Sean Conway is an adventurer and extreme endurance athlete. In 2015, Sean became the first and only person in history to complete the Great British Triathlon: cycling, swimming and then running the length of Britain from Land’s End to John O’Groats. (The swim was considered impossible and had never been attempted.) With an adventure documentary by Discovery and considerable media interest, Sean and his trademark beard had arrived.
In 2016, Sean took on an even bigger challenge: a self-supported continuous Ultra Triathlon around the coast of Britain. Sean cycled 3,350 miles, ran 800 miles and swam from Brighton to Lulworth Cove to complete the coastal route. Discovery Channel followed Sean’s incredible challenge to produce a three-part TV series: On the Edge. This challenge was the world’s longest ultra triathlon.
In 2018, Sean became the fastest person ever to cycle the 4000 miles across Europe from Portugal to Russia, solo and unsupported.
Sean is now a hugely popular endurance athlete known for pushing his limits on unsupported challenges and the considerable public support he receives, particularly via social media, makes a real difference.
Although now well-known for his quirky take on endurance sports and adventures, Sean came to the UK in 2002 with just £100 in his wallet and started working in Cambridge cutting 12,000 cabbages a day. Later, having made his living as a photographer, Sean sold his business for £1 knowing he had to take a risk and change his life and its purpose. He found he had a talent for setting and reaching outrageous adventure goals. As Sean would put it, he found his beard.
Sean is passionate about encouraging others to take on a challenge and live life more adventurously. He tailors each talk and his messages are built around his own unique perspective on courage, resilience, challenge and a call to action – to ‘Find Your Beard’. (Beard is an archaic verb meaning to boldly confront or challenge). Sean knows what it takes to tackle seemingly impossible goals, develop resilience when it gets tough, and stay motivated for the long haul despite disappointment, injury and set-backs. Sean’s own story of how he ‘found his beard’ is entertaining, life affirming and inspirational.
Sean has written several books about his adventures including Hell and High Water: One Man’s Attempt to Swim the Length of Britain (2015).
