Aaron Phipps

Aaron Phipps is a renowned Wheelchair Rugby Paralympic athlete who won Team GB’s first-ever gold medal in a team sport at the Tokyo Paralympics 2020. Named one of the Top 100 Most Influential People With a Disability in the UK, his determination, perseverance, and endurance have inspired many across the UK. Sharing his motivational story of overcoming adversity after losing 30% of his body to Meningitis C, Aaron inspires audiences to achieve their goals and adapt to change in his speaking engagements. He also helps boost team engagement, performance and mindset, translating his experience as an elite athlete to the business world.

Aged 15 in 1991, Aaron woke up with flu-like symptoms and 12 hours later, he was on a life support machine with a Meningitis C diagnosis. His condition was exacerbated by blood poisoning, also known as Meningococcal sepsis. In these life-threatening circumstances, Aaron was placed in an induced coma for two weeks, and it was decided that to save his life, his legs would need to be amputated from the knee down along with most of his fingers. Spending a year in the hospital receiving treatment, Aaron adapted to his new condition and by 2007, he started wheelchair racing to raise money for Meningitis charities.

In 2009, he was ranked the fourth UK Male in the Adidas Silverstone Half Marathon and London Marathon. It was during these races that he embarked on his sporting career, joining the GB Wheelchair Rugby squad soon after. His debut Paralympic Games took place in London in 2012, where he scored over half his team’s points. After taking a break from the sport, he returned to represent Team GB, playing an instrumental role in earning gold for Britain at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

In 2016, Aaron became the first disabled person to scale Mount Kilimanjaro unassisted. In an impressive feat of endurance, he crawled on his hands and knees to reach the top of the 6000m mountain, raising £250k for charity. The inspirational athlete has appeared on ITV, SKY, and BBC Radio 2 and was featured in The Times, The Sun, The Guardian, and The Independent. He was appointed MBE in 2022 for services to wheelchair rugby. Now highly sought-after as a speaker, Aaron speaks eloquently on overcoming challenges and achieving difficult goals, motivating audiences to make positive changes.