Available to book
Craig Wood
Resilience
Innovation
Growth Mindset
Build unstoppable resilience with Craig Wood, speaker and record-setting triple amputee sailor. Craig works with organisations to develop leadership under pressure, overcome adversity, and challenge disability assumptions, delivering insights from his world-first Pacific Ocean crossing achievement.
International Day of Disability
Explorer
Personal Wellbeing
Mindset
Military
Inclusion
Inspirational
Personal Development
Adventurer
Mental Health Awareness
Motivational
Craig Wood is a record-setting sailor and British Army veteran known for redefining what is possible after a life-changing injury. His achievements at sea and his grounded, open approach to resilience have made him a compelling voice on overcoming adversity, navigating change, and challenging assumptions about disability.
At the age of 18, Craig lost both legs and a hand in an IED explosion while stationed in Afghanistan. He spent years rebuilding his physical strength, confidence, and identity. Sailing became his outlet and, ultimately, his purpose. He has since covered more than 20,000 nautical miles, captaining a custom-built aluminium catamaran adapted for one-arm handling. In 2025, Craig became the first triple amputee to complete a solo, non-stop, unsupported crossing of the Pacific Ocean. This world-first achievement followed earlier recognition as Yorkshire Man of the Year and Inspirational Sailor of the Year from the Young Cruisers Association.
Craig shares his experiences with audiences ranging from corporate teams to veteran organisations, schools, and public events. His work focuses on resilience, mindset, and the practical skills needed to keep moving through uncertainty. He also supports fellow veterans through sailing-based programmes, and has introduced many people to the therapeutic potential of being on the water.
Craig’s presentations offer direct, lived insight into perseverance, problem-solving, and leadership under pressure. Audiences gain a clearer understanding of how inner strength is built through action, not theory, and how reframing limitations can open new paths forward for individuals and teams.
Book Craig to bring a perspective shaped by experience, honesty, and a determination to help others navigate their own challenges.
Topics, sessions and talks
Craig Wood charts a journey that begins with an IED blast on his first deployment and leads to a world-first solo sailing attempt across the Pacific. Craig shows how determination, adaptability, and a refusal to be limited by circumstance can transform even the hardest setbacks. His open, live-free style encourages audiences to challenge assumptions, rethink capability, and confront obstacles with greater confidence. Participants gain practical insight into resilience, perspective, and sustained commitment under pressure.
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frequently asked questions
Something we've not covered here?
Email craig.wood@getapeptalk.com or call PepTalk on +44 20 3835 2929 (UK) or +1 737 888 5112 (US), and one of our speaker agents will contact you within hours to confirm Craig's availability and fees. If you can, please include your budget upfront – it helps us fast-track your request. It’s also helpful to know the date, format (virtual or in-person), location, and a bit about your audience.
Craig Wood structures his presentation around a first-person chronological narrative, opening with the IED blast that caused his triple amputation and tracing a direct line to his 2025 solo, non-stop, unsupported Pacific crossing. This arc is used to draw out transferable principles around resilience, problem-solving, and reframing limitation, grounded in specific milestones from his military service and sailing record.
Craig Wood speaks on resilience and adaptability, overcoming adversity, and challenging assumptions about disability and capability. In 2025, he became the first triple amputee to complete a solo, non-stop, unsupported crossing of the Pacific Ocean, having lost both legs and a hand to an IED blast in Afghanistan at 18.
No. PepTalk adds no booking fee, so you pay the speaker's fee and nothing beyond it. The service, from shortlist through to contracts and event-day logistics, is included. For repeat or multi-event bookings, PepTalk can agree preferential rates with your procurement team.
Share your event date, audience, format, objectives and budget, and PepTalk sends a hand-picked shortlist within 24 hours. Each suggestion comes with a profile, a fee and a recommendation on the strongest fit. Once you choose, PepTalk handles contracts, travel and logistics through to event day.
The typical fee range is the speaker's standard in-person fee in their home market, shown in their local currency. It moves with format, location, date and session length: virtual sessions and shorter slots usually cost less, while international travel and peak dates cost more. Send your brief to PepTalk and the team will confirm the exact fee in your currency.
Not all of them, and it makes no difference to your booking. PepTalk's network of 15,000+ speakers covers talent the team works with directly alongside speakers represented by agents and agencies worldwide. PepTalk approaches the speaker, negotiates the fee and handles contracting either way.
Three to six months ahead is comfortable for most events, and 12 months is better for large conferences, peak-season dates or one specific in-demand speaker. Shorter timelines are workable, and PepTalk regularly fills last-minute and replacement bookings within days. Availability is the constraint, so get in touch as soon as you have a date.
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