About Mark Pattison

SUMMIT THE MATTERHORN WITH MARK CHALLENGE ON MYQFIT APP

Proven Leader in High Performance

NFL Veteran. Seven Summits Climber. Emmy Award Winner.

Started Two Venture Backed Companies. 10 Years With Sports Illustrated. Helped Take Arena Group Public On The NYSE

Mark uses real world experience, not theory, to help teams, executives, and organizations perform with discipline and clarity.

One of the Most Accomplished Leadership Voices Today

Built audiences reaching over 1 billion page views a year with S.I.

Trusted by Businesses, Athletes, and High Performers

Emmy Award Winning Storyteller

The First NFL Player to Climb the Seven Summits

Mark Pattison built his life on pushing past limits. He rose from a high school Hall of Fame athlete to the University of Washington Hall of Fame to the NFL. Years later, during a difficult chapter, he set a new mission: become the first NFL player to climb the Seven Summits.

That journey tested him with storms, snow blindness, near-zero oxygen, collapsing ladders, and the emotional weight of climbing for his daughter Emilia. It also became the foundation for his upcoming book, Finding Your Summit, where he distills the mindset lessons behind his SUMMITS model.

His Everest climb and personal story became the Emmy Award winning documentary Searching for the Summit.

In business, Mark spent years helping scale major digital brands at Sports Illustrated before shifting to keynote speaking and executive coaching. Through more than 275 podcast episodes and countless stages, Mark now equips people and organizations to find purpose, build resilience, and reach their highest peaks.

Throughout his entire life, Mark has worked hard to achieve massive results. Here is a small sampling of his success in multiple disciplines.

Football

High School:
- High School All American (Junior as WR, Senior as QB)
- Inducted into Hall of Fame 2005
College:
- University of Washington
- 2 Rose Bowls and 2 Aloha Bowls, 1 Orange Bowl including winning catch.
- Played under legendary Hall Of Fame coach Don James
- Inducted into Hall of Fame 2016
NFL:
- Played 5 years.
- Drafted in 7th Round by LA Raiders.
- Played with New Orleans Saints.
- Member of NFLPA

Entrepreneurial Life

CEO & Co-Founder of The Pattison Group, a branding merchandising company. A successful multi-million dollar business for 15 years with three core target areas for market penetration.

1) Direct Marketing
2) Online Sales
3) Partnerships. Starbucks, Microsoft and Amazon part of the client base.

CEO & Co-Founder of Front Porch Classics, a venture-backed company that was acquired by University Games. Front Porch Classics invented the term Coffee Table Games. FPC focused on creating games to interact between Dad’s and their kids. Investor backed, FPC won Toy of the Year in 2001 and 2002, the product was sold in over 700 different retail locations and distributed in 7 countries. The company was sold in 2006. Mark’s responsibilities were to help create the marketing plan, fundraise, manufacture, warehouse, partnerships and sell.

SVP of Business Development for Scout.com. Scout is a sports digital media company which was sold to CBS Interactive in 2017.

Mark is the FOUNDER, GM + SVP of Sports Illustrated Team Sites called On SI. He founded the vertical in 2019 and has become the fastest growing team network in sports history vaulting the iconic brand back to #1 ahead of ESPN. Mark continues to launch new sites and work with its parent company, Minute Media.

Background

Mark Pattison is a former NFL wide receiver, elite mountaineer, entrepreneur, and keynote speaker whose life has been shaped by endurance beyond the spotlight. When his professional football career ended, he faced a challenge familiar to many high achievers: rebuilding identity and purpose after the applause fades.

Seeking direction, Mark turned to the mountains—ultimately becoming the first former NFL player to climb the Seven Summits, the highest peaks on each continent. His journey was later captured in an Emmy Award–winning documentary, chronicling perseverance in the face of uncertainty and extreme conditions.

Mark’s story has been featured by Sports Illustrated, NFL Films, and major media outlets worldwide. Today, he speaks to organizations, leaders, and teams about resilience, reinvention, leadership, and how to keep moving forward when the path ahead is unclear.

Philanthropy

In 2020, Mark created a new campaign called Emilia’s Everest, the Lhotse Challenge. The goal was to raise $27,940 which was accomplished. The NFL social justice department and the Las Vegas Raiders also donated to the cause. All proceeds go to Higher Ground.
In 2019, Mark organized and raised $29,800 for a project called Emilia’s Everest. The event held in Sun Valley, Idaho raised both money and awareness for the National Epilepsy Foundation.
In 2017, Mark partnered with Chris Long of the Philadelphia Eagles and raised over $46,000 to build water wells for the people of Tanzania through his foundation, Waterboys. They brought awareness to the cause by climbing Mt Kilimanjaro with other NFL Players and War Hero veterans in 2017.
In 2013, Mark also raised $10,000 for inner-city kids of Los Angeles during his Mt. Kilimanjaro climb in 2013. http://westcoastsports.org/

The Summit Master

In every facet of his life, Mark Pattison scales personal and professional summits. Mark is a former NFL Player, philanthropist, podcaster and successful entrepreneur & currently an executive at Sports Illustrated and now has climbed all Seven Summits having completed this feat by scaling the death-defying Mt. Everest in the spring of 2021. Mark dedicated his climb to his daughter Emilia who is overcoming her own Everest by defeating epilepsy. Mark has raised over $150,000 with generous donations from many individuals, the NFL and Las Vegas Raiders. All proceeds go to Higher Ground.

In the Fall of 2021, the NFL debuted a documentary called Searching for the Summit about Mark's epic journey he experienced on Mt Everest. The film was nominated for Best Cinematography and was also nominated and WON Best Short Documentary in 2022 Sports Emmy Awards. This 30 minute film can now be seen on NFL360 - click here to watch.

Mark's podcast, Finding Your Summit has over 200,000 downloads after 275 episodes which provides powerful conversations with celebrities, sports legends and others about overcoming their adversity and finding their way.

The Summit Master

Mark Pattison | Emmy Award–Winning Storyteller & Keynote Speaker

Mark Pattison is an Emmy Award–winning former NFL player, mountaineer, and leadership speaker whose story of resilience and reinvention has reached audiences worldwide.

In the fall of 2021, the NFL debuted the documentary Searching for the Summit, chronicling Mark's extraordinary journey on Mount Everest. The film was nominated for Best Cinematography and won Best Short Documentary at the 2022 Sports Emmy Awards, marking a defining moment in Mark's post-football career as a storyteller and thought leader.

🎬 Trailer: markpattisonnfl.com/emmy/

In 2020, Mark was featured on the NFL Network in a special segment titled "Life After Football", which aired during the Raiders–Chiefs pregame broadcast in Week 7. In the piece, Mark shares how he turned to the mountains after navigating a challenging personal transition—and how endurance beyond the spotlight reshaped his life.

📺 Watch the segment: markpattisonnfl.com/life-after-football/

Having been a teammate, climbing partner and friend of Mark's for over 35 years, I can say without hesitation that he is a man of tremendous integrity, moral conviction and mental toughness. His ability to both lead from the front and be a core team member speaks to both his strength of conviction as well as his selfless attitude. Mark has a vision and an energy that others are naturally drawn to, his ability to inspire others with both his words and actions are beyond compare. This is a man that has reached the highest peaks professionally as an NFL player, in business as an entrepreneur, as a father and as a high altitude mountain climber.

Jim Mora

UConn Head Coach

Watch Speaking Reel and Invite Mark to Keynote your Event

While most people talk about achievement, Mark has actually DONE it, multiple times through his Pyramid of Success formula! Who better to talk to your audience or team about setting big goals (Playing in the NFL, Climbing the Seven Summits, Leading Sports Illustrated to #1 & an Emmy for Best Picture ) and then attacking them than Mark? He's got the experience, credibility and business chops to back it up. PLUS, a % of Mark's speaking fee will be donated to Emilia's Everest Challenge through Higher Ground, a not-for-profit dedicated to bridging the gap between disability and belonging.

LEARN MORE ABOUT BOOKING MARK FOR YOUR EVENT