The Power to Inspire: Realising our Potential

Katie Piper

Katie was enjoying a flourishing career as a model and TV presenter when a vicious attack left her hospitalised and with severe facial injuries. Thinking her life was all but over, she began a two-year rehabilitation period – having to put on a pressurised mask for 23 hours every day. After more than 70 operations and countless therapies, she still faces challenges but has rebuilt her life. Katie talks about resilience, finding untapped reserves of inner strength, and knowing when you can do something and when you need support.

Richard Villar

Richard served as SAS Medical Officer, operating in the field on soldiers and civilians alike. He is now a leading orthopaedic surgeon and a member of the Disaster Emergency Response Team – responding to events like the earthquake in Haiti and civil war in Libya. Richard describes arriving in a stricken area with the infrastructure destroyed: “Without water, power or the rule of law, you take nothing for granted - the challenges go beyond what most of us can imagine.”

Marc Priestley

Marc spent ten years as a mechanic on the McLaren Formula One pit crew. Looking at every aspect of F1, he explains the communication, teamwork, pressure and strategy to secure marginal gains. Alongside the carefully synchronised teamwork and the precisely engineered equipment, with each car generating over 10Mb of data per lap, analysts look ever more closely at competitors’ decisions in an effort to optimise their own team performance to gain hundredths of seconds of advantage. 

Simon Wheatcroft

Simon was determined not to let his blindness be a barrier to doing things, including distance running. Using a mobile phone and app, he was able to start training on busy open roads without a guide. After just a few months training, a few set-backs and a lot of determination he was running ultramarathons. He now works with technology companies to help him push himself further and achieve even more incredible things.