Ed Stafford

Ed Stafford attended the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst and left the military in 2002 as a captain. Ed used his leadership and outdoor skills as an expedition leader on community and conservation expeditions in the jungles of Belize, Guatemala and Borneo. After serving in Afghanistan as a UN contractor, Ed became Director of an expedition company in Patagonia Argentina carrying out scientific research projects and Northern Ice Cap traverses in Chile.

Ed Stafford walked into the history books when he became the first man to walk the length of the Amazon River. His epic adventure took two and a half years and everyone thought it was impossible. His achievement is, as explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes put it: 'Truly extraordinary - in the top league of expeditions past and present'.

Ed Stafford is passionate about encouraging others. He is honest and real about the challenges he faced in the Amazon: alligators, snakes, severe floods, electric eels, jaguars and the hostility of local tribes confronted with a tall foreign man in their midst.

Ed's story has powerful lessons about seemingly impossible challenges, resilience, risk, working with others, respect for other cultures and the natural environment and, of course, motivation and staying positive when things are relentlessly tough. Eds style of delivery ensures that messages about success in the face of adversity, the determination to achieve targets and riding out tough times are delivered in a very entertaining way with a large dollop of self-deprecating humour.

Ed filmed and blogged about his expedition from the heart of the jungle and engaged followers through social media during his long expedition. On his return, Ed's footage was made into a Discovery Channel documentary and was sold to over 100 countries. His book, 'Walking the Amazon' has been translated into several languages and remains popular worldwide.

Ed Stafford was awarded European Adventurer of the Year 2011. The Guinness World Records formally recognized Ed Stafford's achievement. He has received an award for outstanding bravery from Sir Ranulph Fiennes and the Transglobe Expedition Trust.

Following his epic walk of the Amazon, new challenges and opportunities were to follow. Ed filmed himself surviving on an uninhabited island for 60 days a tough project testing Ed in many and often unexpected ways. The resulting series Naked and Marooned with Ed Stafford was shown globally on Discovery Channel during 2013 and Eds book about his experiences was published the following year.

Eds latest series for Discovery Left for Dead premiered in the UK in September 2017. Left For Dead is a new adventure series that follows Ed in his attempt to escape from some of our planets most extreme environments: subtropical forests, frozen tundra and desolate mountains. Dropped in the wilderness with no survival kit, Ed has just 10 days to reach civilization.

A popular speaker at awards, after dinners and conferences, Ed draws on his adventures with humour and insight to inspire others to stretch their horizons and believe that they can do so much more.