Dr Alex Staniforth

Alex Staniforth is a record-breaking adventurer, ICF-trained coach, author, and charity founder from Chester. No stranger to adversity, Alex has overcome more than most will in a lifetime—including surviving the two biggest disasters in Mount Everest history as a teenager. His greatest challenges have been even closer to home: living with epilepsy, stammering, bullying, and mental ill health since childhood.

Being defeated, however, was not an option for Alex. 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 never stopped testing his limits to inspire others. He is the first and fastest person ever to run and cycle all 446 mountains in England & Wales in just 45 days, has written two books (Icefall and Another Peak), and founded Mind Over Mountains, a charity restoring mental well-being through nature. His remarkable endurance feats include running the National Three Peaks Challenge – covering 17 marathons in just 9 days, and climbing all 100 UK county tops in the fastest time ever. He has raised over £150,000 for charity and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Chester in 2025 for his contribution to young people’s mental health.

He has shared these experiences with global organisations including Rolls-Royce, Samsung, Accenture, FedEx and the NHS. But at 30 years old, Alex isn’t your typical motivational speaker. Combining feats of endurance and lived experience with practical resilience and mindset tools, Alex’s keynotes inspire audiences to discover their own resilience and overcome fear of failure so they can achieve the extraordinary – whether in business, leadership, or life. His story brings a relatable dose of honesty and vulnerability that bridges the gap between mental health and resilience, proving that wellbeing isn’t a barrier to achievement — it’s the foundation of sustainable performance.

When he’s not inspiring organisations around the world, Alex is usually found running through the hills and chasing the next challenge. Why settle for Base Camp?

Alex’s most popular keynotes include:

Would you like to help your teams not only withstand setbacks and change, but thrive as a result?

With a humble and relatable style, Alex delivers inspirational keynote presentations in person, virtually and hybrid. Presentations are typically 30-60 minutes with Q&A, but Alex will work meticulously with your brief to understand what a successful experience would look like for your audience.

Re-defining Resilience: How to Embrace the Unexpected

Challenges and change are inevitable; being defeated is optional. It’s time to re-define resilience in our rapidly changing world. Resilience is no longer about bouncing back or enduring to breaking point: it’s how we recharge, prepare and move forward in the face of adversity.

How do you keep moving when you can’t see the top of the mountain? Drawing insight from ultra-endurance and extreme challenges, Alex will share the tools in his ‘Resilience Rucksack’ to overcome setbacks and maintain performance despite uncertainty, failure and pressure – when the whole team depends on it.

Achieving the Extraordinary: Turning Setbacks into Success 

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 – when staying at Base Camp might be the biggest risk of all.

Recalling two near-death experiences on Everest and his challenges closer to home, Alex’s story brings a unique perspective of success and failure to help us discover opportunities in the face of adversity and change.

This keynote will explore the key components of goalsetting to bust the myths of motivation and build a growth mindset so we can achieve the seemingly impossible. Why settle for Base Camp?

Mountains in the Mind: Building Mental Fitness to Beat Burnout   

High performance isn’t sustainable without managing 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 an athlete mindset, Alex shares his mental fitness toolkit so we can manage stress, spot the warning signs of poor mental health, support others and avoid burnout – one small step at a time.