Ed Stafford: After Dinner Speakers

Ed Stafford is the Guinness World Record-holding first person to walk the Amazon River and has experience of surviving adversity in some of the world’s most remote jungle locations. Ed uses his experiences to inspire and motivate audiences to achieve their own personal goals and shows that it's possible to succeed even when faced with seemingly insurmountable hardship.

In 2011 he was awarded European Adventurer of the Year and the Mungo Park Medal by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society in recognition of outstanding contributions to geographical knowledge through exploration.  Sir Ranulph Fiennes described his expedition as being “truly extraordinary… in the top league of expeditions past and present.”

Ed is now an established face of Discovery Channel and his seventh series Ed Stafford: First Man Out is showing now on Discovery Channel globally.

A former British Army captain, Ed filmed and blogged about his trek through the Amazon and engaged followers all over the world for almost two and a half years. Ed’s tale of true grit, bravery and determination to succeed against all odds made headline news around the world. Ed’s footage was made into a documentary and was sold to over 100 countries.

To succeed against all odds, Ed had to overcome daily challenges, including flooding, electric eels, venomous snakes, jaguars and suspicious local tribes. Ed and his travelling partner were even held on suspicion of murder for two days! In an area rife with drug trafficking and terrorism, strangers are treated with wariness and distrust, and fear caused locals to become hostile. To win them over, and to ensure safe passage, a hot, thirsty and exhausted Ed, had to remain focussed and positive. Using only his sense of humour, natural charm and innate survival instincts, he had to learn to communicate and ingratiate himself to cynical tribesmen.

After Walking the Amazon, Ed has gone on to film seven survival series for Discovery Channel. The first, Naked and Marooned, involved him being stranded naked on an uninhabited island for 60 days with no food, clothing, water, or tools of any kind to help him survive.  With exceptional viewing figures Ed then hosted several new programmes for Discovery Networks International including two series of Marooned and also Into the Unknown and Left for Dead. Ed continues to make innovative and adventurous TV programmes.

Ed uses his adventures to inspire adults and kids alike to get outside and take some risks. In a world with increasing cases of mental health issues and a general feeling of disconnect, Ed believes passionately that adventures can be catalysts for personal growth and development.

Ed is an ambassador for Land Rover, the Scouts, and the Youth Adventure Trust. Ed is married to fellow adventurer Laura Bingham and they currently live in rural Leicestershire and have one son, Ran.

Determined, passionate and resolute, Ed’s challenges illustrate his willingness to continually strive forward. Able to share his incredible stories and motivate others to achieve their goals, Ed’s unique library of tales will entertain and endear all kinds of audiences.