Divyanshu’s story is a pure manifestation of someone who refused to allow life’s challenges to hold him back. From waking up blind at an early age of 19 to being told what he can and cannot do, on April 29th 2014, he became the first blind Indian to take his first solo flight, and realized his childhood dream of becoming a pilot. In 2016 he was the first Blind Tandem cyclist to cycle from Manali to Khardung La, the world’s highest motorable road. In 2018 he climbed MT. Kilimanjaro the highest free standing mountain in the world becoming the first Blind Indian to do so.
After losing his eyesight to Glaucoma at the age of 19, Divyanshu was working to get his life back on track when he got an earful of free advice from well wishers and rehabilitation counselors: “Your life is over.” “You can only stay at home now and make cane furniture.” He soon found that his blindness or health struggles were not a problem. It was people’s attitudinal barriers which created stereotypes, and were the source of the real handicap he faced.
Divyanshu’s triumphs over some of the world’s most formidable challenges were fueling a growing aspiration to take the lessons he learned through outdoor adventure sports to help others shatter stereotypes and change limiting beliefs in their lives. To advance this idea, Divyanshu founded Adventures Beyond Barriers Foundation, for people with and without disability to play together, build empathy and create social change. The mission is to help people with challenges, all of us to some extent, to turn into the storm of life, face challenges head-on, embrace and inclusive spirit, and team up to celebrate differences, live meaningful and purposeful lives. The underlying philosophy is You can discover more about a person in an hour of play, than a year of conversation!
Divyanshu is one of the most inspiring, engaging, and sought after speakers in the world. A compelling motivational speaker for Fortune 500 companies, CXO forums, TedEx, IIT’s and IIM’s on leadership, innovation, and inclusion. He brings personal lessons to inspire audiences from his life and adventures around the world, in a warm and hilarious style. These invaluable experiences help him make personal connections with his audiences, through empathy and compassion. His essential messaging focuses on harnessing the power of our mindset in overcoming any adversity, problem solve, dream spectacularly BIG, and how to be resilient. With his experience in the field of Information Technology, and Cognitive Neuroscience becoming the first blind student to do so from University of Pune, he focuses on rising above your self-imposed limitations. He believes that progress can only happen when one challenges and deviates from the norm.
Throughout his illustrious career, travelling around the world, Divyanshu has rubbed shoulders with prominent figures, such as Amitabh Bachchan, Milind Soman, Tanvi Shah, Shikhar Dhawan and Jhonty Rhodes, to mention but a few. Needless to say, such a power-packed individual has attracted quite some attention. Divyanshu has been covered extensively by some of the world’s most popular media – BBC, The Times of India, The Hindu, CNNIBN, CNBC, Star Plus, Condé Nast Traveller, Huffington Post and more.
