MCME: Patrick Hollingworth Mountaineer and Speaker

Patrick Hollingworth is a normal, everyday person from the flattest state in Australia who had a passion to climb the highest mountain in the World. A ten-year apprenticeship served in the World’s greatest mountain ranges in Canada, Alaska, France, Pakistan, Nepal and Tibet saw him gain an impressive resume of climbing experiences which enabled him to fulfill his dream in May 2010. Summitting Mount Everest reinforced Patrick’s belief that passion, self-belief and a dogged persistence can empower normal individuals to achieve great things.

During his climb of Everest, Patrick provided daily updates to his website in an honest and candor manner which is rarely seen amongst climbers. His willingness during the climb to openly discuss his previous experiences with depression, and the subsequent raising of awareness for men’s health issues, contributed to Patrick’s expedition being widely followed in the Western Australian community, where high-altitude mountaineers are a rare breed.

Patrick’s enthusiasm for his climbing shines through in his presentations, as does his stunning still and video footage from the summits of the world’s highest mountains. During his 10 year journey, Patrick encountered numerous set-backs, including the loss of climbing friends and himself coming close to dying from a severe altitude illness whilst climbing a mountain not far from Everest; as such his presentations include a certain element of rawness. Combined with Patrick’s ability to make a genuine connection with people, his talks are likely to leave the audience inspired to tackle their own challenges in life, whatever they may be.

When he’s not climbing mountains, Patrick works as an environmental consultant, and specialises in conducting environmental impact assessment for marine and coastal infrastructure projects for the oil and gas and land development industries. In addition to mountaineering, Patrick is a very keen surfer and also an open swimmer; in 2006 he completed a solo crossing of the 20km Rottnest Channel.

Patrick’s talk aims to present a working example of how an ordinary person can achieve extraordinary outcomes by identifying a long-term objective and then achieving it by ticking the necessary boxes. Patrick mapped out a plan when he identified Mount Everest as his goal, and then set about undertaking each of the necessary climbs which gave him more experience to climb progressively higher and more dangerous mountains until he felt completely ready and confident to climb Mount Everest. The setbacks along the way only strengthened his resolve. Attendees of Patrick’s talk are likely to walk away with a sound understanding of how planning for success through appropriate preparation can lead anyone to achieve their goals.

Testimonials

'I highly recommend Patrick as an excellent speaker for corporate events. He provides a fascinating insight into the risks and challenges associated with preparing for and climbing some of the world's highest mountains - including his successful expedition to Everest in 2010. He has a very engaging style and is able to make useful comparisons between his experiences and our more mundane world of day-to-day business'

'KPMG Advisory utilised the professional speaking services of Patrick Hollingworth to present to our forensic team. Patrick's verbal and visual presentation not only inspired the entire team, it changed the way they view challenges they face in both their corporate and personal lives. Patrick's presentation and visual enhancements capture and clearly deliver his Mt Everest achievement in a very humbling and professional manner.

'Patrick’s personal quest to climb Mount Everest makes for an engaging and inspiring presentation. His delivery was outstanding and effectively aided by the use of photographs and video footage taken at various points along his journey. Patrick has a very open and honest manner and was able to clearly articulate his thought processes when grappling with tough decisions, and enlightening his audience about the preparation and focus required to achieve such a feat. Highly recommended!'

'Patrick, thank you for coming in to present to our Board and staff last week. Can I say that I enjoyed your presentation, and the past week has given me the opportunity to find out what others thought – all raved about your presentation and the sheer scale of what you have achieved. It does tell us much about endurance, dreams, that any good plan can stuff up due to factors outside your control, team work and then sharing what you have achieved with others. I do hope you have the opportunity to keep spreading this story and the messages attached to what you have done over a long period of time, because Everest is like the proof or the legitimacy of you being allowed to tell the story and the God’s have allowed you this honour – so you should use it. You have inspired ME!'

'Patrick's story was perfect for the time in our organisational evolution. With a mixture of storytelling about his magnificent achievement of conquering Everest he clearly demonstrated that if you set goals, under taking sufficient preparation, surrounding yourself with the correct team whilst using data to your advantage you can achieve anything. Patrick comes highly recommended.'

'On behalf of the University, I thank you for delivering a special guest lecture at this year’s UWA open day. As a distinguished member of our alumni, it was both a great pleasure to welcome you back to the campus to share your achievements with prospective students and members of the general community. We were delighted to have you detail your path to personal excellence in your chosen field of endeavour. The themes of your talk – courage, resilience, endurance, resolve, confidence and independence – are all attributes we would like to encourage in our graduates. Your account is an inspiration to all who hear it. The university greatly appreciates your contribution to Open Day. Congratulations and thank you.'

'Our Branch had recently been through a restructure that left us needing to rebuild and reflect upon our morale, enthusiasm, team based approach, and to refocus upon the future and how we could positively prepare to meet the many challenges that lay ahead. Patrick’s personal journey and his commitment to staying focused on what he believed he could achieve, together with his amazing photos and video left staff in awe. We could not have chosen a more inspirational speaker to inspire our belief in what can be achieved when you remain “focused and connected’ (our brief), and we left the presentation with a new felt belief that we could achieve and meet the challenge that lies ahead. Not only was Patrick himself an inspiration speaker – his photos and presentation were amazing! We wish him all the best in his future endeavors and thank him for inspiring us to climb our own' Mt Everests' (within the office!).'

'Never before have I seen a guest speaker swamped with so many questions at the end of a presentation. Patrick's combination of images, video footage and honest story telling captivated our small audience. A motivational story showcasing the importance of knowing your limits and celebrating them. A truly memorable evening.'

'Pat recently presented to the staff here at Azure Capital. His story is inspirational, and his presentation was both interesting and highly entertaining. The quality of the photography and video taken on Everest is outstanding, and Pat is approachable, knowledgeable and presents in a very down-to-earth manner. His story left our team with a lasting impression of what can be achieved with detailed planning, a healthy approach to risk management and a passion to achieve your dreams. We'd strongly encourage anyone looking to hear a great Australian story to engage Pat.'

'On behalf of Independent Offshore Solutions, thank you for a great presentation! We were celebrating the successful completion of a large offshore construction project and looking for a speaker to inspire and enlighten us while we had the team all together, and your presentation did all that and more, with plenty of spectacular photographic and video footage to highlight your experiences.

It was a privilege to have you speak at our event and take us all on a journey through the preparation, teamwork, and perseverance that lead you to your great achievement. A few of us might have left scared of heights, but I think we all left determined to tackle new challenges! I have no hesitation recommending you as a speaker for any organisation.'

'Patrick provided a highly inspirational and motivating session for our Perth office. He had eighty people spellbound for an hour with the story of his adventure, and left us all with a better understanding of the challenges in our life, and the real meaning of achievement.'

'Patrick's presentation was inspiring. His story of commitment, persistence and tenacity is relevant to all. We really appreciated the presentation and our staff here were very happy to have seen it. We would highly recommend engaging him to speak.'

'A truly life changing journey told by a person with passion, drive, discipline and the ultimate level of human endeavor and focus, which left me with a better understanding of what it takes to summit the highest point in the world, & the cost of being… closer to God!'