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Alex Staniforth

Alex Staniforth

The Adversity Adventurer – record-breaking adventurer, Everest avalanche survivor, author and mental health charity founder.

At just 27, Alex has already survived the two biggest disasters in Mount Everest history as a teenager.

Alex Staniforth is a record-breaking adventurer, ultra-endurance athlete, author and charity founder from Cheshire who is no stranger to overcoming challenges.

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 for growth has given him a unique drive to inspire young people to achieve 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.

After single-handedly raising over £35,000 in corporate sponsorship whilst still at school, Alex’s first attempt to climb Mount Everest in 2014 was abandoned following a tragic avalanche that took sixteen lives. In 2015 he was trapped at Camp 1 for two days following the Nepal earthquake and an avalanche which took the lives of three team-mates at Base Camp.

Alex has continued to push his limits and re-define success, raising over £100,000 for charity and publishing two books, Icefall and Another Peak. In 2017 he became the fastest person ever to climb all 100 UK county tops by bicycle, foot and kayak, covering over 5,000 miles in 72 days, and winning a Pride of Britain award. In 2020 he completed the National Three Peaks on foot, running 452 miles in just 9 days 12 hours, and founded Mind Over Mountains, a charity to restore mental well-being through nature, working in partnership with the NHS.

Alex openly shares his own mental health journey to encourage conversations and challenge stigma. Resilience is more than simply ‘bouncing back’: it’s how we recharge and move forwards through the challenges ahead.

As an inspirational speaker, Alex has been trusted by schools both in the UK and internationally, and regularly speaks for Duke of Edinburgh’s Award presentations at Buckingham Palace and award evenings.

What goals and challenges are your students facing?

Book Alex and take the first step out of Base Camp.

With an unassuming, frank and relatable style, Alex delivers his expertise through inspirational keynote presentations and workshops in person, virtually and hybrid – ideal for awareness days, assemblies, award evenings and more.

Presentations are typically 30-60 minutes with Q&A, but Alex will work meticulously with your brief to understand your challenges and what a successful experience would look like for your students.

Testimonials from Teachers

"As a Building Learning Power school we ensure children are given opportunities to develop the life long learning habits of reciprocity, resourcefulness, reflection &, above all, resilience. Alex was the perfect choice to give a motivational presentation to our children describing his experiences of overcoming adversity and being resilient in his pursuit to climb Everest. His presentation was well planned, interactive, beautifully illustrated and powerful. A true inspiration for young people, Alex became, and continues to be our learning hero."


– Kate Jones, Deputy Head, Eastway Primary School

"From the minute Alex started speaking, our pupils were captivated by his story. Hearing from someone who had faced so many struggles in his life and then seeing what he had achieved was truly inspirational. He was so humble and relatable that the pupils felt they really got to know him and what he was about. It was great to hear about overcoming adversity, setting goals and never giving up, no matter what challenges you are faced with. Feedback from our pupils has been so positive, comments like 'I really need to think about what I want to do with my life' to 'I now know that I can achieve anything I want to if I work hard and focus on my goals' were just some of the things they said. We are looking forward to reading his book once it's published and hope this will be the first of many more visits to St James'."


– Dominique Rarity, Director of Personal Development, St James' Catholic High School (Cheadle)

"It was a well-constructed, interesting presentation which you delivered, without notes, in a very engaging way. Students related well to the challenges you recounted, even those who were less driven by the mountain itself! The setbacks and moments of revelation helped to make the story both interesting and inspiring and, once again, the whole audience was able to take aspects of the experiences and put them into a personal context."

– Andrew White, Head of Sixth Form, Abbotsholme School​

"You brought together a large and varied audience of different roles, 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 Mead, Chief Superintendent, Cambridgeshire Police

"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 Lawson, CEO, BOSS Federation

It was an absolute pleasure coordinating and speaking with Alex. From our first online meeting to regular email communication we knew that Alex would be the perfect fit for our students. His presentation was inspiring and the students were mesmerized. This was no mean feat, considering that it was the students last day of term and they have had a lot of ‘online’ lessons this year.In over a year, we (the teachers) and the students have had to adapt, be flexible and for a number, deal with anxiety. Showing them a way to climb their own mountain certainly got them thinking.

– Clare Dixon-Clarke, Grade Level Leader, International School in Zurich

You were truly inspiring, everything we could have hoped for and so much more, captivating, moving, just brilliant.

– Dave Hopley, County Commissioner, Cheshire Scouts

I wanted to say a really heartfelt well done, I was seriously moved and I am in awe of your approach to life. I just can't believe your story and I am so pleased you managed to re-focus your targets and thrive from your experiences. Your mindset is phenomenal and I enjoyed listening to your story of re-evaluation and positivity. I am sure the graduates and all the attendees will take something away after listening to you. Your honestly re your mental health experiences was truly touching and if we all talked like you we would be in a much better place!

– Liz Wright, Code Nation

“You were truly inspiring, everything we could have hoped for and so much more, captivating, moving, just brilliant.”

– Dave Hopley County Commissioner, Cheshire Scouts

“It was an absolute pleasure coordinating and speaking with Alex. From our first online meeting to regular email communication we knew that Alex would be the perfect fit for our students.

His presentation was inspiring and the students were mesmerized. This was no mean feat, considering that it was the students last day of term and they have had a lot of ‘online’ lessons this year. In over a year, we (the teachers) and the students have had to adapt, be flexible and for a number, deal with anxiety. Showing them a way to climb their own mountain certainly got them thinking.”

– Clare Dixon-Clarke, Intercommunity School Zurich

“I wanted to say a really heartfelt well done, I was seriously moved and I am in awe of your approach to life. I just can't believe your story and I am so pleased you managed to re-focus your targets and thrive from your experiences. Your mindset is phenomenal and I enjoyed listening to your story of re-evaluation and positivity. I am sure the graduates and all the attendees will take something away after listening to you. Your honestly re your mental health experiences was truly touching and if we all talked like you we would be in a much better place!”

– Liz Wright, Code Nation

“Thanks again for making the event so special. I've had several students come up to me today to say how much they enjoyed your presentation. That is rare praise indeed from teenagers!”

– Neil Dixon, Bromsgrove High School

Speaker File

Location

Cumbria

Topics

  • Teen Speakers
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
  • Well-being
  • Disability
  • Anti-Bullying
  • Mental Health
  • Adventure

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