553km. Greenland. Done.
Gerry van der Walt crossed the Greenland Ice Sheet, unsupported. 29 days. One of a handful of South Africans ever to complete it. The story unfolded in real time. The keynote dates, the interviews, and the coaching spots are filling now.
Media coverage, interviews, and features from the expedition and beyond.
Additional interviews and features in progress.
A 50-year-old South African crossed the Greenland Ice Sheet unsupported. 553km. 29 days. A 100kg sled. One of a handful of South Africans ever to complete it.
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 Sport Psychology and spent 14 years as co-founder and Director of Operations at Wild Eye, one of Africa's leading photographic safari operations. He is based in Johannesburg, South Africa, and works with clients, teams, and rooms worldwide.
This crossing was not just an expedition. It was 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 was stress-tested 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. Pre-written media brief and high resolution photography available on request.
553km. 29 days. Physiological data that does not exist anywhere else from a crossing like this. If you are working on a story about extreme endurance, polar exploration, or what the human body actually does under sustained load, the full press kit is here: high-resolution imagery, full expedition data, and video.
The press kit includes high-resolution imagery from the crossing, full expedition data, and video. Available on request.
Contact: info@gerryvanderwalt.com
"Gerry recently hosted a talk at our Pirates sports club, and it was a standout experience. With an audience that ranged from professional sports coaches to junior hockey players, he managed to engage everyone and deliver a message that was both relatable and impactful. We left the session feeling energised and inspired. Even weeks later, our team continues to use the practical tools he shared, helping us stay focused before matches and reset effectively after tough moments on or off the field. If you're looking to apply useful tools to your own lifestyle or scenario, I highly recommend getting in touch with Gerry. He can customise an approach that works specifically for you."
Judy van Zyl, Pirates Sports Club"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, Audience MemberA 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 journey first. 553km across the Greenland ice sheet, unsupported, in a team of ten, told from inside the harness. Then the lesson underneath it. The person out front holds the bearing but cannot see their own drift. The ones at the back see everything and say the least. A talk for teams about direction, feedback, and moving as one when the pressure is real.
The fun one, with teeth. Big visuals from the ice, the absurdity of pouring years into a frozen stretch of nowhere, and the honest bits between the laughs. The fear. The doubt. The trick that kept me moving, never thinking about the cold. The room laughs most of the way through and only works out afterwards how much it took home.
The performance talk. Most people are interested in what they say they want. Interested shows up when it suits them. Committed shows up on the day it does not. Goal setting stripped to what actually holds, and the small daily execution that closes the gap between deciding and doing. Built for boardrooms, athletes, and anyone carrying a goal that scares them.
These are the three talks. I will be in the USA and Canada in October and November, so dates there can be arranged directly. The calendar is 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 tested on the ice 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 was the first of the big ones. The road ends in 2030 with the full solo unsupported ski to the South Pole from Berkner Island, around 1,400 kilometres, which no South African has ever done. Between here and there: Norway in 2027, a solo crossing of Svalbard in 2028, the Antarctic Last Degree in 2029. Each expedition feeds new material, new research, and new stories back into the coaching and the 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. Nine 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. Just a conversation. Fill in the form and I will come back to you within 48 hours.