Freefall Launch with Brad Guy

At the age of 22, Brad, a notoriously outgoing and gregarious person, was celebrating a belated birthday present; a thrill-seeking tandem skydive. In what can only be described as a ‘freak accident’, Brad and his instructor’s parachute failed to open properly. Not once … but twice. The reserve chute got tangled in the first. With both parachutes failing, they circled furiously in the air like two rag dolls in a treacherous vortex, plunging 14,000 feet to the ground at 80kmph.

What are the odds of surviving a freefall from a plane 14,000 feet in the air? That is the equivalent of free falling from half of Everest. Well, they did survive, only just, but not without trauma and injury. Both physical and mental. A broken spine and torn neck were Brad’s physical scars; severe depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were his unseen scars. Brad went from a fun-loving, carefree young man to an introverted recluse, silently battling the dark throes of physical pain and deep emotional scarring.

With large doses of family love and intense personal counselling, Brad slowly fought back to reclaim a ‘new life’. A life that wasn’t like the old one, for that had died in the accident, but nevertheless a new life with a new perspective.

Freefall tells Brad’s story and is for anyone changed by unforeseen and catastrophic events or their friends and families. It is a powerful picture of what is often referred to as post-traumatic growth. We may be broken, but we can put ourselves back together in beautiful, new ways.

Brad Guy doesn’t just have an amazing story of survival, he is a dynamic and authentic public speaker who fiercely advocates for mental health awareness. He speaks to groups from all different walks of life on the topics of: re-entering life after trauma, self-acceptance through to self-expression, LGBTQ identity in a modern world and thoughtful communication. He is an educator on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and rehabilitation, with a passion for showing others how they too can achieve their dreams.

Brad is a former radio presenter, having hosted the Brad & Mandy breakfast show for Triple M in Gippsland. His media career has seen him host and MC events across the country, including interviewing stars on the Logies red carpet, to hosting events for campaigns like Movember. Brad has also worked with organisations like Relay for Life, Optus, Disability Sport and Recreation and Give Me 5. Brad’s story has also reached the global masses, with appearances on William Shatner’s The UnXplained (History Channel, Netflix) and Bear Grylls’ Survival Stories podcast on Amazon, among many more.

Personally, Brad is a fashion lover, dancing queen and Eurovision tragic.

Heather McNab's first job was in a library, where she got fired for stealing a Diet Coke from the fridge. She went on to work as a journalist and political staffer for almost a decade and now works for a not-for-profit helping young people to elevate their voices through the media. Out of hours you’ll find her consuming an unhealthy amount of pop culture, mainlining the news, and running her bookstagram @sisterhoodofthetravellingrants with two of her friends.