Cory Richards is a distinguished American mountaineer, photographer, and mental health advocate whose journey from adversity to achievement is both resonant and timely. Faced with significant challenges during his adolescence, including violence, bipolar disorder, and homelessness, these experiences profoundly shaped his understanding of mental health, resilience, and the power of storytelling and art. In his memoir, The Color of Everything, Cory unwinds his tumultuous past, offering an unflinching look at the realities of living with mental illness and the journey toward healing.

Richards is best known for his work with National Geographic Magazine and his career as a professional athlete. In 2011, he became the only American to climb one of the world’s highest peaks in winter, and in 2016, he summitted Everest without the use of oxygen. As a photographer, he has covered conflict, climate change, conservation, and culture, aiming to celebrate the complex intersection of humans and the natural world. His photo book, BIPOLAR; Photographs From An Unquiet Mind, further explores these themes by using emotional polarities to organize his imagery into a poignant commentary on humanity’s complicated relationship with itself and the world we inhabit.

Through both his writing and photography, Cory’s work is about breaking the story of broken. It is a celebration of neurodivergence, a hopeful reframing of what it means to be human, and an invitation to rewrite the stories we tell that keep us trapped.