The first and only person to ever complete the Great British Triathlon, Sean Conway is an extreme endurance athlete and adventurer. The triathlon included him cycling, swimming and running the lengths of Britain, impressively the swim was considered impossible and had no one had ever dared attempt it. In 2016 Sean accomplished the world's longest ultra triathlon around the coast of Britain, this was documented by the Discovery Channel in a three-part TV series called On the Edge. Sean cycled a whopping 3,350 miles, ran an impressive 800 miles and finished by swimming from Brighton to Lulworth Cove.
Set to break records, in 2018 Sean cycled 4000 miles, completely solo and unsupported, from Portugal to Russia. He became the fastest person to ever do this. Despite numerous dangers such as the currents, weather and jellyfish, 135 days and 900 miles later, Sean successfully became the first person to swim the length of Great Britain.
Teaming up with yachtsman and good friend, Phil Sharp, the duo amazingly set a world record for the fastest sail of Britain. Travelling from Lands End to John O'Groats in 2015, aboard a Class 40 race yacht, the pair achieved an impressive time of 83 hours and 53 minutes. Although achieving huge amounts, Sean has faced numerous setbacks a significant one during his attempt to cycle the world and break the world record. After 3 weeks and averaging 180 miles a day, Sean was tragically hit by a driver causing concussion, whiplash, torn ligaments and a fracture to his spine.
Showing an unbelievable amount of determination, Sean continued and instead aimed to raise money for charity and be back in time for the London Olympics. Exceeding his changed goal, Sean arrived home with a week to spare after covering an impressive 16,000 miles 12,000 of which he covered with an injured spine. A passionate speaker with the aim to encourage others to live more adventurously. He uses his own perspectives on challenges, courage and resilience to tailor his talks, urging the audience to 'Find Your Beard'. With personal experience tackling what appear to be impossible goals Sean leaves an inspiring message on how to maintain positivity, coping with setbacks and digging down when it gets tough.
How to hire Sean Conway
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Sean Conway 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.
"The audience LOVED it! I have had nothing but great feedback, he was honest, amusing and entertaining. I cannot think how he could have been better. We really enjoyed him coming along and talking to us." - ITV (Commercial)
"We’ve had some really positive feedback from the team about Sean’s talk. It was very inspiring to hear about his adventures and I think a lot of us are now considering how we can start to live life to the full a bit more!" - M&S
"Sean was a fantastic speaker at our company-wide annual off-site. His enthusiasm and energy are infectious and people can’t help but be motivated by his achievements. Sean also effectively links in key themes that the business is working on – so that his talk is both inspirational and relevant. Thoroughly recommended." - L3 Commercial Training Solutions
"We had a great talk. Our staff were really enthused by Sean. We’ve had loads of positive feedback. He was funny, engaging and, of course, really inspiring and it all tied back in really well with our values campaign." - Mizuho Financial Group
"The theme of the presentation was personal resilience and you showed us that taking it one step at a time really helps to focus on the immediate challenge and that helps to build endurance. You also showed us that failure is not an inhibitor but a motivator to succeed and to aim high." - West Yorkshire Police
"Sean was fantastic! Proper gent and delivered a fantastic talk, it was really great that he spent time afterwards talking with us and having a few drinks. Will recommend to everyone." - Park Resorts
"Please pass on our thanks to Sean for his brilliant talk. I loved his relaxed and funny manner. My business partner loved it too and I have heard only positive comments from the attendees. The audience certainly kept him busy afterwards with questions and photo opportunities and he has, without doubt, expanded his fan base." - Expo 2016: Marathon des Sables
"Sean has an amazing story to tell and he delivers messages and inspiration that work both at a personal and business level. He was willing to adapt his storytelling to fit our specific audience and it made for an engaging and entertaining session." - Sky Media (Head Marketing)
"He tailored talks to meet our objectives, seamlessly absorbing our messages into his stories and providing inspiration and motivation to change, to develop and to grow. There was no fuss – he simply told the stories of his adventures in a way that made them accessible and achievable and inspired the audience to focus and deliver. Brilliant!" - Corporate Communications, Ordnance Survey
"I just wanted to say a massive thank you to Sean for being part of this year’s Peebles Outdoor Film Festival. His presentation on Friday night was a perfect start to the festival, and was commented on by many people throughout the weekend. I hope he enjoyed it as much as everyone in the audience did (and I KNOW he enjoyed the snow biking the following day!)" - Peebles Outdoor Film Festival
"Sean was a pleasure to work with and he was really well received by our audience." - NCC
"Sean's talk about his John O'Groats swim kept an audience of 500 enthralled from start to finish. His down to earth manner and can-do attitude were truly inspiring and he left many in the audience thinking about how to challenge themselves and achieve something that they didn't think they were capable of." - Youth Philanthropy Initiative
"It was a pleasure to have Sean with us. For inspiring the audience to think about Challenging Situations & to Not to Give Up - he certainly did that very well. We got feedback from people, who said that they enjoyed his presentation very much.” - Career Academies UK
“The keynote speaker was Sean Conway, who swam the length of Britain - a mere 900 miles! – in 2013. Sean was very enthusiastic and inspirational and I am sure he did awaken the spirit of adventure in many in the audience. Sean’s mottos ‘don’t be scared of falling’ and ‘aim higher’ resonated well with the ethos of the YPI and he made us all realise that with will, determination, focus and self-belief we can reach our goals in life." - YPI Scotland
"A true inspiration to us! From an academic viewpoint, the talk was well constructed and great detail was made to show the most exciting and jaw-dropping tales from a young man's youth." - Bradford University
"I really enjoyed Sean’s lecture - he is so full of energy and passion for his adventures. It all seemed to go well and plenty of people were there to hear him. Many thanks and please pass on my best wishes and congratulations for a great evening. I will look out for his book!” - Wilderness Lectures
