Keynote SpeakersAlex Staniforth is a record-breaking endurance adventurer, motivational speaker, author and charity founder from Cheshire who has never taken the conventional path to the top.
Simply bouncing back is no longer enough to keep us ahead in the post-pandemic world. Uncertainty and fear have left many individuals stuck in survival mode and threatened their mental well-being more than ever.
As we re-align our summit and weather these unknowns, businesses face the challenge of maintaining high performance whilst protecting their most important asset – their people.
At just 25, Alex Staniforth is no stranger to adversity and confronting challenges, having survived the two most significant disasters in Mount Everest history as a teenager.
Through the lens of adventure, ultra-endurance and mental health illness, his presentations explore resilience and inspire teams to:
- Build the tools to stay resilient and productive during crises and periods of high stress.
- Proactively manage their physical and mental well-being.
- Redefine success to take advantage of adversity and achieve the extraordinary.
- Maintain motivation and performance when the goalposts are shifting.
Alex has already helped organisations including Bank of America Merrill-Lynch, Rolls-Royce, Smurfit Kappa, the NHS, British Cycling, Bristol Myers- Squibb and many more to invest in their team resilience and well-being.
About Alex Staniforth – Everest Adventurer
At 25, he has already attempted Mount Everest twice – but Alex is not your typical Everest speaker. After single-handedly raising over £35,000 in corporate sponsorship whilst still at school, his first attempt to climb Mount Everest in 2014 was abandoned following a tragic avalanche that took sixteen lives.
Aged just 19, he returned a year later and survived an avalanche in the Khumbu Icefall, triggered by the Nepal earthquake, which trapped his team on the mountain for two days.
Alex is no stranger to adversity after overcoming epilepsy, bullying, anxiety – and a stammer in early life. Confronting his stammer head-on, Alex shares his adventure anecdotes and insights with business teams, organisations and conferences across the UK and Europe.
His frank and relatable style inspire audiences to challenge self-limiting beliefs and inspire action. He is especially able to connect with millennials and understand the challenges they face in the modern workplace.
Mental Health, Change and Resilience Keynote Speaker:
With an unassuming and relatable style, Alex delivers his expertise through inspirational keynote presentations – live, virtual and hybrid.
These interactive sessions are always tailored to your objectives but are typically 30-60 minutes with exclusive media and Q&A discussion.
Embed lasting change following the session with a virtual team challenge, created by Alex using the interactive Sodisp platform, to encourage physical activity and healthy lifestyle habits both in and outside work.
Delegates can also take away Alex’s ‘Resilience Rucksack’ model, which identifies the components and mindsets required to maintain their resilience and form a personal well-being plan.
Popular keynote topics and themes include:
Achieving the Extraordinary – Embracing the Unexpected: why staying in Base Camp kills our potential.
We are continually striving for the next big target, yet this straight-line approach to achieving so-called success only leaves us vulnerable to the inevitable shocks. Fear of failure remains a widespread killer of innovation and a barrier to achieving our true potential.
By adopting a growth mindset, Alex will share his journey through adversity and why we can’t always control our challenges but can control our responses.
Two Everest disasters will redefine the concept of success and why a system-focused approach helps us overcome our fear of failure, take ownership of adversity and recover faster from disappointments.
We will explore why not reaching our goals can teach us more, the importance of commitment and reflection on the journey – why settle for Base Camp?
Mental Health & Well-Being Speaker
Peaks and Troughs: building proactive tools for positive well-being
We’re all on the same mountain, but not everyone is a Sherpa, and well-being has jumped top of the agenda for most businesses. Well-being is a state of coping with stresses, realising potential and making a contribution. However, this state can easily be knocked off balance by the challenges of modern life, especially the isolation and blurred boundaries of working remotely. Proactively building our resilience is key to restoring the balance and achieving positive well-being to thrive.
Through his personal lived experience, Alex offers a refreshing perspective to the textbook well-being approach, drawing strategies from the literal peaks and troughs of adventure and ultra-marathons that we can apply daily. We will explore the tools required in our ‘Resilience Rucksack’, dispel the common myths around mental health and avoid burnout when the whole team depends on it.
Unmuting Mental Health – reconnecting well-being in the new normal
We have never been so isolated at a time of substantial global connection and technology. In this keynote, Alex will share his real personal lived experiences of depression, anxiety and eating disorders as a teenager to challenge the stigma around mental health, particularly for men.
We will tackle common myths and barriers, learn how to spot the warning signs, and support others remotely. Through stories of human connection during ultra-endurance challenges, we will inspire leaders to raise a hand first, creating a positive multiplier effect and encouraging open conversations in the workplace.
By embedding this culture, we can increase early intervention, reduce presenteeism and build a happier, more productive team.
