Sally Kettle is an inspiring adventurer, achieving the Guinness World Record for the first row across any ocean by a mother and daughter team. She is also the first woman to have rowed across the Atlantic east-west twice. Drawing from her extreme expeditions, Sally is an incredible motivational speaker who delivers enthusiastic and knowledgeable talks.
After graduating from university with a degree in Theatre, Sally wanted a change from a corporate lifestyle, setting her sights on rowing across the Atlantic Ocean. In 2003, she completed the expedition with her mother and earned the Guinness World Record for the first mother and daughter team to row any ocean. When she returned, she landed a job as a producer for BBC Radio Northampton and was eager to row the ocean again. She founded Rowgirls, an all-female rowing team aiming to break the record for the fastest Atlantic crossing. Facing various obstacles and setbacks on the journey, Sally and her crew completed the challenge and became the first three-handed boat ever to complete the trip. With her experience in extreme sports, she qualified as a personal trainer, working for Physio & More and with athletes at the London 2012 Olympics, alongside her role as a Trustee for London Sports Trust. She also continued her work in broadcasting as a writer and presenter for BBC Radio 4. In 2020, she became the Co-Founder and CEO of The Active Pregnancy Foundation, empowering women to get or stay active during the stages of pregnancy.
Alongside breaking records with her adventures, Sally has raised over £1 million for charity and published an autobiography, ‘Sally’s Odd at Sea’, describing her ocean journeys and the motivations behind them. Shaping the future of adventure, she was appointed Deputy Chief Guide of Girlguiding and has been an ambassador since 2014.
From school visits to corporate events, Sally shares insights on resilience, wellbeing, and human leadership. In her TED talk, A Drop in the Ocean, she explores the positives of challenging oneself. To hear about Sally’s record-breaking adventures, hire her today for your next event.
Books
Sally's Odd at Sea
Sally Kettle's official speaking topics are listed below:
- Resilience
- Motivation
- Accountability
- Elite Athlete
Official Feedback From In-Person & Virtual Events:
"One of the best talks of the series. The content was exactly what FourThought was set up to achieve - storytelling with a clear and thoughtful message." - Mohit Bakaya, Commissioning Editor of BBC Radio 4 - FourThought
"Really inspiring, beautifully presented. Great exercise-learnt a lot about myself as a team member – clever coaching opportunity. Truly inspirational. I am sitting here believing that I could achieve anything I put that much energy and commitment into. I just need to decide what my Atlantic Ocean is." - Barefoot Coaching
“Sally was the perfect mix of entertaining and insightful, bringing her adventures to life for our clients and happily answering the many, varied questions which inevitably came up from such a fascinating story.” - Brewin Dolphin
- 2025 – Named Impact Champion & Joined Sports Summit
- 2023 – Appointed Deputy Chief Guide of Girlguiding
- 2019 – Co-Founder & CEO of Active Pregnancy Foundation
- 2014 – Ambassador for Girlguiding
- 2012 – Writer & Presenter for BBC Radio 4
- 2011 – Personal Trainer for Physio & More
- 2010 – Trustee for London Sports Trust
- 2007 – Published autobiography, Sally’s Odd at Sea
- 2005 – Founded Rowgirls and completed second row across Atlantic
- 2004 – Broadcast Assistant at BBC Radio Northampton
- 2004 – Achieved Guinness World Record for first row across any ocean by a mother and daughter team
- 2000 – Graduated from University of Brighton with degree in Theatre with Visual Practice
How to hire Sally Kettle
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Sally Kettle for your next event, today. To get in touch, simply call an official booking agent on 0207 1010 553 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
** We do NOT accept requests for autographs, signed merchandise, fan mail, birthday messages or any other non-commercial contact with the speakers or acts. Each speaker on the website may not have necessarily worked with Champions in the past but are known to perform such engagements within the industry.
