From the lows of a tragic, life-changing accident to the highs of representing Australia as an athlete and inspiring an upcoming Hollywood movie, Sam’s path has been anything but ordinary.

In 2013, Sam’s dream life turned into a nightmare when on a family holiday in Thailand she unknowingly leant against a rotten balcony railing, crashing six metres onto the concrete below. She was lucky to be alive and had suffered devastating injuries including being left paralysed from the chest down.

Broken and hopeless, Sam reached her outer limits of physical and mental suffering. But with courage, determination and a little help from an unlikely feathered friend, she made her way back from the edge, scarred but undefeated.

Sam’s journey has inspired the international bestselling book Penguin Bloom, now being transformed into a major film produced by Naomi Watts, with Watts set to star as Sam.

Today, Sam has reconnected with her love for the ocean and made a return to surfing. In her first year back in the sport, Sam won gold and bronze medals in the womens and open divisions respectively, at the 2018 World Adaptive Surfing Championships in California.

"Lessons I've learnt in resilience, facing adversity, goal setting, mental wellness & healing"