Ed Stafford
Ed Stafford is the Guinness World Record-holding first person to walk the Amazon River. In 2011 he was awarded European Adventurer of the Year and the Mungo Park Medal by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society in recognition of outstanding contributions to geographical knowledge through exploration.
Sir Ranulph Fiennes described his expedition as being “truly extraordinary… in the top league of expeditions past and present.” Ed is now an established face of Discovery Channel and his seventh series Ed Stafford: First Man Out airs on Discovery Channel late 2018 globally.
More about Ed
A former British Army captain, Ed filmed and blogged his deadly journey and engaged followers all over the world for almost two and a half years. His epic adventure made headline news, featuring in over 900 articles and on every major news channel in the UK and United States. Ed’s mission was complete; his tale of true grit, bravery and determination to succeed against all odds has led to him being described by The Daily Mail as, “Britain’s most intrepid hero since Scott of the Antarctic,” and “A true hero” by The Times.
Ed’s footage was made into a Discovery Channel documentary and was sold to over 100 countries. His best-selling book, ‘Walking the Amazon’, has been translated into Mandarin, Ukranian, Polish and Spanish as well as being sold to the USA. He has also written two further books.
Post Walking the Amazon Ed has gone on to film seven survival series for Discovery Channel. The first, Naked and Marooned [aka Naked Castaway in the USA], involved him being stranded naked on an uninhabited island for 60 days with no food, water, or tools of any kind to help him survive. He was not even allowed to take any clothes and the concept was then developed into the runaway hit series, Naked and Afraid. With exceptional viewing figures Ed then hosted several series’ for Discovery Networks International.
Ed uses his adventures to inspire adults and kids alike to get outside and take some risks. In a world with increasing cases of mental health issues and a general feeling of disconnect, Ed believes passionately that adventures can be catalysts for personal growth and development. Situations where you don’t have all the answers force us to come up with new solutions and new ways of looking at the world, and they are a great antidote to the apathy of the modern, screen-addicted society.
Ed is an ambassador for Land Rover, the Scouts, and the Youth Adventure Trust.
Ed is married to fellow adventurer Laura Bingham and they currently live in rural Leicestershire and have one son, Ran.
