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Chris Bertish
Adventurer & Best-Selling Author
Chris Bertish
Adventurer & Best-Selling Author
Biography
Chris Bertish is a man of many passions. He has set world records, stand-up paddled solo across the Atlantic, surfed monster waves, written best-selling books, presented keynote talks to hundreds of thousands across the globe and he has directed motion picture documentaries. Somehow, he has still managed to grow multiple entrepreneurial businesses in South Africa and across the world, and to fight for our youth, our planet and our future.
In 2010, Chris made headlines when he won the Mavericks Big Wave Invitational, a surfing competition without rival. Born a skinny kid in Kenilworth, Cape Town, Chris found a way to travel across the world and outwit, outsmart and outperform the world’s best-paid professional athletes – and forever change the face of big-wave surfing.
Six years later, after half a decade of intense training, Chris set out from Morocco, alone, on a stand-up paddleboard, with his sights set on the shores of Antigua in the Caribbean. 93 days, 7500 kilometers and uncountable challenges, terrors, self-doubts and trials later, he crossed the Atlantic Ocean and entered, tanned and bearded, into the Guinness Book of World Records. What is perhaps most inspiring about this tale is not the work of Chris himself, but the 1000 children of the Lunchbox Fund and Operation Smile that he did all of this for. 1000 kids who had been born with cleft palates, but who now have had their futures returned to them. He continues to use his adventures to support charities in the humanitarian, educational, sustainability and environmental realms, to bring about tangible positive change, and to inspire us all to be better human beings.
Both of these adventures have since been told through award-winning films and best-selling books. Red Bull Adventure has touted him as the one who “redefined the concept of extreme adventure.” He has become renowned for his dynamic and inspiring keynote addresses delivered to all areas of the globe, which move audiences to tears, to laughter, and to change, with a powerful narrative and audio-visual overload that keeps people on the edge of their seats from start to finish.
In the last few years Chris has shared the stage with Bill Clinton and George W Bush, has spoken at multiple global TEDx events, the World Economic Forum and the World Wildlife Fund, and has shared his insights with companies like Google, NASA, Cisco, Schneider Electric, Southern Wine & Glazer, Coca-Cola, Mercedes Benz and SAP.
Chris recently finished his new feature film documentary called Last known Co-ordinates, and is currently working on his second book, All in!, both of which tell the story of his trans-Atlantic journey.
Speaker Videos
I Believed in Myself and I Believed in my Dream
Ocean Drive Trailer
I'm Possible
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