Mark ‘Billy’ Billingham grew up tough, a grim future ahead of him offering little respite from the hostile streets he walked.

Leaving school at thirteen, he ran with gangs in Walsall – and almost died in a knife fight. At sixteen, Billy discovered the British armed forces. It would be the making of him.

During his time with the UK Special Forces group (UKSF), Mark Billy Billingham completed a multitude of different operations ranging from warfighting, peacekeeping, successful hostage rescues and counter-terrorism operations.

For his services, Mark Billy Billingham received the Queens Commendation for Bravery. He was honoured as a Member of the British Empire for his outstanding service as the SAS Ground Commander for the London 2005 bombings and for leading several successful and internationally renowned high-profile hostage rescues in Iraq.

Away from the military, he has worked as private security for several A-list Hollywood celebrities, including Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Kate Moss, Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe and Clint Eastwood.

In the public eye, he’s one of the popular members of Channel 4’s SAS: Who Dares Wins, alongside Jason Fox, Ant Middleton and Matthew ‘Ollie’ Ollerton.

He has recently been involved in his speaking tour, ‘An Audience with Billy Billingham’

Mark Billy Billingham – Author

Mark’s book, The Hard Way: Adapt, Survive and Win was published in 2019 to great acclaim:

‘The SAS and all it stands for is exemplified in men such as Mark ‘Billy’ Billingham. They are the backbone of the British military and I, for one, am thankful he is on our side!’ –Sir Ranulph Fiennes

‘The most experienced Special Forces soldier in recent memory. The Hard Way is brutally brilliant.’ – Tom Marcus, Number One bestselling author of Soldier Spy

In 2025, he released another book: Further: 10 lessons the SAS taught me about life

Mark says:

I have spent much of my life engaged in extreme combat, surviving battles all over the world during times of war. I’ve led gruelling SAS missions during military campaigns and conflicts in the most dangerous places. I have experienced life and death situations at close quarters, lost close friends and made enormous personal sacrifices in the name of protecting and serving my country.

During my career, I have seen the best and worst of humanity. Despite coming from very humble beginnings, I have learned the hard way. I want to show you how, if I can go through all the shit that I went through, and still come out the other side, then maybe I can help you to see how you can too.

The insights I will share with you are simple and attainable. I will focus on how you can develop self-discipline and push yourself a little further every day in your quest to overcome many of the obstacles we all face in life.

He is an exceptional and gifted corporate leadership motivational speaker.

His keynote speeches are raw, honest and grounded in lessons forged under pressure. Covering resilience, leadership, accountability, teamwork and adapting to change, he challenges audiences to raise their standards, take ownership and operate at a higher level.

Direct, engaging and deeply authentic, Billy delivers powerful messages that resonate long after the event ends.

An experienced and entertaining speaker, Billy has delivered keynote speeches at conferences and company meetings worldwide.