540km. Happening Right Now.
Gerry van der Walt is on the Greenland Ice Sheet as you read this. Unsupported. 25 days. One of fewer than 5 South Africans to ever attempt this. The story is unfolding in real time. The keynote dates, the interviews, and the coaching spots for July onwards are filling now.
Media coverage, interviews, and features from the expedition and beyond.
Additional interviews and features in progress. Last updated April 25, 2026.
A 50-year-old South African is crossing the Greenland Ice Sheet right now. 540km. 25 days. A 70 to 100kg sled. Unsupported. One of fewer than 5 South Africans to have ever attempted this.
Gerry van der Walt is a strategic performance coach, speaker, and professional photographer with 25 years in high-performance environments across five continents. He holds an Honours degree in Psychology and spent 14 years as co-founder and Director of Operations at Wild Eye, one of Africa's leading photographic safari operations.
This crossing is not just an expedition. It is a live field test of the mental performance framework he teaches. Every tool, every concept, every principle he works with in coaching and on stage is being stress-tested right now in real conditions on one of the most remote places on earth. That is the story. Raw, real, and backed by three years of preparation.
Available for interviews, keynotes, podcasts, broadcast, and print from July 2026. Pre-written media brief and high resolution photography available on request.
Contact: info@gerryvanderwalt.com
"Informative without being overly technical. Inspiring without being pretentious. About as personable and engaging as you get."
Brendan Byrne, Podcast Listener and Coaching Client"He lives what he coaches. Shows you how hard work pays off. Has your back."
Morag Saunders, Coaching Client"Gerry, I saw you speak years ago. I have followed you ever since. Every single thing you've written from a coaching perspective resonates with me. You have a gift."
Craig Elson, Coaching Client and Expedition SupporterJuly 2026 dates are open. A small number of keynote slots are available for the second half of 2026. If your event is in the pipeline, now is the time to lock it in.
Your audience has heard enough theory. These three talks are built from real conditions, real pressure, and 25 years of doing the work. They leave the room with something they can use the next morning.
The real story of crossing 540km of Arctic ice. Alone. Unsupported. At 50. Not the highlight reel. The fear, the doubt, the days when stopping felt like the only rational option, and what it actually took to keep moving anyway. A talk about commitment, preparation, and what humans are capable of when they stop negotiating with themselves.
Most people have goals. Far fewer have decisions. This talk draws a hard line between being interested in an outcome and being committed to it, and shows exactly what that difference looks like when the environment stops cooperating. Built from three years of preparation and 25 days on one of the most unforgiving places on earth. For anyone who needs to understand why some people execute and others stall.
Most people believe they are driven by their goals, their values, or their work ethic. They are not. Underneath every decision, every behaviour, and every result, there are six core human needs quietly running the show. This talk makes them visible. Once you see them, you cannot unsee them. Built from 25 years in high-performance environments and field-tested in conditions where getting it wrong has real consequences.
These are the three talks available from July 2026. Dates are limited and filling from now.
If the expedition moved something in you, that feeling is information. It means something is ready to change.
The coaching work is the through line behind everything. The same frameworks being tested on the ice right now are the ones used in one-on-one and group coaching sessions. Not borrowed theory. Not a certification programme. Frameworks built in the field and refined across 25 years and two thousand hours of coaching work with executives, athletes, creatives, and individuals navigating real pressure.
For the person who knows something needs to shift but cannot quite name what. Strategic performance coaching built around the RAPG framework and the six human needs model. Direct, honest, and built around your specific situation. Not a programme off a shelf.
See If It's a FitFor organisations and teams who need their people performing differently under real pressure. The same frameworks applied in a group context. High accountability, practical tools, and outcomes that show up in how people actually work.
Talk to Me About Your TeamGreenland is the first. The Polar Trilogy is the plan. North Pole. South Pole. A solo crossing of Greenland. Each expedition feeds new material, new research, and new stories back into the coaching and speaking work.
The next expedition in this series is the Polar Primer, March 2027 in Svalbard, Norway. A guided resilience expedition for a small group of people who want to know what the ice actually feels like. Eight days. Real polar conditions. Coaching built in.
Beyond the ice, I am actively exploring other hard things in other environments. Different challenges. Same commitment to doing them in real time and bringing the lessons back.
Fast response. No pitch deck required. Fill in the form and I will come back to you within 48 hours.