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Mark Agnew

Mark Agnew is a two time world record setting adventurer. He spent an incredible 103 days completing the notorious Northwest Passage by kayak. His speeches recount the epic adventure and lessons from the Arctic.

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Mark’s mix of honesty, humour, success, and failure made him an instant selection as a professional speaker, fit for the specific purpose we had in mind. Mark enables true adventure to be relatable to the day to day working life of corporate employees by his engaging storytelling and transparent approach to articulate his trials and tribulations. I’d highly recommend Mark for your event or professional speaking needs, easy to work with, great content and a fast turnaround time. Exactly what we were looking for!

Craig Clarke

Senior Manager, UKIMESA Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)

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Why you should book Mark Agnew for your next event

He will share gripping tales from a record breaking 103 day expedition in the Arctic.
Mark can tailor his message to suit your company's goals and messaging. He can adjust the length to match the event format.
Mark blends stories of failure, success, humor and honesty in his talks, making him an instant success with all audiences.

Mark is a record breaking adventurer. He and his team set two records in the Arctic's Northwest Passage - first to kayak the historic route and first to do it using human power, with no motors or sails, in a single year. The expedition took 103 days.They faced down polar bears, were almost crushed by ice and had incredible encounters with whales. Mark's talks focus on building resilience in the workplace, how to bounce back from failure and understanding your own motivations. He talks openly about mental health issues. His lessons are based on interviews with psychologists and give a robust framework for his audience to apply to life and work. His clients range from small intimate groups of just 10 people, to large audiences like the End of Year Event for Marks and Spencer and the annual sales meeting for Fortune 500 companies including Heinken and Bosch.

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Keynotes

Keynote by Mark Agnew: Keynote topics

Build resilience, discuss mental health and be entertained by adventurous stories by hiring Mark for your event today.

Talks and workshops include:

Exciting tales of adventures at sea.

How to build resilience.

The importance of defining success.

How to create team cohesion.

Tailored talks to fit your event.

Bouncing back from Failure.

Audience interaction and group work optional .

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Customer Reviews

Craig Clarke Senior Manager, UKIMESA Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)

Mark delivered a very engaging and inspiring talk to our sales team. He had the ability to entertain and keep the audience gripped, while at the same time sharing some quite personal and emotional insights. His misadventures were funny and his determination to keep going were heart-warming. His research into the psychology of human behaviour was fascinating, especially when talking about teamwork and affability versus performance.

Rachel Day Marketing Great Britain, Bosch Rexroth

It was an absolute pleasure to have Mark come and talk to our GP trainee group. As well as him being very responsive to our communications, his talk was inspiring, engaging, entertaining and poignant. We shared in the highs and lows of his experiences as an adventurer, and along the way learnt that even what might be considered a failure has value for learning and personal growth. I would highly recommend Mark.

Debra Harper NHS, GP Training Programme Director

Mark delivered an excellent and captivating keynote webinar on this topic at the recent Fettes College careers day for students from Fettes and for in excess of five hundred senior five and six students from Edinburgh high schools. Mark's captivating session was a strong start to a morning designed to provide young people at this critical stage with insights to effectively explore and develop their Higher Education options. We would recommend him as a speaker.

Karen Jones Community Engagement Manager, Fettes College

Mark Agnew

Adventurer, freelance journalist & keynote speaker.

Mark and his team made history when they completed the Northwest Passage by kayak. The fabled Arctic route has been sought by adventurers for centuries - the most well known expedition in the passage was John Franklin, who became famous when he and all his crew perished after their ships became stuck in the ice.

Mark's journey and success in the Northwest Passage is astounding. And yet, Mark focuses first on his failed expeditions. He tried to row the Atlantic twice and was forced to abandon his boats just a few days in. The failure crushed him. It sent Mark into a mental health crisis.

Mark rebuilt his resilience and reexamined his motivations to go on and set two world records - the first to kayak the Northwest Passage and the first to do it under human power, no motors or sails, in a single year.

During his talk, Mark shares his journey from failure to success, with actionable lessons for your audience and workforce. Fundamental to Mark's recovery and success was letting go of extrinsic expectations and having his own intrinsic goals, like being immersed in nature and building camaraderie with his teammates.

Mark expertly weaves his lessons into fascinating, death defying stories from the Arctic. During the expedition they covered ultramarathon distances day in, day out, experienced extreme weather conditions and had unbelievable encounters with whales and polar bears. It is a talk sure to inspire your audience.