Ed Coats

Ed Coats is a dynamic and brave adventurer who raced to the South Pole alongside Ben Fogle and James Cracknell in 2009, making up a five-part documentary series on BBC Two entitled, On Thin Ice. Also a well-achieved Doctor and Medical Director, Ed has many accomplishments that praise his drive for challenge and care for people, such as Co-Founding Total Fertility. In regard to his travels, Ed has proved himself a much-loved personality on TV and his subsequent achievements have ensured a catalogue of inspiring stories from his time travelling.

After joining team QinetiQ, Ed trained to compete in the race to the South Pole with teammates Ben Fogle and James Cracknell. Ed proved his potential after beating 650 candidates in a two-day training day and aptitude test. Displaying strength and determination, Ed faced obstacles like frostbite, hallucinations, crevasse fields and serious blisters while skiing 470 miles across Antarctica. Skiing for 16 hours a day in temperatures of -40 degrees Celsius, Ed and his teammates finished in second place in eight days, five hours and 35 minutes.

Ed has experience in leadership in his role as Captain for the teams who swam the English Channel, and in his own number of personal microadventures, which he named his '30 at 30'. This saw him take on challenges around the UK, including a mountain marathon on Dartmoor and a coast-to-coast race across Scotland. With admirable endurance, Ed has faced many challenges and achieved many goals, such as his venture as a former GB decathlete and his multiple degrees, including a Bachelor’s in Human Physiology and a Doctor of Medicine, guiding him into his professional career as a Consultant and Specialist.

Since his first televised expedition to the South Pole, Coats has co-led a skiing expedition in 2012, appearing on Channel 5's North Pole Ice Airport in the process. He would also head up an Extreme Classroom project, which took in The Coldest Classroom on Earth in the Arctic and The Hottest Classroom on Earth in Africa, for a BBC World series.

In addition to his ability to inspire and motivate a team, Coats is an entertaining after dinner speaker capable of rousing teams and leaving audiences in awe as he recounts stories of his incredible journeys. Able to present both sincerely and humorously, depending on the needs of any engagement, Coats is an expert at reading the room. With a keynote presentation able to rouse any team, Coats is without a doubt one of the most popular explorers and presenters of our time. From team-building to an evening of laughter and storytelling, Ed Coats is the perfect speaker to bring a buzz to your occasion.