Presenting Partner
Australian Geographic Society Lifetime of Adventure
Category Sponsor
GLENN SINGLEMAN AND HEATHER SWAN
HEATHER’S SWAN’S JOURNEY INTO extreme sport was taken one step at a time. “As you grow your ability and your sense of self-efficacy, the answer to ‘What would you do if you weren’t afraid?’ becomes, ‘I’d like to climb up the highest cliff in the world and jump off it in a wingsuit!’” she says.
Heather and her husband, Dr Glenn Singleman, are world record–holding extreme-sport athletes and two-time recipients of the Australian Geographic Spirit of Adventure medal. They’re best known for their gravity-defying stunts as wingsuit pilots. Glenn is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and physician specialising in remote, rural and expedition medicine. Heather is an inspirational speaker, farmer, photographer and author.
Together, they use their skills to champion wilderness; advocate the emotional, spiritual and physical benefits of adventuring; and inspire audiences to face their fears.
Glenn was introduced to the world of adventure by a medical colleague, who invited him on a canyoning trip in the Blue Mountains. It sparked a revelation into the ways fear was limiting his life. “I started a very deliberate exploration of how to overcome those fears and discover what’s possible for me,” he says, describing his progression from canyoning to rock climbing, mountaineering, sky diving and BASE jumping. Wanting to explore his newfound passion for adventure in a professional way – and be paid for it – Glenn returned to university and completed a filmmaking degree. In 1988 he joined the Australian Bicentennial Antarctic Expedition and filmed his first documentary, The Loneliest Mountain. Three years later, he was hired as a cameraman and expedition doctor for the first hot-air balloon flight over Mt Everest. One of his most successful documentaries was BASEclimb (1993), an autobiographical film that followed his journey from rock climber to BASE jumper. The film won 21 international awards and documented the Great Trango Towers BASE jump by Glenn and Nic Feteris, which established the world record for exit height (5880m) that stood for more than a decade.
Glenn met Heather at one of his corporate presentations. At the time, she was a corporate executive with no experience in adventure, let alone extreme sports. But Glenn’s presentation – “What would you do if fear wasn’t a factor?” – struck a chord with her. Taking his message
