ADDICTED TO DANGER

This powerful and deeply personal keynote presentation offers a raw and insightful perspective on mental health. Designed to inspire and engage, it takes a story-driven tactical approach to healing and personal growth. Topics include attachment, trauma, addiction, identity, and fundamentalism, as well as healing relationships, breaking generational trauma, and transforming unhealthy cycles. Through deep inner work, this presentation provides valuable insights for lasting change and personal transformation.

I share my journey as a trauma survivor and adventurer, exploring the mindset of those drawn to dangerous pursuits and the immense mental fortitude required to overcome adversity. Through my own experiences—and the stories of others who have faced extreme environments with me—I shine a light on the serious toll high-risk endeavors can take on mental health, including anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

From a troubled youth to a world record in powerlifting, my path has been anything but linear. Working in the entertainment industry as a male model and actor, I silently battled a severe eating disorder—one of many coping mechanisms developed in response to feeling abandoned and written off by others. These same survival strategies became both a superpower in the high mountains and the root of an incredibly addictive personality.

Surviving two avalanches on Mt. Everest, breaking my back in a paragliding accident, investigating deaths on the world’s tallest peaks, recovering bodies from above 8,000m, and rescuing friends on K2—all while leading and filming in some of the world’s most hostile environments—taught me that these extreme adventures serve as mirrors, reflecting the true mountains we are climbing inside ourselves.

But high performance on the battlefield above the clouds came at an extreme cost. Just weeks before an expedition to Mt. Everest, I suffered an overdose and a near-death experience. My world was on fire after summiting K2 and leading the most significant expedition of my career.

In this deeply personal presentation, I interweave stories of reconciling childhood wounds, healing relationships with my father and life partners, and ultimately repairing the fractured relationship with myself. My self-led healing journey took me deep into nature, where plant medicines facilitated openings that helped me see the core of my pain. Through this process, I recognized that I was wounded in relationship and had to heal in relationship. I help audiences understand the transformative power of nature and the importance of building secure attachments—teaching our bodies that the world can once again be a safe space.

By sharing this message of strength, healing, and hope, I aim to help audiences recognize their own blocks and trauma while revealing the incredible resilience that emerges when we confront unimaginable hardship. I emphasize the significance of healing, self-care, and self-love, underscoring that Addicted to Danger is more than an extreme tale of adventure—it is a story of hope, redemption, and post-traumatic growth.

I’ve since become a certified Mind-Body Practitioner and a Conscious Connected Breathwork facilitator. I’ve studied with the Flow Research Collective, deepening my understanding of neuroscience and peak performance, and trained with Duey Freeman, one of North America’s top therapists, learning about character structures, polyvagal theory, attachment, and Gestalt therapy. In this presentation, I introduce the audience to self-regulation techniques and help them understand their innate power to heal, fostering lasting physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

Join me on this journey, and together, let’s explore the depths of human resilience and the path to healing.