Specialist Subjects
Biography
Dave Cornthwaite is a record-breaking adventurer, bestselling author and award-winning community leader with a habit of doing things differently.
Since quitting a job as a really bad graphic designer in 2005 Dave has embarked on a unique career; covering over 24,000 miles under his own steam as part of Expedition1000, an ongoing mission to take on twenty-five different non-motorised journeys, each over 1000 miles in distance. He's completed fifteen of these, so far.
Dave has written three books and delivered over 1000 lectures on six continents, his ever-evolving keynote speech is a motivating and inspirational kick up the backside for anyone who ever wondered whether they were capable of doing more.
He is the founder of SayYesMore, a social enterprise geared towards positive change with a thriving community of outdoor lovers; the YesTribe.
In between adventures Dave also hosts a podcast and along with his wife Em, runs the Big Sky Hideaway in Lincolnshire, where you can camp a frisbee-throw from smiling alpacas and enjoy nights in converted buses, or a hammock village.
On 1st January 2020 Dave was given the first Point of Light award of the decade by the Prime Minister, honouring his unique message of positivity.
If his enthusiasm for simple living, the power of adventure for good and the glorious pursuit of enjoying Mondays isn't enough to get you ready for a new challenge, nothing will.
ENQUIRE ABOUT DAVE’S AVAILABILITY FOR YOUR NEXT EVENT
For availability and prices, email dave@davecornthwaite.com or fill in the contact form
ABOUT DAVE’S TALKS
Instilled with humour, down-to-earth honesty and a genuine excitement about creating new opportunities, Dave cares deeply about pushing his audience to think - and act - differently.
Deeply visual, Dave’s keynotes bounce between the sheer enormity of setting out on endurance journeys like skateboarding across Australia and paddleboarding the length of the Mississippi, to the simplicity of learning new hobbies with just 20 minutes commitment each day.
His tales about the kindness of strangers, adventures without training and creating a global community just because he wanted to meet the people who followed his projects online create a resonant key-change in mindset.
There’s a tiny difference between thinking ‘I could never do that’ and realising ‘I can totally see how that’s possible,’ and Dave is an expert at communicating that behaviour shift within an hour.
Throughout, a strong message connected to self care and the benefits of spending time outside underpin permission to be as selfish as you are giving, to relish having fun in work and play, and to relish the power of simple audacity. Have an idea. Act on it. Simple.
“Dave’s remarkable life story had the audience engrossed from beginning to end; their silence only broken by belly laughs at the self-deprecating humour scattered throughout. This adventurer’s charisma is infectious – you cannot help but be inspired. A truly unique key note speaker, Dave will hold you captivated for the duration of his talk, and long after!”
KEYNOTE - HOSTING - INTERVIEWING - ADVENTURE - MINDSET & BEHAVIOUR CHANGE - POSITIVE THINKING - HABIT DEVELOPMENT - MENTAL HEALTH - MOTIVATION - VALUES - SIMPLE LIVING - EFFICIENCY - PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT - CAREER CHANGE - BLOCKING OUT NOISE - LEAVING THE BOX
Key takeaways
Businesses & Groups
Embracing regular change is essential
Taking risks is an opportunity
What we’ve always done isn’t necessarily right
Learn to communicate first, act second
Culture is at the heart of all progress
Team outdoors time is crucial
We’re as a capable as we allow ourselves to be
Resilience, perseverance and discipline
Power of acting on decisions
The best work is done with fun
Individuals
Sustained courage to begin
Practices to develop self belief daily
Fear of failure is so last year
Growth mindset is tied to new experiences
Travel is the best teacher of perspective
Limits are self imposed, and self-removed
Being your best self in a hard world
Making the most of your fortune
Anxiety reduction techniques
Summary
Whether you’re seeking a speaker who can talk for 15 or 90 minutes, deliver to a theatre of thousands or a small team in a bell tent, Dave has a range of lectures, each easily adaptible to your theme:
The Adventurous Keynote: a schmorgasbord of adventures, projects and experiences
Lectures about individual expeditions - take your pick
How to Build a Community: The SayYesMore story
Developing Habits: Persistence, Dedication and Creativity with the rule of 4’s
Travel Industry & Influencer Conferences: Dave has opened a number of travel-related conferences with a brief to raise the energy, heighten the mood and set a course for the days ahead.
Takeaways for the travel industry:
The power of storytelling vs selling
What to look for in an influencer - it's not all about figures
Examples of successful campaigns and why they worked
A reminder that anything other than natural authenticity has a limited shelf life
Takeaways for all:
The excitement of a potential that is yet to be realized
How to look after yourself and switch off in the midst of a tough project
Tools to bring that freshness back after years of working the project
The value of variety, and how to nurture this in a career
“It was a pleasure to work with you. Your ability to present in such an inspiring and fascinating way turned the event into a real success.”
“Thank you so much for delivering such an entertaining and inspiring talk. It was certainly a new angle on travel for us and I admire your tenacity. It was lovely to see your engagement with the locals and their fascination with your trips, and I think your ‘Say Yes More’ campaign is truly inspiring. ”
“Our managers were really moved and touched, and their minds were opened to the concept of self awareness, emotional and physical resilience, and how important they are for our day to day lives. I couldn’t have asked for it to go any better.”
“You kicked off our first ever Etape Talks with an absolute bang and you definitely set the precedent at an extremely high standard. The feedback we received around the content of your talk was incredible”
"You were ACE. Really happy with how your talk went. Stoked for the summer now"
- Ben DeVere, Sunday Papers Live, April 2017
“Thank you for a brilliantly funny and completely inspiring talk today. It gave me the kick up the arse I needed! I’m looking forward to joining the YesTribe!”
“Having heard one of Dave’s inspirational talks at another travel conference I knew that our own delegates would be inspired: how right I was! After an enthralling presentation about his adventure exploits he then took a further session about how to improve one’s presence and effectiveness via social media. This too proved of immense value. It is our intention to work more closely with Dave in the future, we could be of immense mutual support for each other.””
Dave interviews actor and extreme fisherman Robson Green on stage at the Adventure Travel Show, 2016.
Photo by Steven Peckett
“Dave is a truly exceptional human being. We almost didn’t book him because he’s too amazing.”
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“A timely reminder that we should take control of our own decisions, and of the importance of creating a story that can hold people’s attention. To keep our pupils wide-eyed and awake for 90 minutes after they’ve been at school at day...that says it all. ”
