Paul Hockey
Mountaineer, Martial Arts Expert & Inspirational Speaker
Paul Hockey is a mountaineer, martial arts expert, and inspirational speaker who shows audiences how to achieve the extraordinary. Overcoming disability, he became the first person in the world with a disability to conquer Everest’s North Side. His talks inspire leadership, resilience, goal-setting, and a mindset that turns impossible into possible.
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Encouraged by his family to believe that anything is possible, Paul Hockey discarded his prosthetic limb at an early age and developed a passion for martial arts by the age of eight. Trained in Hapkido and Shaolin Kung Fu, Paul holds three black belts and has dedicated his life to teaching martial arts to others. After living in Japan and teaching English, he became fluent in Japanese, and today rides high-powered motorcycles and drives 50-seat coaches as a Japanese-speaking tour guide.
Despite having no mountaineering experience, Paul set his sights on Mount Everest. He trained extensively in New Zealand, climbed Mount Aconcagua in South America at 7,000 metres, and even carried a 25kg pack filled with telephone books to simulate Everest conditions—a pack that later became symbolic when he appeared on the cover of the telephone book.
On his first Everest attempt, Paul turned back just 280 metres from the summit due to time and oxygen limits. Undeterred, he returned a year later and, on 5 June 2005 at 07:42 hrs, became the first person in the world with a disability to climb the treacherous North Side of Mount Everest.
Known as the “one-armed boxer,” Paul delivers his signature presentation, A Handful of Spirit, sharing his journey, mindset, and lessons in resilience. His talks are captivating, inspiring, motivating, entertaining, and often hilarious, leaving audiences with a message they will never forget: “Never give up… never ever give up!”
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Topics
- Motivation
- Inspiration
- Improvise and adapt to successfully overcome any challenge
- Believing in yourself & your abilities
- Never give up…never ever give up!
