Episode #60. From skydiving and climbing Everest to anti-poaching: bold moves, big impact with Holly Budge
She skydived Everest, climbed it too. But the scariest thing she’s done? Conservation.
From world-first feats to frontline anti-poaching missions, Holly Budge’s story is one of bold action, deep purpose, and relentless preparation.
In this inspiring episode, we talk about:
Why action beats perfection (and how she fell out of the plane…)
Building mental strength step by step - even when the summit feels far away
How women on the frontlines are changing conservation for good
And why setting big, scary goals might be the best gift you can give yourself
Chapters
00:58 Holly's Adventurous Beginnings
06:03 Pivotal Moments and Skydiving Dreams
12:01 Skydiving Over Everest: A World First
18:11 The Media Spotlight and Its Challenges
23:46 Climbing Everest: Preparation and Self-Belief
25:29 The Journey of Climbing Everest
32:15 From Adventure to Conservation
40:40 Innovative Solutions for Human-Wildlife Conflict
42:18 Empowering Female Rangers
52:40 Setting Big Goals with Purpose
About this week’s guest:
Holly Budge
Holly Budge is a world-class adventurer, Everest summiteer, and the first woman to skydive Everest. She is a sought-after keynote speaker on risk, leadership, and the power of a growth mindset. Holly’s deeply personal and highly actionable talks supercharge businesses and teams to think BIG, embrace uncertainty, and take bold action. With gripping, often nail-biting stories, Holly takes audiences on a journey from Everest's icy, sheer slopes to ambushing poachers on the front line in Africa. She doesn’t just talk about risk - she lives it. Her often-humorous storytelling reveals the mindset shifts, strategic decisions, and resilience-building tactics that separate those who dream from those who get it done.
Holly believes that we all have an Everest to climb, but the fear of failure or the unknown often holds us back. After her talk, you’ll not only be inspired - you’ll be ready to take action. Off the podium, Holly is the founder of How Many Elephants NGO and World Female Ranger Week. As a UN Women UK Delegate and voted ‘Female Thought Leader of the Year in Non-Profit’ 2025, her work has reached over 500 million people, earning high praise from Sir David Attenborough.
Connect Here:
Website: https://www.hollybudge.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hollybudge/#
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/hollybudgeadventure
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hollybudge
Holly Budge charity and travel business links:
How Many Elephants
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/howmanyelephants
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/howmanyelephants
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/how-many-elephants
World Female Ranger Week
Holly’s campaign, World Female Ranger Week (June 23-30)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/worldfemalerangerweek
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/worldfemalerangerweek
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/world-female-ranger-wk
Wildlife Positive Travel
https://www.wildlifepositivetravel.com/
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More about your host, Wendy
Wendy (51) founded Reclaim Movement after a running injury at 40 turned into 4 years of chronic pain. In her search for answers and to reclaim her own movement again she discovered natural movement. The philosophy of training real life practical movements to be able to keep using them as we age, coupled with the benefit of using strengthening and mobilising whole-body movement patterns that are underused in today’s modern world made her realise she had found a way to move for life.
Wendy’s aim is to help people embrace a movement-rich life, at any age, to improve mobility, strength and confidence to keep moving well and doing the things they love for as long as they want.
MovNat Level 1 certified & Functional Range Conditioning certified, she coaches online group classes live & by replay in the Reclaim Movement membership as well as online and in-person private coaching in Oxford.
Find out more about Reclaim Movement:
Instagram: https://instagram.com/reclaim.movement
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@reclaim.movement
Facebook: https://facebook.com/reclaim.movement
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