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Annasley Park speaks from lived experience about leadership under pressure, performing in uncertainty, managing fear, and sustaining high performance without burnout.
At just twenty nine years of age, she is the ninth solo, unsupported and independent woman in history to row three thousand miles across the Atlantic Ocean. A former professional cyclist, white-water raft instructor, Alpine chalet manager and superyacht deckhand. Annasley has spent over a decade working in demanding and unpredictable environments where resilience, adaptability, decision-making under pressure and self-leadership were essential skills.
Growing up on the military estates of Herefordshire, Annasley found her freedom in the mountains through sports, ultimately building a professional cycling career with the Great Britain Cycling team competing on the road and track, as well as signing for a UCI road team at World Tour level. However, injuries cut this chapter short, teaching her early lessons in rebuilding and resilience when identity and purpose is lost.
She went on to explore unconventional career paths that took her from source to sea. From Alpine chalet management to white-water raft instructing on the American rivers, and four years serving as a deckhand on superyachts travelling all over the world with high profile clients. Annasley gained unique insights into navigating diverse environments and thriving outside the conventional structures.
Despite her physical, mental and emotional fortitude, Annasley experienced severe burnout in 2023. That period led her to question what truly sustains people when pressure rises, plans fail, fear sets in and motivation runs out. Her Ocean Survivoar Challenge became the ultimate test of all the knowledge, skills, resources and networks she had developed. In less than a year, she brought the project to the start line, assembling a world-class team of experts in ocean rowing, communication, medical and equipment support and more, ensuring the expeditions success.
Her Atlantic row was more than a test of endurance. It was a journey into the critical 20% zone. An unpredictable space she calls the messy middle, a threshold of transition where you are no longer who you once were, but not yet who you are becoming. This is a space where human capacity outlasts the plan. The lessons she learned in that zone form the foundation of The Fortitude System, built on the disciplines of solitude, magnitude and attitude of any given challenge or faced adversity, helping audiences convert chaos into clarity, overwhelm into sustainable performance and fear into action.
In extreme environments, Annasley learned that the pause is not weakness. It is a tool for clarity, emotional control and better decision-making. Capturing the audience with her immersive share of capsizing ten hours into her fifty-four-day rowing expedition really sets the scene and relates closely to the fast-paced workplaces, constant noise, urgency and pressure that prevent people from accessing their best performance. This talk explores how intentional solitude and strategic pauses help individuals and teams manage stress, regulate emotion, and perform more effectively when they enter the messy middle.
Rowing an ocean is not about the three thousand miles. It is about the next stroke. Every day brought new challenges and lessons from the very moment she pushed off from Gran Canaria all the way to Barbados. Annasley shares how breaking down overwhelming challenges creates focus, a state of flow and sustainable performance physically, mentally and emotionally. This talk helps audiences understand how to handle scale and expectations without becoming paralysed by the size of the challenge, as well as putting a new perspective on what a change cycle looks like.
When plans fail and fear sets in, attitude becomes the deciding factor in performance. Drawing from her diverse career paths, exploration and personal battles, Annasley explains how a sense of awe and wonder is her anchor in any given situation, letting fear be acknowledged but not overruling. Personal responsibility and self-leadership allows individuals and teams to perform effectively in high-stakes environments.
Annasley gave a presentation at the start of this year’s Viasat International Government prestigious annual dinner attended by senior government, military and industry leaders and officials from nine countries. Her themes of personal resilience and fortitude, all vividly illustrated by her own personal experiences as a professional sportswoman and trans-Atlantic rower, set the tone for an excellent evening and sparked widespread conversation. We had great feedback across the board.
She is an impressive woman with an inspiring story to tell and she tells it well. Her delivery on the night was professional, relaxed and polished.
Annasley is a pleasure to work with; personable, charming, flexible and enthusiastic, if you’re looking for a refreshing way to kick start conversations at your next corporate event, we’d recommend Annasley as a great speaker with a great story to tell.
Working with Annasley was an absolute pleasure from start to finish. She was incredibly flexible and collaborative throughout the planning process, making it effortless to coordinate on her presentation. Her professionalism and willingness to adapt to our needs made the entire experience seamless.
When Annasley took the floor, she immediately captivated our audience with her powerful personal story. She has a remarkable gift for storytelling—weaving together detail and emotion in a way that felt both authentic and deeply relatable. Her presentation flowed naturally, holding everyone’s attention from beginning to end.
What truly set Annasley apart was her ability to connect with people on a human level. She shared vulnerably and honestly, creating moments that resonated long after she finished speaking. Audience members spoke to me afterwards to express how moved and inspired they felt by her words.
Annasley’s presentation wasn’t just informative—it was genuinely impactful. She left the audience feeling motivated and empowered, with practical insights they could
