Built in the Field. Delivered on Stage.
I do not give talks that fade by the weekend. I bring energy, honesty, and stories from the hardest places I can find. A room leaves with perspective, belief, and the sense that the ceiling they walked in with is not real.
And before the ice there was a business. I co-founded Wild Eye and spent fourteen years building it, leading photographic expeditions across five continents, so when I talk about pressure, deadlines and keeping a team moving, it comes from the inside.
Most keynotes inspire for about 48 hours. Then the room goes back to exactly what it did before. That is not a speaker problem. It is a content problem. Motivation with nothing to hold onto fades by Thursday. I am after the other thing. A room that leaves with perspective it keeps, belief it uses, and energy that carries past the drive home.
You leave believing
you can do more than you thought.
The room changes. The problem does not. Every group I speak to is full of capable people who already know what to do, and lose the thread when the pressure climbs.
Corporate teams and leadership groups. People carrying decisions that land on everyone below them, who have to hold their nerve and hold direction at the same time.
Conferences and events. Rooms that have heard the motivation before and want something still working on Thursday.
Community and guest evenings. Clubs, gatherings, and private events that want a real story before they want a lesson.
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 Value- Why the person out front cannot see their own drift, and who can.
- How to build feedback that works under pressure, not just in the debrief.
- What moving as one actually requires when conditions turn.
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 Value- What it costs to trade comfort for a goal, honestly counted.
- The trick that keeps you moving when the thinking stops helping.
- Why the hard thing and the funny thing are usually the same story.
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.
The Value- The difference between wanting a goal and being willing to have it.
- Goal setting stripped to the part that survives contact with a bad day.
- The small daily execution that closes the gap between deciding and doing.
Plenty of people can talk about performance. Fewer have gone and tested it where it counts. I have an honours degree in sport psychology, I competed for South Africa as a gymnast, and I have spent 25 years in high-pressure rooms, from boardrooms to safari lodges across Africa. I have spoken on stages in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York.
And then there is the ice. I crossed the Greenland ice sheet, 553km unsupported, as a team of ten. In 2030 I am attempting the full solo unsupported ski to the South Pole, from Berkner Island. Around 1,400 kilometres from the coast. No South African has ever done it. I do not bring belief and perspective from a book. I earn them in the hardest places on the planet and bring them back in a form a room can use.
- Keynotes run 45 to 60 minutes, tailored to your event and audience.
- Half day and full day workshop formats are available on request.
- In person or virtual. Based in Johannesburg, travels worldwide.
- Every talk is built for your room. No off the shelf delivery.
"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."
Pirates Sports Club"I saw you speak years ago at a Samy's Camera event in LA when I was just getting started. I have followed you ever since. Every single thing you write resonates with me. You have a gift."
Audience member"Informative without being overly technical. Inspiring without being pretentious. About as personable and engaging as you get."
Client and attendeeSome talks matter more than others. I speak at schools about doing hard things: a former national gymnast who became a wildlife photographer who walked across Greenland, and what that road teaches about choosing difficult over comfortable. For photography clubs and classrooms, I also talk travel and wildlife photography, and what it means to build a life around paying attention. These sessions are priced for schools, because that is the point. If you are a teacher, coach or parent who wants this in front of young people, get in touch.
The story. From the South African bush to the Greenland ice, and the wild places between. What it looks like to build a life out of curiosity, and what happens when you follow a road that does not have a map.
Conservation and art. Wild places, the animals that live there, and the craft of photographing them. Why paying attention is a skill, and why the natural world rewards the people who learn it.
The one a lot of them need to hear. Doing hard things, choosing difficult over comfortable, and holding steady under pressure. The same tools I use with executives and athletes, sized for a school hall.
For event organisers
Everything you need to introduce, market or bill Gerry for your event, in one place.
Gerry van der Walt knows both sides of the pressure entrepreneurs live with. He co-founded Wild Eye, a specialist photographic travel company, and spent fourteen years building the business and leading photographic expeditions across five continents. In 2026 he stepped back from the business he helped build to bet on his next venture: himself.
Weeks later he was on the Greenland ice sheet. In May 2026 he crossed it, 553km unsupported in a team of ten, hauling everything he needed through 29 days of Arctic weather. In 2030 he attempts the full solo unsupported ski to the South Pole from Berkner Island, around 1,400km. No South African has ever done it.
The performance thread runs all the way back. A former national gymnast with an honours degree in sport psychology, Gerry has spent 25 years leading people in high-pressure environments, from luxury safari camps to stages in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. Today he coaches founders, executives and athletes on mental fitness and performing when it counts.
On stage he brings the story and the tools: big visuals from the ice, honest stories about fear and failure, and four ideas about resilience, agency, positivity and gratitude that audiences take back into their businesses. Talks run 45 to 60 minutes and every one is built for the room.
Our speaker co-founded a photographic expedition company and led trips across five continents, crossed the Greenland ice sheet unsupported with a team in May 2026, and in 2030 is attempting to become the first South African to ski solo, unsupported and unassisted to the South Pole. Please welcome Gerry van der Walt.
Enquire About a Talk.
I will be in the USA and Canada in October and November. Dates there can be arranged directly.
Tell me about your event and I will come back to you.