Topic: Resilience

Lewis Pugh

The only person to have completed a long-distance swim in every ocean, extreme adventurer and record-breaking swimmer Lewis Pugh talks about pushing yourself beyond 'the possible' into new realms of achievement.

Most recently during 2018's summer, Lewis swam the 530km length of the English Channel in just 49 days, starting at Land's End and finishing in Dover.

In 2016 he helped negotiate the creation of the biggest protected area in the world in the Ross Sea off Antarctica. The negotiations required consensus among 25 countries, a number of which had long standing disputes with one another. The media dubbed his efforts as "Speedo diplomacy" after Lewis took on the challenge of swimming 5 swims in freezing Antarctic waters, wearing just speedos and a swim hat.

As a motivational and keynote speaker, he puts businesses at every level worldwide through their paces with vital messages and strategies for surviving and thriving in a fragile economic climate.

To be the first human to  swim  across the Arctic waters (a mean minus 1.7°C!) requires a shift in mind-set when dealing with a dramatic drop in body temperature and the dangers of killer sea-animals: one must conjure up and maintain a constant focus and flexibility—crucial elements of business management.

Lewis has lived through the repercussions of change and their contributing factors and, a passionate voice for conservation, has been busy honing his front crawl technique in vulnerable ecosystems to raise awareness about their plight.

For example, in 2010, he completed a swim across a glacial lake on Mount Everest to draw attention to the melting glaciers in the Himalayas and the impact the reduced water supply will have on peace in the region. He has now pioneered more swims around famous landmarks than any other swimmer in history!

Teamwork is also vital to the success of his exploits. Lauded as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, Lewis’ influence and endurance was enabled by those around him. His crack teams are always made of those completely committed to excellence and leaders in their field.

Through his adventures, he dreams of making a significant difference. In 2015, Lewis undertook five swims in Antarctica to campaign for a large Marine Protected Area in the Ross Sea - one of the most incredible and diverse areas left on earth – which is now threatened by overfishing and climate change. The media have dubbed his efforts as ‘Speedo diplomacy’.

One of Lewis’ keynote speeches on leadership was voted one of the ‘7 Most Inspiring Videos on the Web’, and TED have described him as a ‘master story-teller’. He has also appeared on various international TV news channels, and his autobiography ‘Achieving the Impossible’ was selected for Oprah’s Exclusive Book List.

Along with the Freedom of the City of London, Lewis has been bestowed with South Africa and France’s highest honours.

Lewis addresses audiences on; Business management and teamwork, surviving and thriving in challenging times, achieving the impossible, change and its repercussions and the plight of vulnerable ecosystems. Lewis has been invited to speak at both the Conservative and Labour Party 2018 conferences, and co-hosting the Panda Awards, otherwise known as the Oscars of the wildlife and environmental film and TV awards.

Mark Schulman

Mark Schulman is a monster drummer who’s toured the world with some of the greatest rock and pop performers – before crowds as big as 225,000. He’s played with P!NK, Billy Idol, Cher, Stevie Nicks, Foreigner, Simple Minds, and others over his 32-year touring career. Mark is also amazing on another stage – as a speaker, where he delivers a rock show disguised as a keynote. “I’ve learned about the importance of attitude as part of the touring family with these great performers,” Mark says as he unpacks the secrets of rockstar performance. His presentations translate lessons learned during a remarkable career into valuable tips for organizations, teams, leaders, and those who want to be their absolute best. Mark Schulman is a brilliant storyteller and performer who inspires audiences to engage and unleash their inner rockstar. Mark's first book, Conquering Life’s Stage Fright, shows people how to harness doubt, fear, and anxiety to perform at their best when it matters most. His next book, The Attitude Equation, is slated for late 2023 release. Mark is also a judge and coach on an all-new original music competition television show called BANDED on AXS TV.

DIGGING DEEPER

Mark Schulman grew up in Los Angeles and is a classically trained cellist. As a teen, he played with the Los Angeles Junior Philharmonic. He later even played cello on the 2009/2010 P!NK tour.

During his unprecedented career over the last 32 years, Mark has been a first-call drummer for world-class rock and pop artists. He was voted “Top 3 Pop-Rock Drummers” in the Modern Drummer Readers Poll in 2014 and was the featured cover artist in the May 2019 issue of Modern Drummer. Mark did four record-breaking world tours with P!NK over 15 years.

Mark’s resume reads like a “Who’s Who” of international rock ‘n’ roll royalty, including acts such as Cher, Billy Idol, Foreigner, Sheryl Crow, Stevie Nicks, Beyonce, and so many other world-class artists. He has drummed with Velvet Revolver at Ozzfest and for a crowd of 225,000 at Glastonbury Festival with Simple Minds. Mark has appeared on nearly every American, European, and Australian variety show including the Grammy Awards, Late Night with David Letterman, The Tonight Show, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, American Idol, The Paul O'Grady Show, The X Factor, Wetten, dass..?, the ARIA Awards, and more.

Mark’s fan base extends way beyond the rock ‘n’ roll stage. Fans of his other career, as a top motivational speaker, exist at companies and organizations he’s spoken for, including American Express, Microsoft, IBM, DELL Cisco, Aveda, Kaiser, NCAA, SAP, and more. To date, Mark has performed over 2,000 keynotes, 1,000 music clinics, and for over a billion people.

Offstage, Mark is passionate about teaching and helping others. He was the chairman of Create Now!, a non-profit organization founded in 1996 to help change troubled children's lives through creative arts mentoring. A cancer survivor himself, Mark has also motivated children and teens through his work doing seminars with the Ronald McDonald House and benefits for the Teenage Cancer Trust in the U.K.

An active educator, Mark taught at the Los Angeles Music Academy and is one of the world’s most sought-after drum clinicians, hosting clinics around the world. Mark produced his first instructional DVD in his studio, A Day in the Recording Studio; A Do-It-Yourself Guide to Recording Great Drum Tracks for Drummers and All Musicians distributed by Hudson Music. The Mark Schulman Signature Snare Drum is one of the best-selling signature products in the history of GRETSCH.

Mark's first book, Conquering Life’s Stage Fright, shows people how to harness doubt, fear, and anxiety as it relates to any performance or presentation and transform that into clarity, capability, and confidence. Mark has finished his second book, The Attitude Equation, which lays out a powerful path to happiness and achievement: Attitude x Behavior = Consequence. Mark and his writing partner Dr. Jim Samuels have interviewed rockstar performers across all industries about how ATTITUDE has driven BEHAVIOR to produce world-class CONSEQUENCES in their lives. The book is slated for release in late 2023.

In May 2023, Mark became a judge and coach for an all-new original music competition television show called BANDED. The show redefines the “build-a-band” concept and pairs up-and-coming artists with top coaches. Besides judging, Mark will coach one of the rock outfits.

Mark is also a music producer, trained audio engineer, and studio co-owner of West Triad Recording Studio in Venice, California.