User:AdamHolm/sandbox

Adam Robert Holm was born 7th of February 1994 in Stockholm, is a Swedish adventurer, public speaker, film maker and former professional windsurfer.

Sammanfattningsruta Adam Holm Born: 7th of February 1994 in Stockholm Place of residence: Stockholm Nationality: Swedish Occupation: Adventurer, film maker and public speaker

Biography Windsurfing career Adam Holm grew up on the island of Sandhamn in the outer Stockholm archipelago. From an early age he was told about the Olympic heritage of his family. Three generations before him had sailed the Olympics. The first one was Robert Holm that represented Sweden in the Stockholm Olympics 1912 winning the bronze medal. The second was Yngve Holm who who sailed together with his brother Tore Holm participating in the Olympic Games three times. Adam Holm’s father Björn Holm was reserve in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. Adam Holm took on the challenge to bring the family history forward from an early age. When he was 12 years old he bought his first windsurfing board at an auction. 14 years old he started competing, first in the Kona One Class, then parallel in the Bic 293 class, which is a feeder class to RS:X, the Olympic class. His first big title was conquered in Maspalomas, Gran Canarias, when he won the 2012 World Champion title in the Kona One Class. His second world champion gold was won in 2017, at the Kona One World Championship in Båstad on the Swedish west coast. In 2014 he won the Kona One European championship in Båstad, just ahead of his younger sister Andrea. From 2010 he gradually turned his attention into the Olympic RS:X-class with the clear aim to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics. He formed a one-man national team forcing him to find training partners abroad. He trained with Brits, Norwegians and Danish competitors among others. Over time he was welcomed by the Chinese team and trained with them for two consecutive winters. He didn’t get the results he was aiming for. But, after the Hyères regatta in southern France in the spring of 2016 he managed qualify Sweden for Rio Olympics. However, the Swedish Olympic committee rejected him arguing that he had not the capacity to win a medal, a prerequisite to qualify according to the committee’s standards. From turmoil towards a new direction The rejection was a deep personal set-back to Adam. He had put all his energy into the project for six years and he faced a mental collapse. The defining moment came on the train north back from Hyères. His training partner Sam Sills from GB managed to open a conversation on what they had experienced and what they could be grateful for during the years together. It turned into a conversation about how many people lose their connection to nature and if the two of them could reach out with their love for nature and share it. The conversation materialized into the project Chasing the Elements. A team of professional extreme sports athletes were put together with a few pure beginners for an expedition in September 2016 aiming for Lofoten in arctic Norway. The expedition resulted in a film shooting all kinds of sports like surfing, windsurfing, paragliding, downhill long boarding and the unique nature of the region. The purpose was clear – to reach out and make people aware of the connection to nature. The film’s gala premiere was in Stockholm in November 2017 at the Skandia Biograf. Parallel to that Adam went on a tour around Sweden to visit schools, presenting the film, talking about nature to school children and activating them. He also appeared on national television and in Dagens Nyheter, the leading quality daily in Sweden, presenting his project and his aim. This led to several speaking opportunities over the coming months and his mission materialized clearly – to reach out and reconnect the connected generation to nature. He gave speeches at Bygg Broar, JetPak and Holmgrens Galan to metion a few. Adventurer, film maker and public speaker In a very short period Adam Holm turned his attention from professional windsurfing into film making, public speaking and shaping opinion around nature related subjects. In early 2018 he went on a two-month long explorational tour to Mexico and USA with a multi fold purpose. In Mexico in December 2017 he attended a deep-diving course where learned to better control his breathing as a means to reach clarity and tranquility. The second phase of the trip was visit at the Gesundheit Institute in Virginia, USA, where he met his longtime role model, doctor Patch Adams, the founder of the institute. Coming back to Sweden he finished his second film, Chasing the Element – The movement, which describes his tour around Sweden to schools to create a movement around a strong cause. Together with photographer, adventurer and Mount Everest-climber Oskar Kihlborg he made a film in May 2018 about the Horsstensfjärden fairway in the Stockholm archipelago. The possible enlargement of the fairway is a project established by the Swedish Maritime Administration that has been heavily criticized by the local community and several NGO:s since it will demolish several pristine areas of the archipelago, according to the critics. The film was made as a contribution to the debate to showcase the beauty of the area. Adam Holm and Oskar Kihlborg appeared on national television presenting their film and views. Adam and his girlfriend Hanna Hax Linder is currently preparing for a six months trip to South America in October. They will stay with three different indigenous tribes in Colombia with the aim to learn from their ancient wisdom and bring some of it back to the modern western world.