Flying ace and 2013 Australian Geographic Young Adventurer of the Year, Ryan Campbell, has a message to take to the world and nothing can stop him.
FOR RYAN CAMPBELL, every up and down in life is an opportunity, every bump in the road a chance to change direction and evolve for the better. It’s hard, in fact, not to think of every corny aphorism you’ve ever heard when you talk with him. ‘You get knocked down, you get up again.’ ‘Every cloud has a silver lining.’
“I’m a very ‘glass half-full’ kind of person, always have been,” he agrees with a laugh, adding his cliché of choice to the list. “You won’t get me to tell you all the negative stuff – I’m not that person.”
That’s not to say he hasn’t had some “very low moments” since his body was shattered when the Tiger Moth he was piloting crashed, due to engine failure, on the Gold Coast just after Christmas 2015.
“At 100 foot, the engine stopped and three seconds later it was all over,” Ryan recalls. “How it didn’t burn I don’t know.”
It was two weeks before his 22nd birthday and he would celebrate that milestone as a paraplegic.
I FIRST MET RYAN at Australian Geographic’s annual awards ceremony in 2016, 11 months after the accident; he was hobbling on crutches and dragging his mostly unresponsive legs. But he was still the tall, strapping pilot I recalled from media shots when he became the youngest person to f ly solo around the world as a 19-year-old, in 2013. He was wobbly but had that air of humble invincibility I’d sensed in every great adventurer I’d met, from 20th-century pioneering aviatrix Nancy Bird Walton, to mountain climber Greg Mortimer, to solo Antarctic sailor Lisa Blair.
Denne historien er fra September-October 2018-utgaven av Australian Geographic Magazine.
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Denne historien er fra September-October 2018-utgaven av Australian Geographic Magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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SULAWESI SENSATIONS
There are worlds within worlds and marvels untold waiting to be experienced on Indonesia's remote islands.
SEARCHING FOR AUSSIE DINOSAURS
Our understanding of where to find ancient life in Australia has been turned on its head by a new appreciation of the country's geology. Now the world is looking to our vast outback as the latest hotspot to locate fossils.
THE HARDEST NIGHT
The first Australian ascent of Mt Everest in 1984 is one of the great feats of mountaineering. Climbed by a small team semi-alpine style, with no bottled oxygen, via the Great (Norton) Couloir, it remains unrepeated 40 years later.
WEDGE-TAILED WONDER
The chance discovery of an eagle nest leads to an extended vigil observing normally hidden behaviours of one of nature's supreme winged marvels.
BURDENED BY BEAUTY
Northern Australia's Gouldian finch survives in huge numbers in cages around the world, but its wild population continues to struggle.
A TELESCOPE FOR A GOLDEN AGE
After a stellar 50 years as one of the country's major scientific assets, the AAT continues to play a major role in keeping Australian astronomy on the world stage.
COCKY WHISPERING AT COOMALLO CREEK
This patch of remnant bush on the edge of the West Australian wheatbelt is a place loved by one of Australia's rarest bird species and the man who has studied the site for more than 50 years.
A PIONEERING PAIR
Louisa Atkinson and her mother, Charlotte, were among Australia's earliest authors, and pioneers in women's rights.
THE LONGEST WALK
Lucy Barnard is walking from Argentina to Alaska -the length of the Americas - on an extraordinary journey of endurance and adventure.
SECLUDED, BUT NOT ALONE
In an era of heightened social isolation, where many of us lead lonely lives, Dangar Island offers the chance to be part of a supportive, connected community.
