Ranulph Fiennes

Riverboat, hovercraft, manhaul sledge, skidoo…you name it, ‘The World’s Great Living Explorer” (according to the Guinness Book of Records) Sir Ranulph Fiennes has probably travelled on it during one of his many inspirational and record-breaking endeavours.

After a childhood in South Africa, Ranulph returned to the UK to follow in his father’s tracks from Eton to the Royal Scots Grey regiment. He became the youngest Captain in the British Army.
His adventures began at the helm of the Jostedalsbreen Glacier Expedition (1967 and 1970) and the British Expedition up the White Nile on a hovercraft (1969). With his first wife Ginny, he led the Transglobe Expedition (1979-82), and he remains today the only man alive to have travelled around the Earth’s circumpolar surface.

Other fearless feats include the Unsupported North Pole Russian Expedition (1990); the discovery of the lost city of Ubar on the Yemeni border (1991); and Seven Marathons in Seven Days on Seven Continents (which he completed in 2003 despite recovering from a heart attack).
He is the first person to receive from the Queen a double clasp medal to his Polar award, each of which acknowledges both Arctic and Antarctic achievements.

Ranulph’s adventures have raised millions for various charities, earning him an OBE for Human Endeavour and Charitable Services. In 2009, he became the first person ever to summit Everest and cross both polar ice caps, aged 65, he made a staggering £6.2 million for Marie Curie on the way.

His daring escapades have sometimes been chillingly life-threatening. In 2013, he lost fingers to frostbite following the removal of his gloves to fix a ski in -330C, causing him to pull out of his Antarctic trek.

On the opposite end of the thermometer, the fearless explorer competed in the Marathon de Sables ultra-marathon, his trek through the blisteringly hot Saharan Desert across 156 miles in just six days raised even more funds for Marie Curie.
Marie Curie is close to Ranulph’s heart as his first wife, Ginny, died of stomach cancer in 2003.

The culmination Ranulph's incredible fundraising efforts saw him named as the UK’s top celebrity online fundraiser by Just Giving in 2010.

With a multitude of exhilarating experiences to regale audiences with, Ranulph’s motivational speeches are littered with thrilling anecdotes from times spent pushing the limits of human endurance. Able to educate audiences on how best to build a team, overcome adversity and handle pressure, Ranulph inspires the speaking circuit.

His speaking topics include:

- Building a team: blending character and attitude

- Overcoming adversity

- Handling extreme pressure

- Connecting nature's hurdles to day-to-day

- Importance of determination, patience, discipline, and creative thinking