Sep 05 - 07 2025
CrimeCon Denver – Keynote Speaker Barbara Butcher – Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center
Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center
Cory Richards is a world-renowned photographer, bestselling author, and leading keynote speaker helping individuals and organizations reframe adversity, unlock their potential, and embrace what once felt impossible.
Cory Richards is a globally acclaimed National Geographic photographer, adventurer, and resilience expert who has spent his life at the edge of cliffs, culture, and collapse, but returned with wisdom worth sharing. Named National Geographic Adventurer of the Year, Cory’s career spans over 50 international expeditions, multiple Everest summits (including one without supplemental oxygen), and a body of work that explores both human potential and inner turmoil.
He is also well-known for his keynote and motivational speaking. Cory Richards is available to be booked for corporate and private events. Contact the Mollie Plotkin Group today to inquire about Cory Richards’s fees.
Contact the Mollie Plotkin Group at (215) 995-0905 to book Cory Richards for corporate or private events, keynote speeches, workshops, fireside chats, motivational speaking, or virtual appearances. Our agency will work directly with your organization and our keynote speakers to create an unforgettable event.
The Mollie Plotkin Group is the leading keynote speakers agency and entertainment bureau bringing excitement to audiences, clients, and employees. We represent subject-matter experts in every possible field. So whether we’re your partner in creating a memorable meeting or your meeting planner’s secret weapon in securing the perfect keynote speaker, we’re in this with you.
Cory Richards is a resilience keynote speaker, bestselling author, award-winning photographer, and National Geographic fellow whose journey has taken him from homelessness and mental health battles to global stages and magazine covers. His story is one of extremes: Everest and avalanches, addiction and recovery, trauma and transformation. But more than anything, Cory’s life has been a relentless pursuit of truth: what makes us break, what makes us rise, and what makes us truly human.
A former professional athlete turned visual storyteller, Cory has summited Everest without supplemental oxygen, survived a near-fatal avalanche, and was the first American to climb an 8,000-meter peak in winter. His work capturing human conflict and resilience has earned him National Geographic’s highest honors and a loyal global following.
Today, Cory channels his life experience into “The Resilience Method,” a values-based framework designed to help individuals and organizations move from survival to sustainable growth. His approach draws from neuroscience, psychology, and the raw, lived reality of life on the edge. Rather than glorifying toughness, Cory helps audiences reframe resilience as a process of letting go, leaning in, and rewriting what’s possible.
Through powerful storytelling, immersive visuals, and unflinching honesty, Cory teaches that resilience isn’t the absence of struggle; it’s the willingness to face it. His message resonates with C-suite leaders, high-performance teams, mental health advocates, and anyone ready to meet uncertainty with agency, creativity, and trust.
From Oxford University to the World Economic Forum to SXSW, Cory has spoken to some of the world’s most influential audiences. His bestselling books, The Color of Everything and Bi-Polar, blend art, autobiography, and philosophy in a way that few storytellers can match.
With over 2 billion social media impressions, real-time storytelling from the world’s harshest environments, and decades of lived leadership experience, Cory brings unmatched authenticity to every stage. Whether addressing high-growth teams, change management events, or mental health-focused audiences, Cory’s talks don’t just inspire, they transform. He moves audiences beyond the noise of our attention economy, teaching practical skills to shift from survival mode into true resilience. By connecting mental health with business leadership, Cory demonstrates how aligned, healthy individuals create thriving workplace cultures; and how ignoring this truth leads to burnout and broken organizations. Cory’s keynotes can be completely customized to your unique needs. If you’d like to begin tailoring his appearance for your event, schedule a Zoom call with Cory and the MPG team.
Find out how to hire Cory Richards to appear at your next event. Contact the Mollie Plotkin Group to inquire about Cory Richards’s availability and cost. When booking Cory Richards for an event, we need to know the type of venue and location the event will take place. Cory Richards is a popular choice for corporate events, private events, and virtual events. So, you can click the Check Availability button or contact us and an MPG Cory Richards booking agent will get back to you within 48 hours.
How much to book Cory Richards depends on the type of event. So, the cost to hire Cory Richards for corporate or private events is available by contacting a Mollie Plotkin Group Agent. Notably, Cory Richards is available for conferences, festivals, private parties, and events. Just contact the Mollie Plotkin Group and tell the booking agent the proposed date, time, and location.
Our speakers are in high demand! View their upcoming events.
Resilience isn’t about gripping harder. It’s about letting go smarter. In this keynote, Cory shows how adaptation, creative thinking, and radical honesty become the engine of real transformation.
This keynote is ideal for: All-hands meetings, company off-sites, leadership retreats, mental health, or performance-focused events
Cory summited Everest alone, without oxygen. But what looks like solo success is always collective. Cory explores how trust, communication, and self-mastery build teams that thrive, even under extreme pressure.
This keynote is ideal for: Cross-functional teams, executive teams, high-growth orgs, change management events
Great leadership starts with self-awareness, reflection, honesty, uncertainty, and personal growth. Cory shows how emotional intelligence, transparency, and adaptability shape influence that lasts.
This keynote is ideal for: Executive audiences, emerging leaders, leadership development programs, founder teams
The old armor doesn’t fit. Through his own experience in the environment of professional athletics, Cory challenges outdated ideas of masculinity and toughness, opening the door to grounded, vulnerable, human-centered leadership that’s beneficial for everyone.
This keynote is ideal for: Men’s ERGs, DEI summits, sports orgs, creative/athletic industries, culture-shaping conversations
Mental health isn’t a liability; it’s a leadership skill. Cory helps teams move beyond stigma to build cultures of honesty, care, and sustainability that unlock their true potential.
This keynote is ideal for: Wellness events, HR/people teams, startups, high-pressure industries, mental health awareness programs
You don’t need to become someone else. You need to become more fully yourself. This talk helps audiences rewrite limiting narratives, reconnect to purpose, and reimagine what’s possible.
This keynote is ideal for: Conferences on change, innovation, brand culture, vision-setting retreats, high-stakes transitions
“Cory’s story proves that true leaders don’t wait for perfect conditions—they adapt, endure, and push forward despite uncertainty. A game-changing perspective for any team committed to thriving in the face of challenge.” – Jeff Fleeher, Former EVP/Global CFO, Universal Pictures
“As high as Cory has climbed to summit Everest, he’s arguably gone down deeper into the depths of his own humanity.” – Wesley Schultz & Jeremiah Fraites, The Lumineers
“Cory’s story is nothing less than a bullet train into the heart of darkness—and back out again.” – Amy Ellis Nutt, Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalist and author of Becoming Nicole
“The truth isn’t often told, it is lived. Cory’s journey, as told through his unique and daring vision, is as close to that truth as one can get.” – Reinaldo Marcus Green, American director and film producer of One Love and King Richard
A renowned climber and National Geographic photographer shares his incredible adventures—and the early trauma that drove him to seek such heights.
“An extraordinary memoir of mental illness that reads like a thriller.” - Amy Ellis Nutt, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and author of Becoming Nicole
“In order to escape madness, I will live madly. I will risk my life in order to save it.”
Growing up in the mountains of Utah, Cory Richards was constantly surrounded by the outdoors. His father, a high school teacher and a ski patroller, spent years teaching Richards and his brother how to ski, climb, mountaineer, and survive in the wild. Despite a seemingly idyllic childhood, the Richards home was fraught with violence, grief, and mental illness. After being diagnosed with bipolar disorder and dropping out of high school, Richards subsumed himself in the worlds of photography and climbing, seeking out the farthest reaches of the world to escape the darkness. Then, in the midst of a wildly successful career in adventure photography, a catastrophic avalanche changed everything, forcing Richards to confront the trauma of his past, evaluate his own mental health, and learn to rewrite his story.
The Color of Everything is a thrilling tale of risk and adventure, written by a man who has done it all: He’s stood at the top of the world, climbed imposing mountain faces alone in the dark, and become the only American to summit an 8,000-meter peak in winter. But it is also the story of a tumultuous life—a stirring, lyrical memoir that captures the profound musings of an unquiet mind grappling with the meaning of success, the cost of fame and addiction, and whether it is possible to outrun your demons. With exquisite prose and disarming candor, accompanied by stunning photos from his career, Richards excavates the roots of his trauma and shares what it took for him to climb out of it.
The debut photography collection from the internationally renowned photographer, filmmaker, speaker, and mental health advocate, featuring 300 curated images from his global adventure features, climbing expeditions, portraiture, and early fashion and fine art work.
An artist and storyteller who passionately explores the human experience, Cory Richards began working for National Geographic shooting adventure features in the most remote corners of the globe. As a professional climber, he spent his early career on high-risk expeditions that tested his unique ability to capture stories that were largely out of reach to others.
Bi-Polar, a title that refers to Richards’s own diagnosis with Bipolar 2 at age fourteen and the career that has literally taken him to both ends of the earth, presents 300 of the most compelling images of Richards’s career. Organized by the emotional polarities that exist in his life and work, including hope and fear, pride and shame, awe and contempt, and finally, the singular, love, this stunning visual collection is a celebration of the tempests of the mind and how our greatest hurdles, when seen through a different lens, can become our greatest strengths.
Spotlighting jaw-dropping landscapes, disappearing ways of life, the intersection of humans and animals, and more, Bi-Polar invites us to consider how art can connect us to ourselves, others, and the beautiful world we live in.
Disclaimer: The Mollie Plotkin Group is not responsible for errors, omissions, or outdated information on this website. The material presented on this site is provided by the speakers who are accountable for any copyright information, including licensing fees, if required. The Mollie Plotkin Group has permission to post the biographies, topics, photos, and videos with the understanding from the speakers that the information presented is legally owned by them. DMCA-1061737
Cookie Consent
We use cookies to improve your experience.
At MPG, we value connection—and that includes how we connect online. Cookies help us personalize your experience, improve performance, and bring you content that actually matters. Click “Accept All” to continue or view our Cookie Policy to manage settings.
