Will pike
Insight that Inspires Change
A survivor of the Mumbai terror attack and leading voice in disability inclusion, Will Pike delivers keynote talks that challenge assumptions, reshape thinking, and drive meaningful change.
Exploring resilience, belonging, and masculinity when strength is redefined by vulnerability.
STRATEGIC INSIGHT
Will Pike works with global organisations navigating change, uncertainty, and responsibility.
Drawing on lived experience of terrorism and disability, his talks explore what happens to leadership and masculinity when certainty falls away - offering grounded, often wry insight into resilience, inclusion, decision-making, and human-centred leadership.
Why Will Pike
In 2008, Will Pike was seriously injured during the Mumbai terror attacks while staying at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. The attack caused life-changing injuries and a long period of recovery, drawing him into an experience of fear, dependence, and uncertainty that sits at the far edges of ordinary life.
Beyond the immediate trauma, it offered an unfiltered view of the breadth of human experience - how people respond under extreme pressure, how care and kindness emerge in crisis, and how survival reshapes one’s understanding of vulnerability, resilience, and what it means to be human.
Perspective you can't simulate
Living with disability in the years that followed required a fundamental recalibration of identity. Assumptions about independence, usefulness, and strength - many of them inherited and unexamined - no longer held.
What emerged instead was a quieter understanding of masculinity, shaped as much by reliance on others as by resilience, and by humility as much as endurance. Along the way, humour became less a defence and more a way of staying connected - a reminder that dignity, perspective, and shared humanity often matter more than control.
Experience that changes the room
Today, Will draws on these experiences not as defining events, but as points of connection. They offer a way of speaking honestly about vulnerability, resilience, and difference - and of finding common ground across cultures, roles, and perspectives.
His work is driven by a belief that when we allow lived experience to inform how we listen, lead, and relate to one another, we create space for more thoughtful conversations, more inclusive systems, and a world shaped less by fear and certainty, and more by understanding and possibility.
When Tragedy Becomes Public
Dignity, survival, and what happens when personal trauma is absorbed by the global gaze
This keynote reflects on surviving the Mumbai terror attacks and the disorienting experience of becoming part of a global tragedy. Will explores how systems intended to protect often fail those most in need, and why change is sometimes the only route to justice.
Disabled by Outdated Thinking
Belonging, exclusion, and the right to participate
This keynote explores what it means to become part of a marginalized group through outdated systems that limit participation. Will reframes access as a matter of rights, not accommodations.
Keynote Topics
These four flagship keynotes draw on lived experience of terrorism, disability, and vulnerability. Each can be delivered as a standalone talk or shaped to reflect the context, audience, and conversations that matter most.
The Broken Body
Recovery, camaraderie, and rethinking disability from the inside out
Set within a spinal injuries unit, this talk explores recovery as a shared human experience. Will reflects on confronting internalized stigma and highlights the role of technology and community in rebuilding a life.
What Makes a Good Man
Masculinity, vulnerability, and becoming more human
A closing keynote reflecting on masculinity through disability. Will examines how rethinking strength can lead to deeper relationships, empathy, and a more expansive idea of being a good man.
Professional Credentials
Since 2018, Will Pike has worked as a disability consultant and speaker, delivering keynotes and talks in person and online for a wide range of organisations, from global brands to industry bodies.
Industry Expertise & Strategy
GLOBAL BRAND STRATEGY + DISABILITY INCLUSION + SYSTEMIC CHANGE + PEER SUPPORT + CORPORATE ADVISORY + GLOBAL BRAND STRATEGY + DISABILITY INCLUSION + SYSTEMIC CHANGE + PEER SUPPORT + CORPORATE ADVISORY
Other Work, Media & Roles
Alongside keynote speaking, Will works across consultancy, media, acting and advocacy projects that explore disability, identity and lived experience.
The Disability Taskforce
Consultancy initiative
Consultancy initiative helping organisations turn lived disability insight into practical change through strategy, training and e-learning.
Spinal Injuries Association
Peer support volunteer
Peer support volunteer speaking with newly injured people about life with a spinal injury and connecting them to the charity’s wider support.
ZBD Talent
Acting representation
Acting representation supporting authentic disability representation across film, television and commercial projects.
Spotlight Acting Profile
Professional acting profile
Professional acting profile including credits and casting information.
BBC – Spinal Injury: A Life Changing Crisis
TV interview
BBC interview discussing life after spinal injury.
Back to the Taj
Documentary
Documentary revisiting the Mumbai terror attacks and Will’s experience inside the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel on that fateful night.
Yes I Can, If
Short film
Will's widely shared short film exploring disability and everyday barriers on the highstreet.
Start a Conversation That Inspires Change
Will Pike works with global organisations navigating change, uncertainty, and responsibility. For keynote bookings, consulting inquiries, or media appearances, please reach out directly.
To discuss your event or check availability, please email:
Connect & Follow
A survivor of the Mumbai terror attack and leading voice in disability inclusion, Will Pike delivers keynote talks that challenge assumptions, reshape thinking, and drive meaningful change.
Exploring resilience, belonging, and masculinity when strength is redefined by vulnerability.
Will Pike works with global organisations navigating change, uncertainty, and responsibility.
Keynote Speaker
Drawing on lived experience of terrorism and disability, his talks explore what happens to leadership and masculinity when certainty falls away — offering grounded, often wry insight into resilience, inclusion, decision-making, and human-centred leadership.