Joe Simpson

Elevated to stardom after a near-fatal mountaineering accident, Joe Simpson’s account of his ordeal has become one of the most motivational and inspirational anecdotes on the after dinner speaker circuit. This experience has even been made into a feature length documentary, Touching the Void, a testament to Joe’s unbelievable story. An international bestselling book turned BAFTA Award winning film, Joe’s tale of two friends thrown into a nightmare of life and death decisions, captured the imaginations of millions. When booked for events, he retells this experience with captivated audiences, instilling in them the determination he used to survive the ordeal.

Joe’s story keeps audiences on the edge of their seat. In 1985, while climbing the West Face of the Siula Grande, Joe broke his leg during the descent. He was later separated from his climbing partner, Simon Yates, and faced the dangers of the harsh terrain alone. Joe and Simon survived, returning to the UK with a broken leg and spine-chilling memories. Despite doctors telling Joe that he would never climb again, after six operations and two years of rehabilitation, he took to the mountains again. As a motivational speaker, Joe promotes the importance of teamwork and determination when faced with an uphill challenge, opening the eyes of his audience to their own potential for growth.

Joe is an experienced and knowledgeable climber. Having conquered expeditions in Nepal, the Peruvian Andes, Karakoram and the Himalayas, his second book, The Game of Ghosts, tells the story of his fall in Nepal while climbing. Joe’s experiences have taught him skills in perseverance and mental resilience, topics which feature in his motivational speeches. Another one of his books, The Beckoning Silence, was later made into a Channel 4 documentary and awarded the 2003 National Outdoor Book Award. Having overcome hardship on the side of a mountain, Joe teaches audiences how to beat the odds in their own lives.

A compelling and enthralling motivational speaker, Joe is in constant demand for events around the world. A consummate professional who can tailor his content to his audience’s needs, he is famed for his humour, eloquence and down to earth personality. Including strategy, teamwork and goal setting, his talk, titled Touching the Void, showcases the psychological and physical strength that Joe showed in Peru. A tale of human endurance, he proves the power of human spirit, and the strength already within his audience to succeed.