Peter Bland’s lifelong urge to walk the thin line between adventure and catastrophe has led him to the ends of the earth and forced him to test the limits of his own body.
In 1998 the 35-year-old fulfilled his lifetime ambition, becoming the first Australian ever to walk to the North Magnetic Pole and the only one to have adventured to both the North and South Magnetic Poles. What makes Peter Bland’s accomplishment even more remarkable is that he completed his expedition to the North Magnetic Pole, hauling a sled 700km across the frozen Arctic Sea, 12 months after undergoing his second bout of major heart surgery. Despite these obvious setbacks, Peter's determination and vision enabled him to overcome the odds and reach the North Magnetic Pole while raising funds for the National Heart Foundation. Peter is now the National Ambassador for National Heart Foundation.
But Peter Bland had yet to face his biggest challenge. In 2000 he and a childhood friend, Jay Watson, set out on the world’s first unsupported crossing of the Antarctic Peninsula, a stretch of craggy mountains, glaciers and ice-filled bays aptly-named the “Great White Chaos.” They had no dogs, no vehicles, and no doctors – just them and the ice for hundreds of miles.
On the last day of their journey, disaster struck. An avalanche dragged Peter down an ice face and plunged him into a 50metre, 14-story deep crevasse. His pelvis was crushed, all his ribs were broken, his skull fractured and he was bleeding from the nose, ear and mouth when Jay found him. Jay lay on him at the bottom of the crevasse for three days to give him body heat to live until rescuers arrived. Peter Bland suffered severe brain trauma and needed a year of speech therapy, physiotherapy and ongoing medical attention before he could function normally again. "The greatest journey I've ever taken is from that crevasse to get back on the stage being able to talk professionally to the public again. I had to reinvent myself.”
Peter Bland is an inspiring entertainer on the stage who draws from his extensive experience in the wilderness and the corporate world. At the age of 25 he started his own Gourmet Cookie Company. He took his "backyard business" into Australia’s major department stores and hotels, reaching in his set goal of cracking the Japanese export market.
Peter Bland has raised more than $14 million for Australian Charities, has produced 2 TV documentaries, his most recent being turned into an ABC Mini-series, and his biography – A Step Too Far was recently released by Pan Macmillan. Now as a professional speaker, businessman and adventurer Peter Bland is able to draw comparisons between his own experience and those of the audience, whether it’s survival out on the ice or amongst the predators of the corporate world.
It is a story of having a dream challenging the odds and surviving. He doesn’t teach people how to achieve their goals. He helps people identify the goals that engage their heart. Once the heart is engaged success is just a mater of timing. He inspires others to go out seek their own “core desire” whether they are the summits of mountains or budgeted sales figures. In a humorous and relaxed manner, by utilising spectacular footage from his documentaries and equipment from the ice he explains how the level of emotional importance you place on the goal you pursue will determine:
¨the mentors you surround your self with,
¨your effort in preparation, discipline, teamwork, and
¨self belief.
These are all critical to your ultimate success.
|
Enquire about
Peter Bland
for your next event |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
