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Charlie Walker is an award winning British explorer, author and keynote speaker known for his extraordinary endurance, resilience and storytelling.
With over 60,000 miles travelled using only human power including by bicycle, foot, horse, ski and kayak Charlie has completed some of the world’s most remote and challenging expeditions, both solo and leading teams.
From the frozen rivers of Arctic Siberia to the deep jungles of Papua New Guinea, Charlie’s adventures are as much about the human spirit as they are about physical challenge. He has survived minus 50 degrees, crossed the Gobi Desert alone on foot, and undertaken a world first triathlon along the Europe Asia border. His longest expedition, a 43,000 mile bicycle journey, took four years and spanned 60 countries.
Charlie’s experiences offer powerful lessons in adaptability, pushing limits and overcoming adversity. He speaks with insight, humility and humour about the strength we find in difficult moments and the value of getting comfortable with discomfort.
A Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, Charlie is a four time winner of the Transglobe Expedition Trust’s ‘Mad but Marvellous’ award. His writing has appeared in The Times, The Telegraph, Geographical and on BBC Radio 4, and he has featured on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast. He is the author of two acclaimed travel books.
Charlie’s talks are ideal for organisations looking to inspire resilience, bold thinking and a sense of what is possible when we stretch beyond our comfort zones.
With hilarious and hair-raising tales from his adventures in the wilderness, Charlie examines how embracing uncertainty and pushing ourselves to our limits is the best – and perhaps only – way to truly expand those limits. There aren’t necessarily shortcuts to strength and resilience, but it’s certainly possible to set oneself on a steady path towards them by Doing Difficult Things.
Charting his journey from ambitious, adventurous chancer to professional explorer, Charlie sheds light on how and why we should set our sights on the biggest possible targets. All too often we choose the easy option and don’t think big enough. But we forget that the bigger and more ambitious our goals are, the better the outcomes, even if the initial target isn’t hit. Michelangelo once said “the greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.” When the parameters are right, even failure can become a positive.
Using examples from his various experiences selecting and leading teams for challenging expeditions in dangerous environments, Charlie imparts his tricks for spotting problems before they occur, using task cohesion to built team cohesion, and how to lead by example, exhibiting humility in leadership.
Exploring the complicated relationship between risk and reward, Charlie explains how to tread the fine line between boldness and recklessness. In his experience, accurately calculating risk has often been a life and death exercise, but the lessons he has learned are transferrable to both business and personal development.
It’s often tricky to get the balance right with external speakers, ensuring we portray the appropriate message. Charlie got the balance just right. The team were in awe of his determination and resilience which I know they’ll now bring to their careers! The feedback has been brilliant with many saying Charlie was the highlight, so thank you!
Charlie captivated the audience from start to finish. His talk led to continued discussions amongst colleagues with wishful thoughts of joining him on his next adventures. It was total escapism for a desk-bound audience who were eager to hear more…we look forward to inviting Charlie back after his next trip and to get a copy of his book!
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