Alex Staniforth is a record-breaking adventurer, Everest avalanche survivor, author and mental health charity founder from Cheshire – and an expert on resilience through adversity.
As we emerge from the pandemic, shifting goalposts and uncertainty have left many running on empty, burnt out and struggling to hold the pace. Alex brings insights from extreme adventures and ultra-endurance challenges down to earth, helping business uncover the tools to take advantage of adversity, protect their well-being and climb back up.
At the age of 27 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 to the summit of 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, mental ill health and a stammer in early life. In 2016 he returned to the Himalayas and reached 7,125 metres on Cho Oyu, the sixth highest peak in the world. 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.
He is now dedicated to helping others reach their own Everest, fundraising over £100,000 for charities, carrying the London 2012 Olympic Torch through Chester and winning a Pride of Britain Fundraiser of the Year award in 2017. He published his first book Icefall in 2016, endorsed by Bear Grylls, and his second title Another Peak was published in July 2019.
Openly suffering with depression, anxiety and eating disorders since a teenager, Alex challenges the masculine perception of adventure through the power of vulnerability. In 2020 he founded Mind Over Mountains, a charity to restore mental well-being and resilience through outdoor experiences. In 2020 he ran the National Three Peaks Challenge, climbing and running 452 miles (17 marathons) between the UK’s three highest peaks in just 9 days 12 hours, and won TGO Magazine Silver ‘Campaigner of the Year’. Now based near the Lake District, he serves as an ambassador for The Westgrove Group, YHA England & Wales, Ellis Brigham Mountain Sports and an Ordnance Survey ‘Get Outside’ Champion.
Confronting his stammer head-on, Alex shares his insights with business teams, organisations and conferences across the UK, Europe, South America and Asia to challenge self-limiting beliefs and inspire action. Through his ‘Resilience Rucksack’ tool, Alex helps teams prepare for the challenges ahead and develop a proactive approach to well-being. Alex has already helped organisations including Bank of America Merrill-Lynch, Rolls-Royce, Smurfit Kappa, the NHS, British Cycling, Shoosmiths, Bristol Myers- Squibb and many more to invest in their resilience and well-being. With the rising costs of mental ill health and burnout – can you afford not to?
