JJ Chalmers

JJ Chalmers is a Former Royal Marine Commando, turned motivational speaker and television presenter. He epitomises the mental resilience and determination required to overcome adversity - a key factor to his appeal as a keynote speaker. Severely injured in combat was not the end of JJ's story, as he fought to not only live but thrive. Going on to win gold at the Invictus Games and carve out a new career in television presenting and public speaking, JJ is one of the best speakers on how to overcome adversity. With first hand experience of the qualities required to be undeterred by defeat, JJ makes the ideal speaker for a range of demographics, facing business dilemmas, personal challenges or looking for inspiration, a truly compelling speaker.

In 2011 a confident, qualified and dedicated Royal Marine Commander was deployed to fight in Afghanistan for England. The risk of the role became all too real when JJ was severely injured by an improvised explosive device (IED) on duty, causing facial deformity, loss of two fingers, leg wounds and the destruction of his right elbow. What followed was months of gruelling rehabilitation and him undergoing nearly 30 operations in eight weeks, however, his mental resilience never faltered and his determination to overcome the devastating blow in order to live a full life was nothing short of inspirational.

Being limited in his new life was not an option for JJ, who set the challenge for himself of reaching the 2014 Invictus Games for injured former or current army personnel. Not only did he participate in the adaptive sports event, but he secured gold in the Men’s IRecB1 Recumbent Circuit Race, bronze in the 1-mile timed trial and bronze in the 4x 100 mixed relay. A stand out star of the competition, the team spirit JJ had missed from his Forces days was reignited in his sports team. With such talent, and first hand experience of the cause the Games represent, JJ returned in 2014 as the Presenter for Invictus Games, fronting coverage for the BBC. A natural in front of the camera, JJ is demand from a number of broadcasters wanting the down to earth and charming former serviceman as their representative. 

Since his debut on the small screen, JJ has presented the 2016 Rio Paralympics for Channel 4, 2018 Commonwealth Games for BBC and most recently, he co-hosted BBC's morning coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, alongside Jeanette Kwakye. Having appeared on the likes of The Last Leg, Superhumans Show and numerous sports segments for news outlets, JJ was listed in Strictly Come Dancing's 2020 celebrity line up, finishing in the quarter finals of the competition. Today, he is the Presenter of Warship: Life in the Royal Navy & The Travelling Auctioneers. A truly captivating and inspirational speaker, Champions Speakers is honoured to be an official speaker representative of JJ Chalmers', honoured to present a speaker to clients who can offer transformative talks no matter the audience.

In August 2022, we sat down with JJ Chalmers to discuss how he overcame adversity & the impact the Invictus Games had on his recovery. Watch our Exclusive Interview with JJ Chalmers.