Great Explorers, the 2013 Australian Geographic Young Adventurer of the Year, and finalist for Young Australian of the Year. Life after the world flight was all about awards, sharing his story through speaking engagements, and writing a book to be imminently published titled, ‘Born to Fly.’ The young kid from a normal, Aussie family even met The Royals. Life was quite good. In an instant, Ryan’s life changed following a very seriously light plane crash in 2015. He survived against all odds and was admitted to a spinal rehabilitation ward as a complete paraplegic with no movement from his waist down. With a further five breaks in his back and broken bones ranging from his face to his feet, Ryan needed to tap into everything he learned during his global expedition and more. The biggest undertaking of his young life was just beginning.

Ryan is a master of adversity and an ardent believer that life is won and lost above the shoulders—your mind can be either your most powerful asset or the determinant of your failure. He proved his mental fortitude by making history as a record-breaking pilot but demonstrated his mastery by learning to walk again and fighting his way back into the sky. Now based in Nashville, Tennessee, Ryan uses his TurbulenceTough mindset to help leaders create Resilient, Unstoppable Teams.