Darren Grigas

Darren uses his extreme challenges to show how ordinary people can do extraordinary things, through a series of consistent progressive steps.  He uses recollections and anecdotes of his challenges to inspire and entertain, whilst giving the audience a desire to believe in themselves and aim high in whatever their dreams may be.

Darren is a British adventurer and endurance athlete who has completed many extreme challenges including several world-first unchartered and unsupported crossings with no shortcuts home.

Darren has spoken at Schools, Businesses, Events and even Palaces, having been invited twice to speak at the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Awards at St James Palace’ and Buckingham Palace to share his stories and lessons from adventures including:

• Marathon Des Sables 250km Desert Race – dubbed the Toughest Footrace on Earth
• World-First run across 100-mile frozen lake in Outer Mongolia – eating around a campfire whilst wild wolves howled from the treeline just feet away
• World-First attempt crossing Panama Coast-to-Coast, through mountains, jungles & rivers – sharing the space with fire Ants, Crocs and snakes 
• World-First 200km Namib desert crossing, meeting desert wildlife along the way
• One of only three finishers from 400+ starters of a four-part ‘SAS Who Dares Wins’ style endurance challenge across the UK.
• Launching a 100-acre Outdoor Adventure Centre to give kids and adults a chance to discover their own inner-adventurers.

He has endured and traversed some of the toughest footraces on the planet, in some of the hottest, coldest and most unforgiving environments on the planet.  Self-sufficient running across the Sahara, was the first person ever to run across the 100-mile frozen Khövsgöl Nuur (Lake) in Outer-Mongolia in temperatures as low as MINUS 50!  He traversed unchartered jungles during a world-first crossing of Panama coast-to-coast.  After picking up unknown spider bites, accidental machete wounds and running to the end of his rations with no shortcut out, Darren knows how to overcome adversity and setbacks and keep pushing forwards.  He also traversed 200k across the Namib desert via a route never-before completed on foot, sharing the desert with cheetah’s leopards, baboons, hyenas and more, and back on UK shores completed a 177-mile coastal relay race carrying a 20kg pack for charity.

Darren turns his hand to differing challenges and retrained his body and mind to take part in a four-stage series of challenges designed and run by Ex-Special Forces and Royal Marines, designed to break people physically and mentally, to interrogate under duress, deprived of sleep, food and water, and forced to push on or give up. Of around 400+ starters, only 3 completed the entire series. Darren was one of those three finishers with only 11 minutes separating him and the winner after 36 hours of extreme challenges in the final stage.

He says he isn’t the strongest, youngest or fastest on the ground, but believes his achievements demonstrate how with the right mindset we’re all capable of achieving extraordinary feats and he hopes to inspire others to believe in themselves and their wildest goals. 

In 2023 Darren launched the incredible Forest Facility Adventure Centre spread across 100+ acres to enable others to get outside, challenge themselves and build their confidence and self-belief, Forest Facility has since welcomed thousands of visitors of all ages and is fast-becoming one of the region’s greatest outdoor attractions.