Inspirational Talks
Inspiring your team to raise their aspirations & set stretch goals
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Virtual Challenge Events
Building team cohesion & improving health & wellbeing
Outdoor Challenge Events
Expertly guiding your team safely out their comfort zone
Ricky is an expert in Mental Toughness, resilience & living with purpose. He speaks at over 100 events every year to inspire audiences to raise their aspirations. In his acclaimed multimedia keynote Follow Your Dreams talk, Ricky describes his incredible journey from growing up a council estate in Glasgow to reaching the top of the world on his successful ascent of Mount Everest in 2018.
Alcohol, arrests & mental health
During his journey, he faced and overcame adversity & mental health challenges; low self-esteem & substance abuse, being arrested twice, dropping out of University twice, and being made redundant during his professional accountancy training.
Redundancy & the Marathon des Sables
Ricky overcame redundancy by entering & completing the Marathon des Sables - a 150-mile ultramarathon in the Sahara desert known as the ‘toughest footrace on earth’ - an experience that transformed his mindset and gave him the courage & self-belief to follow his own dreams.
Triple 7 Summits project
He has since completed over 30 mountaineering expeditions to the greater ranges in his ongoing quest to become the first Brit, and second person in history, to climb the Triple 7 Summits, the three highest peaks on every continent.
Humanitarian aid
After qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in 2005, he left corporate banking to spend six years deployed with the Red Cross in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean, where he discovered his true purpose; helping the most vulnerable people.
Whistleblowing & Rescue on Everest
In 2014 he became the youngest ever member of the executive team at the UK’s national polar research organisation. Three years later he blew the whistle on fraud & corruption, shortly before attempting Everest. He turned back just back below the Death Zone on Everest due to low energy levels, but coordinated the successful evacuation of a seriously injured team-mate from Chinese Base Camp.
Everest Summit Success
On his return from Everest - as a result of his whistleblowing - his role became untenable due to bullying, which had a profound impact on his mental health. With the support of a brilliant counsellor, family & friends, he bounced back to reach the summit of Everest in May 2018.
Inspire Alpine - closing the Attainment Gap
Shortly after climbing Everest, Ricky founded Inspire Alpine as a social enterprise to help close the attainment gap faced by disadvantaged young people, and is now an award-winning social entrepreneur and sought after speaker. He has since led hundreds of clients to the summits of the UK's highest peaks & on international high-altitude trekking expeditions.
The key themes of his talk include:
Perseverance
Building Resilience
Developing Mental Toughness
Discovering your purpose
Growth Mindset
Setting stretch goals
Overcoming adversity
"This was a truly memorable talk from an extraordinary man. Ricky’s story is straight from the heart and with no holds barred. He is disarmingly honest about the hurdles he has had to overcome, and that still exist. His achievements are immense but there is no sense of bravado in how he talks about them; humility and passion for what he does. It’s quite evident that he had us all enthralled, and inspired. The story of his attempts on Everest was terrifying and thrilling in equal measure. All in all a fantastic story."
Barry Laurie, Partner, French Duncan
"Ricky delivered a truly inspirational talk to ICAS staff. Tales about his experience of reaching the summit of Mount Everest and the triumphs of pulling together as a team were perfect for inspiring achievement. Ricky left us motivated to set goals, work towards them with a laser focus, and try again if we don’t first succeed."
Keith Watson, Corporate Communications Director, ICAS