Ellis J Stewart
Survived the two biggest disasters to ever hit Mount Everest., Accidental speaker and author.
Ellis J Stewart is by his own admission a wannabe Everest climber and accidental speaker and author. He is quite a unique character in regards to people attempting to climb the highest mountain in the world. Something he attempted in 2014 and 2015. Through no fault of his own, events transpired to prevent him from stepping foot on Everests summit, events that ended in quite tragic circumstances. Ellis is the first to admit he is not your stereotypical mountaineer. Having dreamed about climbing the mountain for 20 years he has never let go of that goal. Through the steps he has taken and the entrepreneurial spirit displayed he has been able to almost entirely fund the $100,000 that the two attempts so far have cost without corporate assistance.
Ellis is no stranger to adversity and rejection. Ellis first tried to get the funds together to climb the mountain in 2002. Through a lack of interest from potential sponsors he tried again in 2003, 2004, 2007 and 2013 before finally arriving at the foot of the mountain in 2014. Little did he or anyone else realise what was about to happen during this attempt, an attempt that ended early when 16 Nepal Sherpas were tragically killed early in the climbing season. Ellis returned to Everest one year later determined this time to reach the summit. Once again events conspired to end his attempt when Nepal was hit by a devastating earthquake and 22 people on Everest were killed. Ellis narrowly survived being killed by an avalanche on the mountain.
In the summer of 2015 Ellis began to write his story of being caught up in these two tragic seasons on Everest. In a book titled Everest: Its not about the Summit, he wrote very candidly about not only his experiences on the mountain but also what drove and propelled him towards Everest in the first place. Not able to entice a publisher to take the project on, Ellis wouldnt take no for an answer and decided to self-publish the book. After launching a massively successful crowdfunding campaign Ellis was able to pay the editing and printing costs to release his book, which he did to rave reviews in late 2016. Due to popular demand Ellis has currently launched another campaign to bring the book out in a Hardback format in December 2017. He is currently well on his way with the funding once more.
Although being just a regular guy trying to climb the mountain, Ellis accidentally became a public speaker after being invited to share his dream with local community groups. This snowballed and before long Ellis was speaking in front of up to 250 guests at corporate events across the whole of the UK. His inspirational story and appeal is universal. He has motivated and inspired everyone from primary school children, a packed conference full of accountants, to a large group of octogenarians. (Doris, 94 one of the groups more difficult members said it was the best talk she had ever heard)
In July 2016 Ellis was presented to HRH Prince Phillip Duke of Edinburgh at Holyrood Palace after being invited to present Gold Awards to a group of young people from Cumbria. The Duke asked Ellis if he had reached the summit. Ellis replied that he hadnt due to avalanches and earthquakes. Far better story anyway said Prince Phillip as he strode off.
If you want to hear that story and this is really a story you should hear, Ellis is available now to not only inspire, educate and motivate your audience but most importantly to entertain.
Ellis J Stewarts astonishing book, Everest: Its not about the Summit, is available now through Amazon. Ellis will return to Everest soon to finish the job.