Peter van Kets

Peter van Kets is one of the worlds top extreme endurance adventurers and international conference speakers.
In 2008 Peter made his name known in the world of extreme adventure by winning the pairs division of the 5500km unsupported Woodvale Trans-Atlantic Rowing Race.
In 2010 Peter spent 76 days alone in a 7 meter rowing boat crossing the Atlantic. His epic 5438 Km unsupported row across the Atlantic was a first for any African. With this he was awarded the S.A. OutThere Adventurer of the Year 2011.

He has just returned from an unsupported race across Antarctica to the South Pole to commemorate Scott and Amundsens race 100 years ago. As part of a two man South African team they made South African history becoming the first Africans to ever race to the pole. The race was unsupported and covered a total distance of 888km’s in one of the most hostile environments known to man.

His story is one of survival, courage, perseverance, passion, loneliness, tenacity, amazing team work and the will to win. In his new talk “Impossible is Nothing” he takes his lessons learned from the expeditions and relates them to the business environment. It is totally inspirational!

Peter writes an inspirational column for the Leadership Magazines – Leadership in Sport. He also writes an inspirational column for the business magazine “Blue Chip”. He is married to Kim (also an extreme endurance athlete) and they have a daughter Hannah.”Isn’t it amazing how certain things seem impossible until someone goes and does it!

Before I participated in my first 5500km unsupported rowing race across the Atlantic Ocean I had to learn how to row! 3 months before I raced unsupported to the South Pole I had never been in snow or ski’d
Many people told me that I was out of my depth and that I was doing the impossible, but they were wrong! ….impossible is nothing. We won the race across the Atlantic and we managed to reach the South Pole unscathed.
Over the past 7 years I have been involved in some epic endurance adventures which have taken me to the most remote parts of the planet and taught me valuable lessons which I am constantly applying to my life and which I pass on to many during my presentations.

In 2007/8 I rowed with a friend across the Atlantic winning the race in 50 days, rowing shifts of 1.5 hours on and 1.5 hours off – 24/7 7 days a week. After swearing never again I went on to row the same race in 2010, but this time on my own 1.5 hours on 1.5 hours off 24/7 for 76 days winning the solo class and becoming the first African ever to row any ocean as a solo.

This time last year I was part of a 2 man SA team battling across Antarctica in an unsupported race to the South Pole. In my latest talk which I have called “Impossible is Nothing” I have taken the many valuable lessons learned on all the expeditions and applied them to the business world. The current environment in which we are operating our business’ is brutal and tough like the conditions I have had to operate in during my expeditions.Being successful in these conditions requires a great deal of discipline and focus. There is a process I use to make the impossible become possible so that when I finish an expedition that I am successful.”

• Have a dream/vision for your life
• Have a winning attitude
• Surround yourself with the best possible team
• Identify partners who share your vision and passion
• Know that with the right resources, there is a solution to every problem!
• Set clear and achievable goals
• Be properly prepared
• Do not to be paralysed by the fear of failure
• Have a clear, but flexible strategy
• Deal positively with inevitable setbacks and frustrations
• Be decisive
• Make the move from external discipline to self-discipline.
• Persevere
• Focus on staying positive
• Ride the storm to your advantage
• Remember that things do come to an end
• Focus on the small things and the big things fall into place