Paul de Gelder

Paul de Gelder helps teams and leaders build resilience and embrace change so they can overcome adversity, lead with courage, and achieve extraordinary success.

De Gelder is former Army Airborne and a navy bomb disposal diver. He is a shark attack survivor, author, and television host on Discovery's 'Shark Week'.

De Gelder’s adventurous life took a dramatic turn when a 10-foot bull shark attacked him during a routine Navy dive, severing his hand and leg. Rather than succumbing to despair, he channeled his indomitable spirit, fought through excruciating pain, and reclaimed his life. His journey from trauma to triumph is marked by resilience and determination. His chronicled his recovery story in his autobiography "Uncaged.”

De Gelder has also been a guest on major TV talk shows and starred as a guest trainer twice on the Biggest Loser Australia. He has hosted over 25 documentaries for Discovery Channel’s ‘Shark Week’, where he learned to hand-feed bull sharks, hammerheads, and blue sharks and dive with tiger sharks and even Great Whites without the protection of a cage.

Will Smith featured de Gelder in his Facebook series “Bucket List” as his shark diving mentor, and de Gelder taught UFC Hall of Famer Ronda Rousey how to hand-feed bull sharks. Mike Tyson became de Gelder’s shark diving student. Paul also became part of an anti-poaching team in Africa to film the excellent work the Rangers did for "FEARLESS," which aired on NatGeo.