Colin O’Brady
Some have tried, all have failed … until now. Despite facing brutally harsh conditions and lugging a pack loaded with 400 pounds of food and supplies, American Colin O’Brady became the first person ever to ski across Antarctica from shore to shore alone, without aid or support of any kind. And at Life West’s The WAVE this August, you can hear O’Brady talk about this adventure and many others, what inspires him, and how he feels chiropractic has contributed to his journey in his talk, Unlocking Human Potential.
O’Brady’s professional endurance athletic resume marks him as an amazing and accomplished man on a mission. He’s run (and won!) the Chicago Triathalon. He’s mastered Everest. He’s set a 21-day record for the fastest consecutive ascent of the highest summits in each of America’s 50 states. He broke the record for completing the Seven Summits in 131 days, which encompasses ascents to the world’s seven highest peaks. And he’s the fastest adventurer to conquer the Explorers Grand Slam–reaching the North Pole, South Pole and climbing the world’s Seven Summits–in 139 days.
But considering crossing Antarctica on skis—alone—as one of the world’s few remaining iconic firsts, O’Brady stated in a Men’s Health article, “I would like to prove it’s actually possible—and inspire others in their own lives to achieve their dreams and goals, too.”
Beginning at the Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions (ALE) base camp at Union Glacier on November 3, 2019, O’Brady skied 932 miles in 54 days through snowstorm whiteouts, subzero temps and glacial wintry winds, crossing the South Pole to reach the Ross Ice Shelf at the foot of Leverett Glacier at 1pm on December 26 after a 32-hour-straight final push.
His journey has been covered in many publications, and he credits the chiropractic lifestyle with helping him achieve such athletic heights.
“As a lifelong athlete, I have benefited from regular chiropractic care, first as a national ranked collegiate swimmer, then as a professional triathlete and now as a world-record holding mountaineer,” O’Brady said in Chiropractic Economics article in July 2018.
O’Brady will be a keynote speaker at Life West’s annual conference, The WAVE, scheduled for Aug. 16-18, 2019, in Oakland, California. Expect O’Brady to talk about a health and wellness journey that hit a bump after he suffered severe burns over a decade ago. Doctors told him he might never be able to walk normally again. O’Brady challenged those odds head-on, using his roots as the son of an organic farmer, a lifetime of naturopathic and chiropractic care, and intense endurance training to pursue his dream to become a champion triathlete, a record-breaking world adventurer, and an exceptional role model. He embodies the Salutogenic model, which is the theme of this year’s conference. Register for The WAVE and see O’Brady speak at lifewestwave.com.
