A BRITISH adventurer who has rowed the Atlantic Ocean and reached the top of Everest is heading to Andover.

In 2014, James Ketchell became the only person on the planet to have completed all three major challenges of rowing the Atlantic, reaching the top of Everest and cycling around the world, an endeavour the media dubbed 'the ultimate triathlon'.

Since then, James set a Guinness World Record when he became the first person to fly solo around the world in a gyrocopter, an open-topped aircraft, a bit like a carbon bathtub with propellers, and trekked 300 miles across Greenland.

This spring, following on from his popular 2019 talk tour, Chasing Extremes, James will tour theatres across the country to deliver his second fascinating talk, It’s All Mental, presented by Speakers from the Edge, in association with SecurEnvoy, where he will take audiences through his journey of adventure. 

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Having experienced stratospheric highs, to crushing lows in the oceans, James is well prepared to share his experience and advice. This entertaining evening promises to leave audiences feeling energised and motivated to set goals and start realising their own dreams.

In 2007, James suffered an injury in a potentially life-changing motorbike accident, which left his leg shattered and his active lifestyle in jeopardy – his determination saw him recover and go on to complete his historic challenge just seven years later, later authoring his book, Ultimate Triathlon.

In 2019 James also flew his open cockpit gyroplane over 24,000 nautical miles circumnavigating the planet in 175 days to set the first Fédération Aéronautique Internationale ratified flight around the world, for an aircraft of its type. The mission was all in a bid to inspire young people in classrooms over the world to pursue their own goals and dreams.

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It’s All Mental is touring 15 UK theatres in March and April 2023, and will be showing at The Lights, Andover, on Friday, April 14.

If residents want to book tickets they should contact the box office at 01264 368368 or visit the thelights.org.uk.

You can also visit speakersfromtheedge.com/tours.