Alex Staniforth

Alex Staniforth is a record-breaking young endurance adventurer, author, charity founder and motivational speaker who helps teams and leaders to achieve through adversity.

You probably won’t have heard a speaker quite like Alex Staniforth before. Journeying to Mount Everest, Alex had to overcome challenges that nearly took his life, facing two of the biggest disasters in Everest’s history as a teenager.

Alex shares a human perspective to adventure with small and large businesses across the UK and internationally, helping them build the resilience to embrace failure, protect their mental health and keep moving forwards during crisis and uncertainty.

Contact Great British Speakers today to book inspiring adventurer Alex Staniforth for your next event.

Type Of Speaker

After Dinner Creativity, Change & Innovation Environment & Sustainability Exploration & Military Health & Wellbeing Keynote Leadership & Teamwork Mental Health Motivational Resilience Speaker

More About Alex Staniforth

Alex Staniforth is no stranger to overcoming adversity. In his early life, Alex suffered from a stammer, an eating disorder, epilepsy, anxiety and bullying, but this didn’t stop him putting his mind into action to achieve to some truly impressive goals.

In 2017, the adventurer became the fastest person ever to climb all 100 UK county tops by foot, bicycle and kayak, covering over 5,000 miles in just 72 days, at a rate of almost 70 miles per day. By the time he was 25, he had made two attempts at summiting Mount Everest, had published two books and founded a mental health charity.

Alex Staniforth Everest Mountaineer

His first Mount Everest attempt at just age 19, for which he single-handedly raised over £35,000 in sponsorship, had to be abandoned following an avalanche that killed 16 climbing Sherpas. He returned a year later, but again, this had to be abandoned following the 2015 Nepal earthquake which triggered another avalanche, killing three Sherpas and trapping Alex and his team on the mountain for two days. In 2016 he returned to the Himalayas and attempted to reach the summit of the world’s sixth-highest mountain, Cho Oyu, which stands at 8,000 metres. He managed to reach 7,125 metres before turning back. In 2020 he ran the National Three Peaks, climbing Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon, and running the entire 452 miles between – equivalent to roughly 17 full marathons – in 9 days 12 hours.

Whilst he hasn’t put his adventuring life behind him, he is now dedicated to helping others to overcome their own ‘Everest’ as a motivational speaker and has spoken at over 200 events and conferences across the globe. Alex put his experiences down on paper and published Icefall in 2016, which was endorsed by Bear Grylls, and Another Peak: Everest is Not the Only Summit in 2019.

Alex Staniforth Charity Ambassador

His challenges have raised over £100,000 for charities including Active Cheshire, Breakthrough Breast Cancer, Cancer Research UK, CLIC Sargent, the Himalayan Trust UK, Moving Mountains Trust, Red Endangered Animal Connection Trust and Young Minds UK. Alex is also the founding director of Mind Over Mountains, a charity aiming to restore mental wellbeing and resilience through outdoor experiences.

Alex Staniforth won the Pride of Britain Regional Fundraiser of the Year award in 2017, the TGO Magazine Bronze Open Outdoors award in 2021 and their Silver Campaigner of the Year award in 2020, and was chosen to carry the London 2012 Olympic Torch through Chester.

Alex is a superb brand ambassador for the likes of Ordnance Survey, Inov-8, Ellis Brigham Mountain Sports and Rubicon RAW.

Alex Staniforth Motivational speaker

Alex Staniforth is about more than just ‘being an inspiration’, he truly wants to help people get the most out of their lives. He has worked with companies of all sizes including Augere, Bank of America Merrill-Lynch, Rolls-Royce, Smurfit Kappa, the NHS, British Cycling, Bristol Myers-Squibb, British Cycling, Liverpool John Lennon Airport, Personal Finance Society and TED.

By having Alex Staniforth as a speaker, you can embed lasting changes into your employees and the business as a whole. He provides resources for delegates to take away, delivers follow-ups on keynote speeches or workshops to assist line managers to support their colleagues, works closely with colleagues to provide individual support, facilitates team challenges to encourage mental and physical well-being and provides access to well-being days for your team through his Mind Over Mountains charity.

Alex Staniforth speaking topics include:

– Resilience through adversity

– Re-defining success and goal-setting

– Building positive mental well-being in the workplace

– Dealing with change and uncertainty

Alex Staniforth Example keynote titles include:

Achieving our Everest: Why Staying at Base Camp Kills our Potential
Is the fear of failure keeping your team stuck at base camp? Alex explores his journey of fundraising, commitment and innovation in order to reach his goal. He teaches delegates how to take ownership of any obstacles and fear of failure, why commitment is key to success in the professional world and personal life and will help define why having a purpose will drive you forward.

How to Beat Burnout and Go The Distance
Living through the uncertainty of a global pandemic has negatively affected our mental well-being, eroded the boundaries between our work life and our home life, and created an ‘always on’ culture that undermines positive habits. Alex shares his proactive strategies to help us recognise when we’re struggling, how to recover from burnout, and how to prevent it from ever happening. He aims to instil the message that consistently high performance is only sustainable if ourselves, our colleagues and our family are looked after first.

Invisible Mountains: Opening the Conversation on Mental Health
Summiting something like Mount Everest, or winning a gold medal in the Olympics are often seen as a pinnacle of complete strength and confidence and invincibility. Alex shares his honest experiences of mental illness including anxiety and depression, as well as his eating disorder, to break down the common idea that elite sportspeople and adventurers, particularly men, are consistently strong. He explores how vulnerability and honesty can be really valuable when building a happier and more productive work environment.

Alex Staniforth – Millennial Speaker

Alex Staniforth particularly relates to millennial audiences and what motivates them in the workplace. He brings insights from extreme adventures and ultra-endurance challenges down to earth, helping businesses uncover the tools to take advantage of adversity, protect their well-being and climb back up.

Looking for something unique? Alex takes the time to ensure each talk is tailored to suit your event and reinforce your message with maximum impact. These sessions are always tailored to your objectives but are typically 30-60 minutes long with exclusive media and Q&A discussion.

A podcast with mental health speaker Alex Staniforth

As part of our ‘Chat with…’ series at Great British Speakers, our director Jane Farnham, sat down with Alex Staniforth to discuss his adventurous career, fundraising and what makes Alex such an engaging and motivational Mental Health speaker. You can watch the full interview on our blog HERE.

Call +44 1753 439 289 or email Great British Speakers now to book young adventurer and motivational speaker Alex Staniforth for your corporate event.

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Testimonials

Obstacles are opportunities in disguise, and Alex knows this all too well. His achievement requires high sacrifice, but he is a man determined to make his Everest dream a reality.
Bear Grylls OBE, Adventurer and TV Personality

Your session was fantastic and the content still buzzing around the room today, and I have to admit I quoted a few key messages in my closing remarks too. Lasting memory and something I will take back to practice ‘just think what we can achieve if we pull in the same direction’ – inspired.
Kay Mulcahy, National Chair, HEFMA Leadership Forum 2022

Alex’s ability to quickly grasp the messages specific to the team and our business and then weave this into his delivery was impressive. His authentic and humble articulation enabled there to be something in the messaging for everyone.
Jonathan Ford, Off Trade Director, Heineken UK

The universal feedback from all delegates was that the session was inspirational, stunning, awesome and engaging delivered by a stand-out speaker. We cannot underestimate the messages delivered or the embodiment of these in determination to continue in the face of setbacks. You have shown, many times, that your actions are equal to your words, a true role model for young people everywhere.
SASCAL Conference

Alex is an excellent speaker with a story that can motivate and inspire any room. We gave him a brief of closing one of our most high profile events , whilst reinforcing our key messages in his speech. I am pleased to say he more than delivered on our expectations.
The FA

I asked Alex to come and share his “journey” with my team of senior managers and executives to give a good example of how people overcome numerous obstacles and still come out as winners. His preparation for the presentation was meticulous, and customised to my need, message and audience. His presentation was delivered perfectly –the timing was good, the message was brilliant and the whole team were captivated. The message of overcoming obstacles to come out on top was simply thrilling. The teams feedback was of the highest praise. I have no hesitation in recommending Alex as a speaker.
Reckitt Benckiser

I was part of the group that was transfixed by your story and please take my silence in the immediate aftermath of your presentation as a genuine moment of reflection on what we humans can achieve, when facing adversity in the most challenging of circumstances. Whether it is up a mountain or in a playground!
Smurfit Kappa Open Leadership Programme

You have definitely inspired me to keep looking at everything that happens in a positive way. Every experience is a learning experience!
BOSS Federation ‘Leaders of the Future’ Conference

Alex’s keynote address positively inspired our Leaders of the Future conference audience – whatever their age. His impassioned talk transformed our day from being just a good one to being exceptional. He was also a very tough act to follow.
Phillip, CEO, BOSS Federationnce

He spoke in a way that inspired the audience to think about how they may help not just the students in their organisations but their own mental health and the mental health of people close to them. I think that everyone left his talk feeling empowered to tackle their own peaks and find their purpose.
Sanaa el-Busaidy, Universities UK

You bought together a large and varied audience of different toles, ranks and departments, and your presentation gave them the platform to step out of work, devote some time to themselves and their own mental health, offering your perspective and some techniques they can go away and use, and to realise that they are not alone. To link your expedition to Covid was brilliant and allowed us to think about things differently. Sometimes the approach to mental health within organisations as big and cumbersome as ours can feel a bit of a tick box, superficial exercise, but your sessions felt very different, very real, very humble and very authentic. In my view, you will have made a difference much bigger than you may think or ever know.
Chris, Chief Superintendent, Cambridge Police