Brad Smeele
World champion wakeboarder Brad Smeele was living the life, traveling the world and pushing the limits of his sport, until an attempt at repeating his worlds first trick, that won him trick of the year in 2014, went horribly wrong. He crashed heavily and broke his neck, leaving him a quadriplegic at 27 years old.
The loss of the use of his entire body meant Brad had to learn to adapt to a life that was completely foreign. Through severe depression and hitting rock bottom, he struggled with accepting the loss of the life he knew that was built around his physical abilities. But after years of hard work on understanding his own psyche and his ability to adapt, Brad has not only accepted his new life, but he’s decided completely own it!
Brad now shares his inspirational story in the hope that others will lean what he’s learned without having to go through what he’s been through. Speaking openly about his journey, and how he reclaimed his happiness. Brad is a positive social influencer, a motivational speaker, and now a published author after releasing his tell all autobiography ‘Owning It – The Ride That Changed My Life’ which he wrote himself, typing out every single word using a mouth-stick stylus.
Brad is the definition of resilience and embodies the human ability to adapt to change.
Do yourselves a favour and book Brad for your next event.
Testimonials
"A great storyteller that had the audience glued to every word. The day was a huge success and Brad sharing his experiences and the knowledge was a crowd favourite and the highlight."
Neil Jackson - Head of Auckland Sales – New Zealand Media and Entertainment
"Brad is able to create a special and unique atmosphere when speaking. He has the ability to develop a very open, honest and safe environment when communicating with others. This ability allows Brad to engage with his audience on a very deep emotional level, influencing, inspiring and motivating those in attendance in a way like no other."
Brad Davis - INFINZ Young Finance Professions, Auckland Chair of the Board
"Brad is a very accomplished and entertaining speaker who spoke to our students with a specific message for their age and stage in their lives. His speech inspired our boys to challenge themselves in the future, to live their lives by three core attributes through attitude, effort and action."
Grayson Aspinall - B.Ed, Dip Tchg Deputy Principal
