Norwegian explorer and writer Børge Ousland is a fearless adventurer. The first person to complete solo crossings of both the Arctic and the Antarctic, Børge is curious, confident and carefully organized. Hauling supply sleds weighing nearly 150 kilograms, he has endured limb-freezing temperatures, surprise crevasses and encounters with polar bears during his quests to reach his extreme goals.

Børge’s experiences at the Earth’s extremes have inspired him to found IceLegacy, together with explorer Vincent Colliard, an ambitious project aimed at raising global awareness of the effects of climate. Along with Vincent Colliard, Børge plans to explore and witness the 20 biggest glaciers on Earth over a ten-year period and transmit the knowledge gained to the next generation of IceLegacy explorers. The mission is urgent, says Børge. “The ice is melting now!”

Armel Tripon is on a mission – a mission with a purpose. A seasoned seaman who finished in 11th place in the daunting the 2020 Vendée Globe Around the World sailing race, this Nantes-born French sailor has formed a collective with the VPLP Architects and the IMOCA class sailboats with the goal of studying technological experiments that will favor lasting and forerunning innovations in sailing.

In 2015 Armel joined forces with a network of healthcare teams committed to improving the well-being of hospitalized children. Today his organization Les P’tits Doudous comprises a group of 99 associations and accompanies over 100 000 children needing surgical interventions each year, easing the transition from pre-operative to post-operative care. Recycling copper, stainless steel and aluminium from single-use scalpels ad intubation blades, Les P’tits Doudous is able to finance post-operation trauma, facilitate parental experiences and enable the reduction of medication. As an ambassador of Les P’tit Doudous, Armel is looking forward to sailing around the globe once again in the Vendée Globe in 2024 to raise awareness of the work being done to make life just a little better for sick children.

World Champion snowboarder and French athlete Mathieu Crépel was invited to take part in the Arctic Chal-lenge at the tender age of 15. He went on to win the Crystal Globe competition, becoming the first of his nationality to earn a half pipe world title. At the 2007 World Championships in Arosa, Switzerland, he became the first person ever to land a switch backside 1260 in competition, distinguishing him from all other snow-boarders in history. He also represented France at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games. Mathieu Crepel is a real-life « waterman »: aware of Nature, water cycles and the seasons, his passion for surf has become as im-portant as snowboard and he now splits his time between mountain and ocean, snowflakes and waves.

After having his leg torn off by a tiger shark in his native Hawaii, Mike has turned his painful story into a successful career as a champion of the ocean’s apex predators and photographer.
His story of survival is legendary. When Mike Coutts was just 18 years he was bodyboarding off of his native island of Kuai when he felt a sharp tug on his leg. A tiger shark had just bitten off his right limb and as it came back for more, Mike punched it in the face, got himself back to shore and not only lived to tell the tale but turned his personal tragedy into an inspirational career of conservation and art.
While many survivors of such attacks choose to avoid the ocean afterwards, Mike couldn’t wait to get back into the water. His friends bought him a camera so that, while he was healing on the beach, he could take photographs of the sport he loved.