Vicki Anstey

Vicki Anstey is a two-time world record holder, TEDx speaker, human performance coach and author who specialises in resilience, mental endurance and high-performance teamwork. She holds world records for rowing the mid-Pacific Ocean unaided and cycling 3,000 miles across America in the Race Across America, and is preparing to row the Atlantic in 2026. As UK Ambassador for Inspiring Girls and a certified stress and resilience coach on Professor Andy McCann's advisory team at Manchester Metropolitan University, she combines lived experience with behavioural science to deliver practical strategies. Her sessions empower teams and individuals to perform under pressure, build psychological safety, and develop the emotional strength to stay the course when it matters most.

In 2021, Vicki Anstey rowed 4,000 kilometres across the mid-Pacific Ocean unaided, claiming her first world record and proving that extreme physical challenges are as much about mental fortitude as they are about strength. Three years later, she added a second world record to her name by cycling 3,000 miles across America as part of a four-woman team in the Race Across America, widely recognised as the world's toughest bike race. From reaching the final stages of Channel 4's SAS: Who Dares Wins as one of the first women to do so, to completing ultra-endurance events in the Arctic at minus 35 degrees and the Kenyan savannah in temperatures exceeding 50 degrees, her achievements showcase the power of resilience under extraordinary pressure. In 2026, she will take on her next major challenge: rowing the Atlantic in The World's Toughest Row, continuing her commitment to pushing human limits whilst raising funds for causes close to her heart.

Vicki serves as UK Ambassador for Inspiring Girls, a global charity dedicated to raising aspirations for young women, and dedicates many of her endurance challenges to fundraising for their work. As a certified stress and resilience coach, she has joined Professor Andy McCann's advisory team for the Psychology of Human Performance programme at Manchester Metropolitan University, where her fascination with the psychology of elite performance shapes her professional practice. Her expertise is grounded in behavioural science, neuroplasticity, and evolutionary psychology, enabling her to translate complex research into practical strategies that help individuals and teams understand how and why they behave the way they do, particularly in high-stress environments. She is also an author and TEDx speaker, known for her ability to turn lived experience into accessible, evidence-based insight that resonates across industries and audiences.

Vicki's keynote talks centre on resilience, empowerment, psychological safety, high-performance teamwork, and the critical difference between winning and 'winning well'. She champions the concept of emotional endurance, the mental strength required to stay the course when it matters most, and equips audiences with tools to perform under pressure, manage stress, and build long-term resilience. Her sessions blend real-world adventure with science-backed methodology, offering practical frameworks that teams and individuals can apply immediately. Having delivered talks for global organisations including Meta, Google, Vodafone, AstraZeneca, JP Morgan, and Société Générale, she creates lasting impact by helping people develop the courage and capability to thrive in uncertainty and embrace challenges without regret.