Ash Dykes

Ash Dykes is a world-renowned explorer, extreme athlete, motivational speaker, and five-time Guiness world record holder.

Known for pushing the boundaries of human endurance, Ash has completed some of the most daring and physically demanding expeditions in the world.

Ash made history as the first person to walk solo and unsupported across Mongolia — a 1,500-mile journey through the Altai Mountains and Gobi Desert, pulling a 120kg trailer behind him, carrying everything needed to survive.

In Madagascar, he became the first person to trek the full length of the island’s interior, summiting its eight highest peaks during a gruelling 1,600-mile, 155-day mission. During which, he crossed crocodile infested rivers, caught the deadliest strain of malaria, was held at gunpoint, had to hunt and gather, whilst being eaten alive by the leeches and spider of the rainforest.

Perhaps most notably, Ash completed a record-setting 4,000-mile expedition along the entire length of the Yangtze River in China — a 352-day challenge through diverse and often treacherous terrain, earning international acclaim and engaging millions through blogs, live streams, and media coverage which garnered 1.1billion people in reach on completion.

Ash’s expeditions are more than physical and mental feats — they are global storytelling events. His adventures have attracted partnerships with leading global brands including Jaguar Land River, GQ and Adidas, as well as appearances on major platforms such as BBC World News, Forbes, National Geographic, TEDx, and The Joe Rogan Experience.

Beyond exploration, Ash is a passionate advocate for environmental conservation and global health. He has served as the UK Ambassador for Madagascar Tourism and as Special Ambassador for Malaria No More UK. His work raises awareness about the challenges facing some of the world’s most remote communities.

A sought-after keynote speaker, Ash uses his powerful storytelling to inspire resilience, ambition, and a mindset of possibility. Whether crossing uncharted landscapes or addressing global audiences, Ash is living proof of what can be achieved when grit, vision, and purpose align.

Resilience & Risk-taking
• Expeditions mirror business challenges: long-term, high-stress, and uncertainty. Parallels between high-stakes expeditions and high-performance leadership.
• Deliberately facing discomfort - from -20°C to surviving heat stroke - builds a model for mental endurance.
• Breaking down how to prepare for and grow through uncertainty - a key leadership skill in today’s landscape.
• Resilience is built through micro-stress exposure, habit, and mindset - not motivation alone. Innovation thrives under constraint - solving problems with limited tools by rethinking old models.
• True teamwork is trust under pressure - where aligned goals matter more than ego.
• "Resilience conditioning" provides actionable tools to boost adaptability and decision-making under pressure.

Self-leadership & Adaptability in Uncertainty - “In nature, you adapt, or you don’t survive. In business, it’s no different.”
• Strong self-leadership drives calm, clarity, and action - especially without support.
• Sharing expedition stories where survival depended on quick thinking and mental control in isolation.
• Adaptability means reshaping roles, making life-critical decisions, and sustaining morale. Drawing from real-life, like leading a team through the Suriname jungle under threat - without backup or clear paths forward.
• Emotional control under threat - e.g. facing a wolf pack in Tibet - demonstrates steady leadership in chaos.
• Offers practical strategies for staying composed, building trust, and leading through uncertainty.

Leadership
• Leaders set the emotional tone - calm is contagious, especially when things go wrong.
• Expeditions with no backup mirror the pressure of high-stakes business decisions.
• True leadership is revealed in chaos - where pressure exposes character.
• Success is redefined by challenges overcome, not just goals reached.
• Offers actionable insights to strengthen decision-making and resilience - e.g. adapting after losing 10 team members on the Yangtze expedition.

Mindset - growth, mental health, discipline, innovation under pressure & reinvention
• Discomfort drives growth - progress comes through micro-steps, not big leaps.
• Discipline, not motivation, sustains momentum; mindset is built through repetition.
• Mental prep - clarity, flexibility, emotional control - is key in both survival and business.
• Innovation thrives under constraint - creative thinking under pressure leads to solutions.
• Real survival stories show how reframing challenges builds resilience and clarity.
• Long-term vision must guide leaders through short-term pressures and uncertainty.

Discipline Over Motivation
• Motivation fades. Discipline gets you there. During severe adversity - hallucinating from heat stroke, hacking through jungle with a machete - Ash relied on discipline, structure, and internal routine.
• Create repeatable systems and disciplined habits to sustain performance, especially in low motivation.

Sustainability
• Discusses sustainability is a lived necessity, not theory - driven by long-term thinking and local impact.
• Expeditions highlighted global issues like climate change, biodiversity, and pollution.
• Partnered with WWF, UNESCO, and others to amplify local voices and drive real-world change.

Teamwork, Trust & Accountability
• In isolation, success relies on trust, communication, and emotional intelligence.
• Trust is built through consistency and clarity—ego and weak leadership break teams.
• Strong teams are forged in challenge; accountability means owning the mission, not blame.

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