Quadriplegic ex-rugby star Ed Jackson is on board with Elliot Brown as brand ambassador.
Since his retirement, Mr Jackson has turned his attention to fundraising and exploration and supports his charity Millimetres 2 Mountains in doing so.
The foundation aims to have a positive change for people who are facing mental health challenges as a result of encountering adversity in their lives, particularly those with spinal cord injuries, through exploration and adventure.
Ed’s journey resonated with Elliot Brown, a brand that has supported many key personalities and their challenges over the years, from world record rows and Antarctic expeditions to Paralympic medallists – all of which had adventure and fundraising at the heart of their missions.
In 2017 Ed’s professional rugby career, playing for Wasps, came to a severe end after he suffered a fracture-dislocation of his C6/C7 vertebrae sustained in a swimming pool accident.
The scale of his injury was so immense that he was resuscitated three times and told he may never walk again. Ed dug deep and his positive attitude helped him to go from strength to strength, driven by an ultimate motivation – the ability to walk – and beyond that, to walk a mile.
Having first tackled millimetres that seemed like mountains, Ed wants to use his story to motivate those facing seemingly impossible challenges. His journey is documented in his debut Sunday Times bestseller book, Lucky.
Ed suffers from Brown-Sequard Syndrome, a neurological condition that results in weakness or paralysis of one side of the body and loss of sensation in the other.
Temperature regulation, bladder control and restrictive walking are physical challenges that Ed faces on a daily basis.
However, this didn’t stop his sheer drive and motivation and a year after his injury he reached the summit of Snowdon in aid of rugby charity Restart. Since then, despite not classing himself as a ‘professional adventurer’ Ed has continued to scale peaks whilst raising over £200,000, with his wife Lois, for worthy charities, including the NHS and Wings for Life.
Ed defines himself as optimistic and happiest when he’s on the mountains, or in a beer garden with his dog.
Putting that to test over the next three weeks Ed is in Nepal taking on the biggest challenge of his life: making his way through the Himalayas to a remote corner of the Annapurna region to climb the Himlung Himal mountain.
If he succeeds it will be the first time that anyone with a spinal cord injury has stood above the pivotal 7000m mark.
On this specific challenge, Ed is joined by former soldier of the Parachute Regiment Ben Halms, who, during a routine training exercise hit the ground at a speed of over 75mph when his parachute failed to open.
Despite suffering a spinal cord injury he made an incredible recovery.
Since being medically discharged from the military Ben is finding a new path, one that’s leading him, along with Ed, up mountains to help others.
