Robin Horsfall

Robin Horsfall is an experienced army veteran and former SAS soldier who shares thrilling anecdotes of his adventures in his speaking engagements. He is also a prominent campaigner advocating for the Northern Ireland Veterans Movement. Having led a distinguished career in the military, Robin has developed exceptional leadership skills, which he translates to business environments to coach executives at some of the most prestigious organisations. A captivating speaker, Robin delivers powerful presentations on motivation, teamwork and peak performance.

At an early age, his parents divorced, and his mother married his stepfather, who adopted him and gave him his surname. Experiencing a broken family life, he struggled with his education, causing him to leave school in 1972 at 15. He then joined the army as a boy soldier, resulting in long periods of isolation and bullying by his peers. Overcoming adversity, he became a full member of the Parachute Regiment in 1974, serving three tours in Northern Ireland. In 1978, Robin applied to join the SAS selection. However, it wasn’t until his second attempt in 1979 that he was accepted.

As a member of the SAS, he was part of the counter-terrorism team who rescued the nineteen hostages held in the Iranian Embassy in London in 1980. Robin then qualified as a Paramedic and Sniper and completed several operations, including Operation Sandy Wanderer, where he discovered measles in the Bedouin Population of Oman. As well as qualifying as an Arabic linguist, he ran medical clinics globally and once built a medical centre in the Guyana Jungle. Moreover, Robin served as a bodyguard for notable individuals, including Rafic Hariri, Sheikh Mohammed, John Ackah Blay-Miezah and Dodi Al-Fayed.

Winner of the Australia Shukokai Karate Kata in 2004, Robin is also qualified as 6th Dan Black Belt in Karate and has taught martial arts for over twenty years. After suffering from a broken neck, he attended the University of Surrey as an undergraduate in English Literature and Creative Writing, graduating in 2016. Documenting his journey with the military in his book Fighting Scared, Robin is also the author of The Words of the Wise Old Paratrooper. Boy soldier, author, warrior poet and cancer survivor, Robin is a distinguished speaker with many exciting anecdotes to share.