Elia Saikaly is an award-winning adventure filmmaker and high-altitude mountaineer. His global adventures inspire others to find their most meaningful life and spark positive change. Having reached the summit of Mount Everest five times (a Canadian record), scaled the world’s second tallest peak, and completed over 25 world-class expeditions, Saikaly has proven he has the determination, stamina, skill, resourcefulness, and vision required to meet the greatest of challenges, and shows audiences how to do the same.
As a storyteller and mountaineer, Saikaly survived and documented the 2014, 2015, and 2019 disasters on the world’s tallest peak. His Everest imagery is regularly licensed by networks including National Geographic, Discovery, ESPN, Netflix, BBC, and many more. He also produced the reality television series, Everest: On the Top, which garnered him a CINE Golden Eagle Award, and won a Canadian Screen Award for his work with Rogers Sportsnet on the documentary, Limitless. In 2016, Saikaly co-created and co-starred in Discovery Channel’s Unclimbed: Reaching the Summit.
Saikaly spends most of his time working with NGOs and causes close to his heart. Through his storytelling and camera, he has supported Indigenous people in Canada, the Peuls people of the Sahara in Niger, Syrian Refugees in Lebanon, persons with albinism in Africa, the Dinka and Nuer in South Sudan, and beyond. For a decade, he ran his FindingLife educational program that connected tens of thousands of students to interactive real-time learning adventures. He currently sits on the board of the Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation of Canada that supports the Sherpa people of Nepal.
As an inspirational speaker, Saikaly has spoken to dozens of corporations and organizations, including high schools and universities, and is fluent in both English and French. Whether inspiring people through his camera or on-stage, Saikaly’s core mission is to elevate, inspire, and help make the world a better place.