Alex Staniforth

Alex Staniforth – Adventurer & Mental Health Speaker

Alex Staniforth is a record-breaking adventurer, ultra-endurance athlete, motivational speaker, published author, and charity founder from Cheshire – and an expert in resilience and achieving through adversity.

By 19 years old Alex had already overcome and achieved more than many will in a lifetime. As a teenager he survived the two most significant disasters in Mount Everest history, in two consecutive years. However, his biggest mountains have been much closer to home: epilepsy, bullying, mental ill health and a stammer since childhood. Alex never allowed this to become his identity – only his experience. Re-framing adversity as an opportunity has driven him to discover his potential and help others overcome their own ‘Everest’.

This is not your typical success story of reaching the summit. Alex takes his audiences on an emotional journey of resilience, courage, failure, teamwork and triumph over adversity. Combining lessons from adventure and ultra-endurance with a relatable vulnerability, he delivers a Return on Inspiration with his Resilience Rucksack toolkit, that anyone can apply to their own goals and challenges.

Despite facing numerous setbacks, Alex has never wavered in his pursuit of challenges and charitable endeavours. Following a failed attempt to climb Mount Everest in 2014 and a harrowing experience during the Nepal earthquake in 2015, he continued to push his limits. Alex has raised over £100,000 for charity, authored two books, and achieved remarkable feats such as becoming the fastest person to conquer all 100 UK county tops and running the National Three Peaks challenge – 452 miles in 9 days 12 hours. In 2020 he founded Mind Over Mountains, an award-winning charity dedicated to promoting mental well-being through nature.

Trusted by global companies including Rolls-Royce, Samsung and Bank of America, he helps teams, leaders and students build the resilience, motivation and mental fitness to overcome challenges, protect their wellbeing and achieve the extraordinary.

SPEAKING TOPICS

Alex’s key topics are:

• Mental Resilience – build the tools to thrive during setbacks, change & pressure
• Overcoming Adversity – turn adversity into opportunity with a growth mindset
• Motivation & Goalsetting – overcome fear of failure to achieve the extraordinary
• Mental Well-being – prevent burnout and open conversations about mental health
• Managing Change – maintain focus and performance when the goalposts are shifting

KEYNOTES

Resilience through Adversity –How to embrace the unexpected

Challenges and change are inevitable; being defeated is optional. Resilience isn’t simply about bouncing back or enduring to breaking point: it’s how we recharge, prepare and move forward – even when we can’t see the top of the mountain. Drawing lessons and insight from extreme adventures and ultra-endurance, Alex will share the tools in his ‘Resilience Rucksack’ for anyone to adapt and achieve in the face of setbacks, failure, uncertainty and pressure – when the whole team depends on it.

The Adventure Mindset –Why staying at Base Camp kills our potential

We all have our own ‘Everest’ to climb. However, fear of failure often prevents us from taking the first step and achieving our full potential – and staying at Base Camp might be the biggest risk of all. Two near-death experiences on Everest will re-define our idea of success and failure, and why adversity is an opportunity to win. Growth mindset is a skill we can all develop, and Alex will share his process for goalsetting and building motivation so we can achieve our own vision of success. Why settle for Base Camp?

Mountains in the Mind –Why mental fitness matters

High performance isn’t sustainable without training our well-being too. With a refreshing vulnerability, Alex openly shares his own mental health journey as a young man to encourage open conversations about mental health, whilst challenging the myths and stigma that costs thousands of lives each year. For leaders, supporting the team often starts by putting our hand up first. Drawing from his ultra-endurance challenges and lived experience, Alex shares tools to build our mental fitness so we can manage stress, spot the warning signs and avoid burnout – one small step at a time.