Sports
Adventurers
Adventurers:
World Champion Adventure Racer & Author
A world champion adventure racer, firefighter and founder of World Class Teams, Flashover Seminars and the Project Athena Foundation, Robyn Benincasa accepts full blame for motivating people to do insane things.
Explorer & Ocean Advocate
Continuing the mission of her grandfather, Jacques and father, Phillipe Cousteau to protect the world’s oceans, Alexandra is a National Geographic "emerging explorer," filmmaker and gifted storyteller.
Deep-Sea Explorer
One of the world's most accomplished deep-sea explorers, Robert Ballard discovered the RMS Titanic and President Kennedy's PT-109. He is the Explorer-in-Residence for the National Geographic Society.
Adventurer / Entrepreneur / Author
Peter Hillary takes audiences "with him" on his adventures: to the summit of Mt. Everest; traversing Antarctica to the South Pole; feeding a pod of sharks; or making a terrifying vertical in a storm on K2.
Inspirational Mountaineer
Speaker Sharon Wood is the first North American woman to summit Mount Everest. She is also the founder of Mountain Gate Community School.
Ultramarathon Man
A remarkable athlete and marathon runner, Dean Karnazes is the author of Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner. During his sports career, he has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity.
Extreme Adventurer, Award-Winning Author & International Keynote Speaker
Neal Petersen has completed two amazing journeys in his life: a single-handed yacht race around the world, 27,000 miles, 9 months at sea, alone, and in the smallest, least-funded yacht, he designed and built himself.
Preeminent Polar Explorer
Ann Bancroft is the first known woman in history to cross the ice to the North and South Poles. She leads the Ann Bancroft Foundation, a nonprofit organization that celebrates the potential of females.
Six-Time Ironman World Champion
Mark Allen's first six attempts at the Ironman triathlon were all losses, until he finally won on his seventh. He shares with audiences the principles that enabled him to turn adversity into success.
6X Guinness World-Record Holder, Extreme Explorer & Author
Featured in the 2024 Guinness World-Records, Vanessa is the only woman to reach extremes on land, sea, and air and one of a handful of living female explorers that has the tenacity, grit and perseverance to transcend exploration boundaries.
Survivor of the Amazon
A philosopher and riveting storyteller, Yossi Ghinsberg survived 28 days in the Amazon before becoming an advocate for the treatment and rehabilitation of opiate addicts.
Astronaut
On July 20, 1969, Buzz made the historic Apollo 11 moonwalk, becoming the 2nd human to set foot on another world. Since retiring, Aldrin has remained at the forefront of efforts to ensure America’s continued leadership in human space exploration.
11-Time IRONMAN Champion
Lisa Bentley raced for 20 years as a professional triathlete. She won 11 Ironman and 16 Ironman 70.3 races. She should not have won any of them. She has cystic fibrosis, a life-threatening genetic lung disease.
Adventurer & Best-Selling Author
Chris Bertish has broken world records in numerous big wave surfing, Stand Up Paddle Boarding and many other water-based disciplines just as he has shattered perceptions in everything he does of what is possible.
Writer, Filmmaker & Adventurer
Writer, filmmaker and adventurer, Jon is a six-time grantee of the National Geographic Expeditions Council. One of the Society’s ‘Ocean Heroes,’ his first assignment for National Geographic Magazine was documenting a 3,741 mile crossing of Antarctica by dogsled.
World Adventurer, Sportsman & Explorer
Lebanon’s foremost sportsman and adventurer, Maxime Chaya was the first person from his country to hoist its flag atop Everest (2006).
Extreme Adventurer; Entrepreneur & Performance Coach
Business IS an adventure — and mountain-climber Jamie Clarke walks you through how to strategize and succeed in your own ventures. Jamie challenges his audience to reach their unique Everest and guides them towards leading teams to success.
Shark Attack Survivor & Shark Week Star
An Australian Navy diver who lost two limbs in a brutal shark attack that changed his life, de Gelder now inspires others to overcome obstacles and champions shark conservation.
Extreme Athlete-Kayaker & 2x World Record Holder
91 days alone on the ocean on a kayak: Kayaking solo, unsupported and non-stop across an ocean takes a distinctive character, one with grit, determination, and resilience. In his inspirational talks, Cyril relates his incredible journey.
New York Times Bestselling Author, Living Well & Performance Expert
Michael Easter is a New York Times bestselling author who's made a career of traveling the world to uncover innovative and practical ideas that help people live healthier, happier, and more productive and remarkable lives.
Manley is the founder of Vertical Lessons, Inc. He is an award-winning international keynote speaker, business leader and best-selling author.
Best-Selling Author & "Human Guinea Pig"
Known as "the human guinea pig," A.J. Jacobs lived as a biblical subject, followed every bit of medical advice to be the healthiest man alive, and followed other bizarre situations that he documents in his novels.
Inspiring Photo Journalist
Photographing stories all over the globe with National Geographic earned Dewitt Jones a reputation as an exceptional photojournalist. As a motion picture director, he had two films nominated for Academy Awards.
Leadership Expert Who Snowboarded on Mt Everest
Stephen Koch is a snowboard mountaineer, professional athlete and mountain guide. On the world’s highest and most challenging mountains, he makes calculated but uncertain decisions in the face of extreme danger.
Spinal Cord Injury-Recovering Athlete
A world-renowned athlete and adventurer, speaker Grant Korgan continues to climb and ski around the globe after having suffered a spinal cord injury and advocates for choosing positivity through adversity.
Recovering Athlete & Wellness Expert
World-record holding Antarctic Explorer, adventure athlete, author and motivator Grant Korgan takes the stage with his wife Shawna — wellness expert and life coach author — for a dynamic and life-impacting talk.
Olympic/Paralympic Games Medalist
Patrick “Blake” Leeper is an eight-time Paralympic Track and Field international medalist, world record holder and three-time American record holder.
Deep Sea Saturation Diver & Subject of the Film Last Breath
Chris has been a commercial diver for over 18 years, and currently specializes in deep sea saturation diving, operating almost exclusively in the oil and gas industry.
Adventure Sports & Travel Journalist / Author
Writer, educator, public speaker and entertainer Buddy Levy is a co-star of Brad Meltzer's Decoded on The History Channel. As a freelance journalist, he has covered adventure sports and lifestyle/travel worldwide.
Adventurer / Author / Motivational Speaker
In A Test of Will, Warren Macdonald recalls a climbing accident that resulted in the loss of his legs. Overcoming great odds, he became the first double above-knee amputee to reach the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro.
Filmmaker, Author & TV Host, Globe Trekker
Holly Morris is an award-winning filmmaker and writer, and television host. Her newest documentary, The Babushkas of Chernobyl, premiered at the 2015 Los Angeles Film Festival.
Akshay Nanavati is a U.S. Marine veteran, author, global explorer, and resilience expert who has conquered drug addiction in high school, PTSD, alcoholism, and near-suicidal despair after fighting the war in Iraq.
Award-Winning Global Marketing Leader, World Cyclist & Adventurer, Leadership & Performance Coach
James Peach is an award-winning global marketing leader (Ex-Uber, Ex-Coca-Cola, Ex-Vinted), world cyclist and adventurer, leadership and performance coach, and founder of The Growth Project.
International Explorer, World Record Setting Climber & Skier, and Award Winning Nonfiction Author
Jan Reynolds is a world record setting climber and skier, Olympic athlete, award winning author and photographer known for her ability to capture extraordinary imagery and stories while climbing and skiing in extremely high-risk environments.
Space Diplomat, Astronaut, Explorer & Artist
Namira Salim has an unusual nickname: “Collector of Firsts.” And there is good reason for it. Namira is the first Pakistani astronaut, the first astronaut from Monaco and the first female astronaut from the UAE.
Founder & Executive Director of the Pan-Mass Challenge
As Founder and Executive Director of the Pan-Mass Challenge, Billy Starr has dedicated 45 years to funding life-saving breakthroughs in cancer research.
Survivorman, CEO
Best known as the Canadian Screen Award winning producer, creator, director and star of the hit TV series Survivorman, Les Stroud is the only producer in the history of television to produce an internationally broadcast series entirely written, videotaped and hosted alone.
Marine Biologist, TV Personality & Author
Luke Tipple is a marine biologist, TV personality, best selling author, entrepreneur and pilot. Guided by the universal language of the water he’s spent the past 30+ years in, on or under the surface, experiencing its gifts and brutalities.