Vicki Anstey

Vicki Anstey

Vicki Anstey is a two-time World Record Holder, TEDx Speaker, Human Performance Coach, author and motivational keynote speaker who has built an outstanding reputation for helping people develop resilience, courage and high performance under pressure. Best known for setting two world records in some of the world's toughest endurance events, Vicki has transformed her experiences of adversity into practical lessons that inspire individuals and organisations alike. As one of the first women to reach the final stages of Channel 4's 'SAS: Who Dares Wins', she demonstrated remarkable determination and mental resilience, establishing herself as a leading voice on overcoming fear and embracing uncertainty.

Beginning her career in advertising, Vicki held senior marketing and communications positions with major brands including Advertising Manager at IKEA, Advertising & Media Manager at Eurostar and Marketing Director at We Are What We Do. These corporate roles gave her a deep understanding of leadership, business performance and organisational culture before she chose to pursue a different path. Driven by a passion for wellbeing and personal development, Vicki founded The Barre Collective, combining entrepreneurship with health and fitness. Her life changed dramatically after competing on 'SAS: Who Dares Wins' in 2019, where her resilience and emotional strength captured widespread attention. Inspired by this experience, Vicki transitioned into keynote speaking, coaching and adventure, becoming a Certified Stress & Resilience Coach and joining Professor Andy McCann's advisory team for the Psychology of Human Performance programme at Manchester Metropolitan University. Her fascination with the psychology of elite performance continues to shape every aspect of her work.

Vicki's career is defined by extraordinary achievements that demonstrate the principles she teaches on stage. In 2021, she became a World Record Holder after rowing unsupported across the Pacific Ocean as part of the Girls Who Dare team, completing one of the most physically and mentally demanding endurance challenges imaginable. She followed this achievement with a second World Record in 2024, cycling 3,000 miles across America in the Race Across America, widely recognised as the world's toughest bike race. Alongside these record-breaking expeditions, Vicki has completed ultra-distance races across the Arctic in temperatures below minus 35 degrees and the Kenyan savannah in temperatures exceeding 50 degrees. She is also the UK Ambassador for Inspiring Girls, helping raise the aspirations of young women across more than 40 countries, while hosting the 'Pin Drop Podcast' and co-creating the 'Point of Difference' podcast. Vicki is also the author of 'Other People Are Like the Weather', a memoir exploring fear, resilience, identity and personal transformation, which combines her remarkable experiences with practical coaching exercises designed to help readers build confidence and emotional endurance. Her TEDx talk ‘Why Fear is a Choice’ draws from her journey of pain, vulnerability, discovery, and reinvention, looking to equip audiences with the tools and motivation to confront and move through fear using simple yet purposeful steps.

Organisations hire Vicki because she delivers far more than an inspiring adventure story. Every keynote combines real-world experience with practical strategies that audiences can immediately apply in their professional and personal lives. Vicki speaks on resilience, emotional endurance, psychological safety, leadership, high-performance team behaviours, performing under pressure, courage, mindset and unlocking hidden potential, helping people develop the confidence to embrace uncertainty and achieve more than they thought possible. Her engaging style, authenticity and evidence-based approach have led her to work with leading organisations including Google, IBM, Meta and Avanade, earning praise for presentations that are both inspirational and immediately actionable.