Holly Budge

Biography

At the age of 21, Holly Budge threw herself out of a perfectly good aeroplane for the first time in New Zealand. That sixty seconds of adrenaline (and sheer terror) changed the course of her life forever. It hadn’t occurred to her that people were getting paid to jump out of aeroplanes for a living! Funnily enough Holly’s school career’s advisor hadn’t mentioned this!

Holly decided that was the job she wanted. Six months later, with lots of training, dedication and hard work, she achieved her rather far-fetched goal. On reflection, she refers to this as the ‘boldness’ of youth as when she set herself that goal, she knew nobody in NZ, she knew nothing about skydiving or filming but none of that mattered because she knew she could learn those skills or at least try. Achieving this goal gave Holly immense confidence and self-belief that she could achieve whatever she set her mind too.

Following on with this positive mindset, Holly has two world records under her belt so far, including being the first woman to skydive Everest and race semi-wild horses 1000 kms across Mongolia in just nine days.

In 2014, Holly graduated with a masters in Sustainable Design and this opened up a world of possibility, knowledge and passion for her. Her award-winning charity How Many Elephants was born.

Holly’s adventures moving forward have a strong social and environmental purpose. She summited Mount Everest to raise awareness and funds for How Many Elephants. To date, Holly has raised £300k.

Recently Holly immersed herself with the Black Mambas, an all female, front-line, anti poaching team in South Africa and she documented their work on film. Holly aims to inspire women globally by showing real life examples of ordinary women who achieve extraordinary things. The Black Mambas are a great example of this and are one of the projects How Many Elephants is supporting.

Holly’s next adventure is to hike the Great Wall of China in its entirety of 3000 miles to humbly carry out research into how elephant ivory fits into their culture and their deep rooted traditions and beliefs. Why? Because she’s curious and passionate about raising awareness of the elephant ivory crisis.  Holly believes passion has the power to make a change, personally, locally and globally.

Her mantra is ‘Think Big, Dream Bigger’.

Topics

• The Everest Effect - Turning fear into action
  In this motivational experience, Holly's honest and engaging style of storytelling, combined with her down-to-earth approach to life, will drive you to feel inspired, rejuvenated and ready to scale your Everest. Holly will demonstrate how taking purposeful, actionable steps will propel you to reach big goals in your life and work.
  
  From falling out of a plane over Everest to ambushing wildlife poachers on the front line, Holly is no stranger to taking action. She demonstrates the importance of maintaining a positive mindset and backing yourself to make good decisions, especially in times of adversity. Through real life examples, Holly shows us why we should never underestimate the sheer power of the human mind and body. We can do so much more and go so much further than we think we can.
  
  Key Takeouts
  • Believe in the power of YOU to effect positive change
  • Take that first step to climb your Everest
  • Learn how to say ‘yes’
  • See how overwhelming challenges can become manageable and achievable tasks
  • Identify with ‘real’ role models, surround yourself with passionate and purpose-driven people
    
    
• Nurturing passion
  Passion is the golden key to success and fulfilment. It’s contagious and has the power to make change in this world.
  
  
• Self-belief and determination
  Life can teach us to limit our self-belief. We need to THINK BIG, DREAM BIGGER and surround ourselves with like-minded others.
  
  
• Positive active thinking
  Dance to the beat of your own drum. We are in control of our mindsets. This is one of the only things we truly do have control of.
  
  
• Good decision making
  On a mountain, good decision making could be the difference between life and death. It is important to back yourself to make good solid decisions in the outdoors and in life.
  
  
• Dreams are real
  There is power and magic in turning your ambitions into destinations, starting with learning how to break down big ideas into bite-sized, manageable chunks and act on them.
  
  
• Pushing your limits
  To push your limits you first have to test your limits. It is truly exhilarating to push yourself harder than ever before and discover you have more stamina, determination, and resilience than you ever would have thought.
  
  
• Say yes more
  Committing to something can be the hardest step. Take the leap.
  
  
• Thing big, dream bigger
  You will truly be amazed at what you CAN achieve when you think big.

Testimonials

Holly is down to earth, funny and incredibly inspiring.
HRH Prince Edward

One of the UK’s most accomplished female adventurers.
British Airways

Holly pushes boundaries – and then some.
Red Bull

Bloody brilliant!
Founder
Sunday Papers Live

Holly is a remarkable lady with a string of talents. Her passion shines through and her creative talent and commitment to a cause she really cares about has led to her amazing exhibition ‘How Many Elephants’ designed to both educate and stop this horrific cull.
Founder and Chair
Just a Drop

Holly is an engaging, thought provoking and inspirational speaker.
Financial Advisor
St. James’s Place