Tim Harris is a living testament to the power of mental resilience. Faced with depression, severe arthritis and a shoulder reconstruction, Tim embarked on one of the world's most challenging endeavours—the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge, an unassisted row across the Atlantic Ocean. More exclusive than space travel or conquering Everest, Tim's journey was a physical and mental triumph. Before his challenge, Tim had spent the past 12 years as Global Head of Fuel Oil for PVM Oil Associates. He was on the brink of burnout and realised something had to change. So, in 2020, motivated by a desire to raise awareness for mental health issues, Tim joined the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge. Through this incredible journey, he and his friend Simon Calver raised £160,000 for a teenage mental health charity. After achieving this extraordinary feat, Tim made a significant life transition. Leaving his role as Global Head of Fuel Oil, he embraced a new path as a coach, leveraging his experiences to guide others in managing stress, building resilience, preventing burnout, and navigating challenging life changes. Tim's expertise has since been sought after by some of the world's largest organisations, including Google, the NHS, and the Royal Navy.
Often, we hear stories of how large teams have come together to win a World Cup or launch their next big idea. However, day to day, many of us are working in much smaller teams, just like Tim Harris and his friend Simon Calver did when they rowed 3000 miles unassisted across the Atlantic Ocean in the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge. Candidly sharing his experience, in this talk, Tim will take your team through the lessons he’s learnt being part of a small, intricate team who are highly dependable on each other.
During his darkest times, suicide ideation was a real threat to Tim Harris. In his talk, Tim addresses this challenging subject with honesty and sympathy about what it is and how he pulled himself from such adversity into competing and completing the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Rowing Race, a 3000-mile unassisted row across the Atlantic Ocean. If you want to spread awareness and open up the conversation around mental health with your team, Tim’s talk will pave the way.
The physical feat of rowing 3000 miles is hard to comprehend. This, coupled with the utter repetitiveness of constantly rowing two-hour shifts for 52 days straight, requires unprecedented levels of both physical and mental resilience. Having joined a club more exclusive than space travel or conquering Everest in the form of completing the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Rowing Race, Tim can testify to countless times his resilience was tested. Now he’s here to share his story and the methods he used to make it happen.
In 2020, at the halfway mark in the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Rowing Race (a 3000-mile unassisted row across the Atlantic Ocean), Tim Harris was 1,500 miles from any means of medical assistance. Even just the thought of the pressure and stress associated with this would overwhelm many. In this talk, Tim explains how he was able to master stress management during this time and cope in such a high-pressure environment, so your team can do the same.
