Jaco Van Gass

Jaco Van Gass is a former Soldier in the Parachute Regiment of the British Armed Forces who was forced to retire from service following an injury. Since his injury, Jaco has completed various acts of charitable work and has forged success as a Paralympic cyclist, most recently winning double Gold at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games. Now hired as a motivational speaker, Jaco is committed to helping others improve their lives, both in and out of the workplace. When hired as a speaker, Jaco shares his perspectives on overcoming adversity, dealing with trauma, dealing with setbacks and facing challenges.

After joining the Parachute Regiment in 2007, Jaco was completing his second deployment in Afghanistan in 2009 when he was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade. He suffered catastrophic injuries, including losing his lower left arm, punctured internal organs and leg fractures. Despite such adversity, Jaco made a remarkable recovery and went on to become the first South-African born person to conquer Manaslu in the Himalayas in 2011. Since then, Jaco has also attempted to climb Mount Everest, which was unfortunately unsuccessful, and completed a 335 km march to the South Pole with Prince Harry for Walking With The Wounded, raising £1.5M. Jaco’s interests have since been focused on cycling, initially claiming two Gold medals at the Invictus Games, before claiming Bronze at the 2016 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships. 

Now a highly successful Paralympian, Jaco’s medal tally stands at four Paralympic Gold and one Paralympic Bronze medal. Jaco is also an 8x UCI Para-cycling World Champion, along with having claimed five Silver UCI Para-cycling World Championship medals and one Bronze UCI Para-cycling World Championship medal. In honour of his dedication, Jaco was appointed MBE in the 2022 New Year Honours for Services to Cycling. In addition to his Paralympic and World Championships success, Jaco has also honourably climbed Alaska’s Mt Denali, summitted Grand Paradiso, completed the Race Across America, became the first disabled team to complete the ABSA Cape Epic and claimed three World Records. In honour of such an inspirational life story, Jaco published Unequivocal: My Story, sharing his experiences in an honest and inspiring voice.

Today, alongside his Paralympic commitments, Jaco Van Gass is also hired as an awe-inspiring motivational speaker. Audiences are captivated by Jaco’s charm, humour and determination despite great adversity, telling his story of real-life adventures instigated by his injuries. Witty and determined, Jaco has a real drive for others to take the opportunities available to them to improve their lives, in both personal and professional settings. With his previous clients including the likes of the Bank of America, ITV, Barclays and Aviva, Jaco is a truly motivational speaker who should not be missed. If you are looking for a motivational speaker who can guide audiences on how to deal with trauma, overcoming adversity, achieving goals and dealing with setbacks, don’t hesitate to hire Jaco Van Gass today.