Alastair Humphreys is one of National Geographic’s Adventurers of the Year, an accomplished speaker and a best-selling author. Alastair’s expeditions are deliberately varied but all are a call to arms that nothing is achieved without being bold enough to begin.
Alastair’s adventures have generated a wealth of inspiring stories and demonstrate his belief that in setting small targets you can go on to achieve outrageous goals. Alastair has cycled around the world, a journey of 46,000 miles through 60 countries and 5 continents - an epic journey described by explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes as 'the first great adventure of the new millennium.'
He has walked across southern India, rowed across the Atlantic Ocean, run the Marathon des Sables, completed a crossing of Iceland by foot and packraft, trekked in the Arctic, and walked across the Empty Quarter retracing the route of one of his heroes, Wilfred Thesiger, for 1000 through the desert in Oman.
In 2016, Alastair followed the footsteps of Laurie Lee by walking through Spain. Lee played his violin in bars to pay for food: Alastair had no musical skill at all. Undeterred, he set out to learn how to play the violin and although admitting he was ‘appalling’, Alastair faced his fears, left money and credit card at home and busked in Spanish streets to complete the walk - and, although often hungry, didn’t starve.
Alastair’s award-winning concept of microadventures - short, adventurous journeys close to home - encourage people to undertake adventures of their own and improve their physical health, mental well-being, and that all-important elusive work/life balance.
The message is clear: in every situation you can focus on the constraints and obstacles or you can look for the opportunities. As Alastair puts it, microadventures encourage 5 to 9 thinking – an innovative approach that applies to so much more than adventure. The concept of microadventures led to Alastair being named as one of National Geographic's Adventurers of the Year in 2012.
A very popular corporate speaker, audiences appreciate that Alastair’s messages are authentic and hard-won by trying new challenges in different environments. Alastair consciously steers himself away from becoming an expert in any one niche of adventure. Planning for a variety of expeditions requires not only careful consideration of the challenges ahead but also a willingness to accept that you cannot prepare for every eventuality and the confidence and nerve to trust yourself to figure things out along the way. In an era of instant gratification, expeditions demand a passion to pursue long-term goals with a determined but flexible attitude. Reviews across a range of sectors demonstrate that Alastair’s enthusiasm is contagious.
Corporate clients across all sectors appreciate Alastair’s ability to tailor his talk creatively drawing on his many adventures to deliver on their brief in his engaging, humorous style. All of his talks, accompanied by superb photographs, demonstrate the power of positive thinking and deliver the motivation and practical steps required to get started, make a change and focus on important goals no matter what they may be.
Alastair’s presentations are inspiring, down-to-earth, quick-witted, honest, energetic and he challenges the audience to set more challenging goals - to do more. He reminds everyone that nothing is achieved without being bold enough to begin it and encourages people to believe in themselves and their potential.
Alastair has published nine books (including three for children) and he is a keen photographer, award-winning short filmmaker, popular blogger and motivational speaker. Alastair is patron of the Youth Adventure Trust, Hope and Homes for Children, the Outdoor Swimming Society and the Yorkshire Dales Society.
‘Alastair was absolutely amazing! I heard people say that hands down he was the best speaker they have ever heard – and our group attends a LOT of conferences. His experiences and the stories he told were so inspirational and they tied in so well with our event theme and overall content. We sent out a survey to our attendees and asked them what their favourite part of the event was. Alastair was brought up time and time again.’
‘I wanted to thank you for attending our summit! I can honestly say that I’ve never had feedback about a keynote speaker like I did after your session. To say it was positive was a massive understatement – extraordinary was more like it!’
i-Prospect (USA)
‘I’ve witnessed many presentations over the years but I have never observed such universal engagement between the speaker and his audience. Al has a knack of being humbly inspiring and motivational whilst at the same time being just an ordinary guy (who’s managed to get off his backside and achieve a ton of extraordinary stuff). He effortlessly personalized his subject matter for the audience, was fun and memorable. Finally he was a doddle to deal with, wholly informal and flexible. An effortless 10/10.’
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