Ryan Stamrood

Ryan Stamrood's Biography

Ryan Stramrood is an ultra-extreme open water and ice swimming adventurer, Performance Coach, Three Times Guinness World Record Holder, Salesman by Trade, Businessman, Father and Globally Renowned Inspirational Speaker.

He has undertaken some of the world’s toughest and most deadly swimming challenges, pioneered others and has become a master of mindset, setting the bar of human endurance a notch higher often in the most hostile environments.

Ryan is a completely ordinary, humble 40 something father and businessman, running a sales business in Cape Town, South Africa. However, the journey he shares is anything but ordinary. A journey from couch potato, all the way to setting world records for pushing body and mind to places largely believed impossible in the genre of ultra extreme open water and ice swimming.

Through his frequent exposure to deadly ice water situations and survival, Ryan unlocked a unique understanding of the mind. Not just an understanding on how powerful it is, that we all know! But rather opens eyes in a very entertaining way to some great paradoxes we deal with subconsciously and which ultimately steer us through life.

He uses his swimming challenges set in Siberia, Antarctica, Arctic Circle, Bering Sea, the Great White feeding ground of False Bay and other to demonstrate how this works, how it is DIRECTLY applicable to each and every one of us in our careers and how an awareness of the processes happening can significantly change our lives. Visuals and video bring great richness and reality to the experience.

The story is not about success or failure! It’s about goal setting, believing in yourself, trying and about the power of determination. Audiences will be engaged throughout, will have opportunity to interact and will leave the session inspired, in awe and well-enlightened.

Ryan’s keynotes take the shape of breath-taking, fascinating stories crafted to evoke unadulterated inspiration and emotion. A brilliant storyteller, his sessions deliver unique insight into the power of our minds, our behaviours, our reactions and our abilities in the difficult environments (of all natures). A master of drawing perfect parallels between the extreme wild and the corporate space, the session will be impactful, relatable and tailored specifically for the audience and event theme.

Speaking Topics Include

See Ryan’s main keynote themes below. Each session speaks perfectly to mindset, adversity, goals, high performance, leadership, teamwork and much more.

PushPastImpossible™ – ‘discover the strength you never knew you had’

Failing Forward – ‘convert failure, shortcomings, disappointment to GROWTH’

Sink or Swim – ‘no treading water! – it’s about showing up, accountability, extra-mile, high performance, Performing while Transforming ‘

Mindset shifter – face and process ‘impossible’ differently

Resilience & Grit -  in the most extreme business environments

Performance: - “Performance = Potential minus Interference” (Galway) , eliminate Interference;

Leadership – lead with confidence;

Wellness – so vital, mental tools;

Mental Awareness – how your mind is working in uncomfortable environments – NB!

Thriving in Adversity – the unexpected, curveballs, hostile environments;

Goal Setting – where goals should be set for vital and real growth;

Business – Pushing past those impossible boundaries; Entrepreneurship; Start ups

Team – what makes an unbeatable team? A group of people with a common goal is NOT a team; Importance of teamwork in tough environments;

Failure – Setting Goals beyond perceived ability; Converting failure to Growth; The impact of not managing failure effectively; Failure without the learnings is simply Failure destined to repeat itself; Vulnerability

Accountability