MEET MARK
Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.
-Howard Thurman
-Howard Thurman
QUESTION: What make you come alive?
Most people ride skateboards (if they ride them at all) around their town or at the local skate park. When I decided to get back on a skateboard again for the first time in almost 40 years I thought it might be fun to try and ride one 600 miles from the Capitol building in Washington DC to the Parliament building in Ottawa, Canada.
There have been other adventures too, including:
There have been other adventures too, including:
- a 276 mile run across my home state of Pennsylvania from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia (ten days - averaging over a marathon a day)
- a 44 mile run across the Grand Canyon from rim to rim to rim
- a 100 mile run along the entire length of the Florida Keys from Key Largo to Key West (29 hours straight through)
- an 87 mile run in 24 hours (just to see how far I could go)
- a full 26.2 mile marathon up and down the Art Museum (Rocky) steps in Philadelphia (because Rocky is awesome)
- a 100km (62 miles) run around New York city
- a 5000 mile bike ride around Europe (that's three zeros)
- trekked 200 miles through the Nepal Himalayas
- scuba dived the Great Barrier Reef, Australia
- learned to surf/drown in Bali, Indonesia
- bicycled the length of Great Britain from my childhood hometown of Southampton to John O'Groats, Scotland
44 mile run/hike/crawl through the Grand Canyon
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Sharing everything I learn inspires me
Dreaming up and doing (sometimes failing) these challenges is only half of it. If I'm not out there exploring my own limits I'm on the road speaking to the key people in driven organizations about how they can think, act and live with a CAT mindset.
I have been inspiring audiences for over 20 years
I've had a blast speaking in 38 states to everything from small workshop audiences to crowds as large as five thousand!
Before I ever took on a corporate audience I cut my teeth inspiring teenage athletes. Working with kids you quickly discover that young people always learn more by doing than they ever will by just listening. And I bring that experience to my corporate audiences with stories, audience participation challenges and physical demonstrations.
Before I ever took on a corporate audience I cut my teeth inspiring teenage athletes. Working with kids you quickly discover that young people always learn more by doing than they ever will by just listening. And I bring that experience to my corporate audiences with stories, audience participation challenges and physical demonstrations.
Ever wonder if you could tear a phone book in half?
I like to have fun while I work, so one minute I'll have the whole crowd on their feet with some weird challenge. Minutes later I might be testing the courage of a few brave volunteers willing to join me on stage. I have acquired a fascinating repertoire of odd and mind-boggling feats. Ever wonder if you could tear a phone book in half? I can teach you how! Do you enjoy watching coworkers tie themselves into knots? Who doesn't? And I always enjoy beating an entire audience with some odd bar bet I learned on my travels.
When I'm not on stage or away "living alive", I'm...
in the gym teaching kids at my own gymnastics center in Pennsylvania. Formally a member of the British National team I have been coaching kids since 1982. I was the assistant coach to the US Junior Olympic Team and I am the author of "Going For It" a motivational book for teenage athletes.
