Braam Malherbe
International speaker, extreme adventurer, conservationist, youth developer and author. All these words could be used to describe Braam Malherbe, a man on a mission the save planet Earth. If you meet Braam in person however you will discover that he is an ordinary man that believes in doing EXTRA, for the causes that you care about most – this is what makes a human EXTRAordinary.
Braam's contagious positive energy is fed by his life-long passion to protect the environment and inspire change. Braam places great emphasis on the importance of leadership in society and how to move from a culture of blame and entitlement to one of personal growth. He shows how, by learning from nature, we can only evolve by embracing change.
Braam's adventures are extraordinary and always purpose driven. He is a riveting international motivational speaker, applying lessons learnt from his experiences to talk about innovation and change, resilience, purpose, courage, leadership, teamwork, and making the impossible possible.
In 1974, at age 17, Braam ran from Plettenberg Bay to Cape Town to raise funds and awareness regarding the potential destruction of species in the Langebaan Lagoon where construction was being planned. He succeeded in ensuring an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was conducted to prevent certain marine species from potentially going extinct.
In 2006 Braam, together with a running partner, accomplishing a world first by running 4, 200 km along the entire length of the Great Wall of China in a single attempt. This translated into running an average of more than a full marathon a day for 98 days.
In 2008 Braam, achieved a second world-first by running the entire coastline of South Africa, a distance of over 3, 200 km.
These expeditions raised over R2.5 million for Operation Smile, providing corrective surgery for children born with cleft lip and cleft palate disfigurements.
In 2010 Braam was invited to be a presenter on the SABC2 nature program 50/50. He was a field presenter on contentious environmental issues, but he also developed his own slot: "Get connected with Braam".
In 2011 Braam, and his race partner represented South Africa in an unassisted race against the clock to the South Pole, a distance of 888 km, which they covered in 24 days. They did this while man-hauling sleds weighing around 85 kg each, in a climate with high winds and an average temperature of -45° C. This expedition was to highlight the problems we face as a result of climate-change (of which Braam is an expert).
On 9 May 2017, Braam achieved his third world-first. Together with his rowing partner he rowed a 6.8m rowing boat 8 100kms from Cape Town to Rio de Janeiro in 92 days. The pair rowed in continuous two-hourly shifts, with one rowing while the other made water and food and tried to sleep. The journey was fraught with problems, such as being capsized four times, 40 foot breaking swells and being submerged for five minutes, their water desalinator broke, 27 near collisions with super tankers and more... Severe sleep deprivation even caused hallucinations.
Considered to be "One of the top 3 athletes to ever come out of South Africa" by Prof Tim Noakes, Braam started to do public speaking when he realized his own adventures and personal journey could help others move from a live of success to a life of significance.
International speaker, extreme adventurer, conservationist, youth developer and author. All these words could be used to describe Braam Malherbe, a man on a mission the save planet Earth. If you meet Braam in person however you will discover that he is an ordinary man that believes in doing EXTRA, for the causes that you care about most – this is what makes a human EXTRAordinary.
Braam's contagious positive energy is fed by his life-long passion to protect the environment and inspire change. Braam places great emphasis on the importance of leadership in society and how to move from a culture of blame and entitlement to one of personal growth. He shows how, by learning from nature, we can only evolve by embracing change.
Braam's adventures are extraordinary and always purpose driven. He is a riveting international motivational speaker, applying lessons learnt from his experiences to talk about innovation and change, resilience, purpose, courage, leadership, teamwork, and making the impossible possible.
In 1974, at age 17, Braam ran from Plettenberg Bay to Cape Town to raise funds and awareness regarding the potential destruction of species in the Langebaan Lagoon where construction was being planned. He succeeded in ensuring an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was conducted to prevent certain marine species from potentially going extinct.
In 2006 Braam, together with a running partner, accomplishing a world first by running 4, 200 km along the entire length of the Great Wall of China in a single attempt. This translated into running an average of more than a full marathon a day for 98 days.
In 2008 Braam, achieved a second world-first by running the entire coastline of South Africa, a distance of over 3, 200 km.
These expeditions raised over R2.5 million for Operation Smile, providing corrective surgery for children born with cleft lip and cleft palate disfigurements.
In 2010 Braam was invited to be a presenter on the SABC2 nature program 50/50. He was a field presenter on contentious environmental issues, but he also developed his own slot: "Get connected with Braam".
In 2011 Braam, and his race partner represented South Africa in an unassisted race against the clock to the South Pole, a distance of 888 km, which they covered in 24 days. They did this while man-hauling sleds weighing around 85 kg each, in a climate with high winds and an average temperature of -45° C. This expedition was to highlight the problems we face as a result of climate-change (of which Braam is an expert).
On 9 May 2017, Braam achieved his third world-first. Together with his rowing partner he rowed a 6.8m rowing boat 8 100kms from Cape Town to Rio de Janeiro in 92 days. The pair rowed in continuous two-hourly shifts, with one rowing while the other made water and food and tried to sleep. The journey was fraught with problems, such as being capsized four times, 40 foot breaking swells and being submerged for five minutes, their water desalinator broke, 27 near collisions with super tankers and more... Severe sleep deprivation even caused hallucinations.
Considered to be "One of the top 3 athletes to ever come out of South Africa" by Prof Tim Noakes, Braam started to do public speaking when he realized his own adventures and personal journey could help others move from a live of success to a life of significance.
Nothing is Impossible
Leading with courage
Leadership takes courage. Lieutenant J Putnam Jr said "courage is not the lack of fear but the ability to face it". Braam believes that one has to first believe in oneself and be comfortable in one's own skin to be able to stand out from the crowd and be open for criticism. Only once you trust yourself and have faith in your own integrity, others will too. True leaders stand up in the face of adversity and do the right thing. Respect is not given, but earned.
The 'i' in TEAM
The classic cliché goes, "there is no 'i' in team". Braam believes that without the i in team, the individual does not fully understand and appreciate their value to the team. "TEAM, as an acronym; Together Everyone Achieves More. But if you are not an asset to a team, you are, by default, a liability. "Being part of a team means it is vital that you deeply understand your value add. What is your contribution to the team? Not just 'to increase sales', or 'provide greater service' but deep...
The more you give the more you get
After a relatively successful career, at the age of 27 Braam was declared insolvent. He lost his father shortly thereafter and then his fiancé left him. Dejected and his self-esteem shattered he went off to the mountains to commit suicide. "I felt utterly insignificant. In those dark hours I realised that the greatest challenge was not to die but to live", explains Braam. This was an epiphany moment, and Braam chose to devote his life to making a difference and being an asset to the...
Making change work for you
"Humans are supposed to be the most advanced and intelligent species on earth. If this is indeed so, then why is our economy failing and we are destroying our resource base? We are at a turning point in our history, a turning point which will ensure either our demise or our survival as a better, enlightened species. One of the key words we need to urgently embrace is change", says Braam. Charles Darwin put it succinctly; "It is not the strongest, nor the most intelligent that will survive,...
One earth; One home; Our responsibility
Braam has an unbridled passion for the natural world. He well known in wildlife conservation - a topic extremely close to his heart and he inspire people to act and be part of the change required to ensure a sustainable future for all species on the planet.
Braam lives to help people reach their potential and to empower them to become better stewards of the Earth.
As a conservationist and Honorary Ranger for SANParks, Braam is involved in...
Extreme Performace
Miembro de
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