Ryan Campbell

From a world record breaking pilot to paraplegic plane crash survivor. Ryan Campbell is a leader in helping individuals and organizations to not only overcome adversity and navigate change, but also to use those very same challenges to build a better future.
Few people have encountered the extreme, polar opposites of success and tragedy that Ryan has, let alone by the age of 26. As the youngest person to fly solo around the world, Ryan’s life changed in an instant following a very serious light plane crash. He survived against all odds and was admitted to a spinal rehabilitation ward as a complete paraplegic with no movement from his waist down. Ryan proved his mental fortitude as a record-breaking pilot but demonstrated his mastery by learning to walk again and fighting his way back into the sky. This gamut of human experience led Ryan to develop his Mindset Toolbox and 3 Step Checklist to Navigating Change – ways of thinking that allow individuals and organizations to overcome adversity, navigate change and build a better future.

Born and raised in an Australian coastal town, Ryan discovered his passion at a very young age — flight. Aviation would be the dominant fixture in the young Australian’s life, providing some amazing but also traumatic, life-altering experiences. As a 14-year-old fixated on becoming a pilot, Ryan took on a number of after school jobs to finance his flying lessons. Shortly thereafter, he went on to achieve his first prominent goal in life as he flew an airplane solo for the first time on his 15th birthday. The passionately determined young man soon found himself researching a goal so lofty it had never been accomplished before—to fly a single-engine airplane solo around the world as a teenager. The next two years of Ryan’s life would prove to be transformative. He was forced to grow up at a young age as he personally fundraised $250,000, trained, and planned for a world circumnavigation. Ryan made international headlines as he flew his way around the globe in a rented airplane, including a feature story on 60 Minutes, countless television appearances, radio, and print interviews. The world watched this young man chase his dreams. It was an expedition for the history books. Ryan’s life blossomed as he was named one of Australia’s 50 Great Explorers, the 2013 Australian Geographic Young Adventurer of the Year, and finalist for Young Australian of the Year. Life after the world flight was all about awards, sharing his story through speaking engagements, and writing a book to be imminently published titled, ‘Born to Fly.’ The young kid
from a normal, Aussie family even met The Royals. Life was quite good.

In an instant, Ryan’s life changed following a very seriously light plane crash in 2015. He survived against all odds and was admitted to a spinal rehabilitation ward as a complete paraplegic with no movement from his waist down. With a further five breaks in his back and broken bones ranging from his face to his feet, Ryan needed to tap into everything he learned during his global expedition and more. The biggest undertaking of his young life was just beginning. Ryan is a master of adversity and an ardent believer that life is won and lost above the shoulders—your mind can be either your most powerful asset or the determinant of your failure. He proved his mental fortitude by making history as a record-breaking pilot but demonstrated his mastery by learning to walk again and fighting his way back into the sky. Now based in Nashville, Tennessee, Ryan is equipped and eager to transform your organization with a unique, unpredictable, and uplifting keynote. Ryan is on a mission to make your organization soar!