Mark's Open Road
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Mark Inglis Highlight (0:54)
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Interview (2:37)
There are no excerpts for this Leader.
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INTERVIEWED BY:
New Zealand Roadtrip
MARK INGLIS
Mountaineer / Winemaker / Speaker
“For me, it's just another opportunity to be able to excel. It's another opportunity to be able to form people's visions of what they think a disabled person is.”
INTERESTS:
Action Sports Environment & Nature
THEMES DISCUSSED:
Confidence Fear Opportunity Passion Struggle
FOUNDATION:
BIOGRAPHY:
- Started mountaineering from a young age and then worked on a search and rescue team.
- Lost part of each of his legs to frostbite after he and a fellow climber were trapped in an ice cave for 13 days.
- Says that ever since he lost his legs, he's focused on turning his situation into an advantage.
- Believes an important part of mountaineering is being okay with constantly being scared, and that set him up to overcome this huge setback.
- People were always giving him compliments because he had autonomy over his disability, so he "took his foot off the gas."
- One day, he stepped back and realized, "I've only scratched the surface of what a double-amputee can do."
- Became the first double-amputee to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
- Says, "I'm not disabled; I just have the opportunity to live my life in a different way."