James Ketchell
Video
James Ketchell - Showreel
Book
Speaking Topics
Resilience
Motivation
Goal setting
Mindset
Overcoming adversity
Risks management
Bio
James Ketchell is a record-breaking adventurer, aviator, speaker and Scouting Ambassador who has achieved the extraordinary feat of circumnavigating the globe by land, air and sea - the first person in the world to accomplish this triple feat.
On 13 June 2026, James sailed into Gosport, UK, completing his third circumnavigation of the globe by sea. This follows his record-breaking 2019 flight around the world in an open-cockpit gyrocopter and his 18,000-mile cycle around the globe in 2014.
James’s extraordinary adventures began in 2014, when he became the first and only person to have rowed across the Atlantic Ocean, summited Mount Everest and cycled around the world - an incredible challenge dubbed by the media as ‘The Ultimate Triathlon’.
In 2019, James made history once again when he became the first person to complete an officially ratified circumnavigation of the globe in an open-cockpit gyrocopter, earning a Guinness World Record. His mission was to inspire a million young people around the world to pursue their own goals and dreams.
But James’s story is about far more than record-breaking achievements. In 2008, he was recovering from a serious motorcycle accident that left him with broken legs and a severely broken and dislocated ankle. Doctors warned that he would likely suffer a permanent walking impairment and would probably never return to the active lifestyle he had enjoyed.
His adventures have also involved extraordinary moments of danger. James has survived two mid-ocean rescues, including one in which he found himself clinging to a rope ladder on the side of a 100,000-tonne oil tanker in storm-force winds in the Indian Ocean.
Having struggled with confidence and ambition as a teenager, leaving school with no qualifications and spending much of his early life lacking direction, James understands the power of finding a goal and believing it is possible to achieve it.
For more than a decade, he has passionately shared his story and the lessons learned from his adventures with businesses, organisations and young people around the world — inspiring audiences to challenge their own limitations, embrace adversity and turn ambition into action.
Aranda Site Director, GSK
"James came to GSK and gave us the opportunity to enjoy and vibrate with his adventures and experiences. He really engaged GSK audience with his amazing story-telling which was perfectly synchronized with photos and videos. He is really an example of hard work and determination and has shown us that you can reach any goal you set, you just need to believe that you can and to go one step after the other and you will finally reach it"
Commercial Director, Avis UK
“James is an engaging and exciting speaker. His story is a unique one combining personal challenge, adventure, adversity and achievement. I can thoroughly recommend James as his story is authentic and relevant to a business audience, whether large or small. He leaves you to draw your own conclusions in a witty and often understated way, which makes it all the more appealing and different. James is not your typical motivational speaker, but rather a very motivated speaker!”
Yorkshire & North East Regional Leader, PWC
"James has an amazing story to tell. Listening to the challenges he's faced and how he overcame them is truly inspirational. In a really engaging manner, he manages to relate his outstanding achievements to a broad audience, giving them real food for thought on how to go about far less daunting challenges themselves. His enthusiasm was infectious and the feedback from our team was excellent."
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