Dave Ryding
Dave Ryding is Britain’s greatest alpine ski racer, sharing a gripping story of resilience, risk and reaching the top with absolutely no plan B.
Why book Dave Ryding for your next event
- Hear how Dave Ryding rose from Lancashire dry slopes to win on the world’s most iconic alpine stage through resilience, relentless work and northern grit.
- A rare look inside elite ski racing: the danger, pressure and adrenaline of a sport where careers can end in a split second.
- Discover the mindset behind competing at the top for more than 15 years in a sport dominated by athletes raised in the Alps.
Non-binding request for Dave Ryding
Britain’s greatest-ever ski racer and the ultimate story of grit
Dave Ryding’s journey to the top of alpine ski racing is unlike anything the sport has seen. Raised far from the mountains of Europe, the boy from Lancashire learned his craft on short dry ski slopes where a run lasted barely 12 seconds. From these unlikely beginnings he built a career that rewrote British skiing history. A veteran of four Olympic Games and targeting a fifth, Ryding became the first Brit in 55 years of Alpine World Cup competition to win a race. His legendary victory in Kitzbühel in 2022 came at the age of 35, making him the oldest skier ever to claim a World Cup win. In his keynote, Ryding shares the mindset, determination and resilience that carried him to the summit of world sport with no safety net and no plan B.
Dave Ryding – Britain’s Greatest Alpine Ski Racer
Dave Ryding’s story stands apart in the world of elite winter sport. Alpine ski racing is traditionally dominated by athletes raised in the mountains, surrounded by snow from childhood and backed by deep skiing traditions. Ryding came from a very different world.
Born in Lancashire to a market-trader father and a hairdresser mother, his early training ground was the dry ski slopes of the Ribble Valley. The setting was far removed from the snow-covered pistes of Austria or Switzerland. A single run lasted only seconds.
As Ryding once described it, each run could stretch to twelve seconds if conditions were good. First the slope had to be cleared of sheep and whatever they had left behind. Yet those short runs became the foundation of a remarkable career.
What followed was a journey defined by determination, technical excellence and relentless hard work. Over the years Ryding developed into one of the most respected slalom specialists on the international circuit, building a reputation for precision, courage and consistency.
His rise turned him into a cult figure within skiing. Fans admired the athlete who had reached the summit of the sport without the traditional alpine upbringing.
The Historic Victory in Kitzbühel
In January 2022, Dave Ryding delivered the moment that secured his place in sporting history.
On the legendary slopes of Kitzbühel in Austria, one of the most famous venues in ski racing, Ryding won the slalom race and became the first British skier ever to win an Alpine World Cup event. The competition had existed for 55 years before that moment.
The victory carried another remarkable detail. At 35 years old, Ryding became the oldest athlete to win a World Cup slalom race.
The achievement resonated far beyond the ski community. Nearly four million viewers in the United Kingdom tuned in to BBC’s Ski Sunday to watch the historic run. Across Europe’s ski-mad nations, the British racer trained on dry slopes became a story of fascination and admiration.
Life at the Top of a High-Risk Sport
Alpine ski racing sits among the most intense and unforgiving sports in the world. Speeds are extreme, mistakes are punished instantly and careers can change in the blink of an eye.
Dave Ryding competed at the very top of this environment for more than fifteen years. During that time he experienced the full spectrum of elite sport: the glamour of the World Cup circuit, the pressure of Olympic competition and the physical risks that come with racing down icy mountains at breathtaking speed.
In his keynote, he lifts the curtain on this extraordinary world. Audiences gain insight into the personalities drawn to the sport, the mental preparation behind every race and the constant balance between risk and reward.
Lessons from a Career with No Plan B
Few sporting journeys capture resilience quite like Dave Ryding’s. His path to success required persistence across decades of training, setbacks and relentless competition against athletes with very different advantages.
In his talk, Ryding explores the mindset that powered his career and the lessons that translate far beyond sport.
Key themes include:
Turning adversity into motivation
Building resilience through long-term dedication
Performing under pressure when the margins are tiny
The power of committing fully to a goal
Thriving in environments where risk is unavoidable
His philosophy centres around one defining idea: pursuing success without a safety net. For Ryding, there was never a plan B.
Book Speaker Dave Ryding for Your Event
As his competitive career approaches its final chapter, Dave Ryding is eager to share the insights gained from a lifetime spent chasing excellence.
Audiences are captivated by the authenticity of his journey. From clearing sheep off a dry slope in Lancashire to standing atop the podium in Kitzbühel, his story resonates with anyone striving to achieve something extraordinary.
With warmth, humour and honesty, Ryding reflects on the highs and lows of elite sport, the courage required to push boundaries and the mindset that carried him through more than a decade at the summit of world skiing.
For organisations seeking a powerful story about resilience, determination and daring to pursue a dream without compromise, Dave Ryding delivers an unforgettable keynote.
Keynotes
Keynote by Dave Ryding:
No One Wins Alone: Why TeamWork Matters Even in Individual Performance!
Ski racing might look like the ultimate individual sport. One athlete, one start gate, one run against the clock. But behind every great performance is something far bigger: a team.
The truth is, no athlete reaches their peak alone. The real challenge is learning how to unlock the power of the people around you. How do you build a team environment where everyone improves, everyone pushes harder, and everyone raises the standard?
In elite sport, it’s easy to focus purely on your own targets. Your own times. Your own results. And at first glance, it might not seem to matter whether your teammate hits their goals or not. But something powerful happens when an entire team starts hitting their marks. Momentum builds. Standards rise. Confidence spreads. Suddenly, individual progress turns into collective transformation.
During my time leading the British Slalom Team, I experienced this firsthand. One of the proudest moments of my career wasn’t just a personal result, it was seeing three British racers in the top 20 on the results sheet. That moment represented years of shared belief, relentless work, and a culture where everyone pushed each other forward.
The buzz in the team was electric. The camaraderie deepened. Every race felt like we were stepping into battle together, united by a shared mission. Other nations even started asking, “How are the Brits doing it?”
The answer was simple: unity, trust, and a relentless collective drive.
Because when individuals become a team, performance multiplies. And when a team truly believes in each other, extraordinary things start to happen.
Keynote by Dave Ryding:
True power isn’t physical, it’s mental! Train your mind to withstand anything, and the obstacles become opportunities.
In elite sport, talent will only take you so far. What separates the good from the truly exceptional is YOUR MINDSET.
A powerful combination of growth mindset, single-minded determination, and intense focus is what allows you to truly lock in. But locking in once is easy. Doing it every single day is where discipline, sacrifice, and resilience begin to separate you from the rest.
High performance requires a willingness to learn. The best performers listen, absorb ideas from others, and stay open to perspectives that challenge their thinking. But growth isn’t about accepting everything. It’s about separating the gems from the noise, aligning valuable insight with your own philosophy while ignoring the distractions that pull you off course.
When the moment arrives, it’s about clarity and commitment. Blinkers on. Focus sharp. Fully locked into the task at hand. Just like attacking a slalom course, one gate at a time, executing with precision, rhythm, and intent.
Your mind is your most powerful muscle. Train it relentlessly, strengthen it under pressure, and over time the results become undeniable. Whether in the boardroom, on the racecourse, or in the most demanding moments of your career, the right mindset won’t just help you perform.
It will make you stand out.
Keynote by Dave Ryding:
Judgement is inevitable. Fear is optional. Use it as fuel and show the world exactly why you belong.
Remember - imposter syndrome is normal! Why would someone expect you to be able to do something if no body has done it before? 'Watch what I do next' is what you should really be thinking!
Imposter syndrome is something many people feel but few talk about. That quiet voice that asks, “Do I really belong here?” The feeling that one day someone will discover you don’t deserve your place.
In elite sport, those doubts don’t just come from within, they can come from the outside world too.
Early in my career, I heard comments that were impossible to ignore. Rivals saying things like, “I just got beaten by a Brit,” as if that result simply shouldn’t happen. Others joked, “Dave is a dry slope skier… why is he trying to race on snow?”
For a British ski racer competing against nations with mountains in their backyard, those words carried weight. The implication was clear: you shouldn’t be here.
But moments like that present a choice.
You can allow doubt, yours or someone else’s, to shrink your belief. Or you can turn it into fuel.
This keynote explores how imposter syndrome, criticism, and external judgement can be reframed into one of the most powerful drivers of performance. Instead of trying to silence doubt, you learn to harness it. Instead of proving people wrong, you prove to yourself what is possible.
Because the greatest shift happens when you stop asking “Do I belong here?” and start telling yourself: “Watch what I do next.”
Keynote by Dave Ryding:
Peak performance isn’t an accident, it’s engineered.
In elite sport, every detail matters. Training sessions are planned with purpose, recovery is protected, sleep is prioritised, and nutrition fuels performance. Athletes understand that performing at their highest level isn’t about pushing harder every single day. It’s about managing energy, focus, and preparation so that when the moment comes, they are ready to deliver.
The same principles apply in business.
Too often, professionals treat their work week like a sprint that never ends. Constantly pushing, constantly reacting, constantly draining their reserves. But elite athletes know something different: performance only peaks when recovery is part of the system.
Just like a physical training week, high performance requires rhythm. There are days to push hard, days to build momentum, and moments to step back, recharge, and refocus. Quality sleep sharpens decision-making. Smart nutrition fuels sustained energy. Strategic recovery prevents burnout and keeps performance consistent.
In this keynote, I translate the mindset and structure of elite athletic performance into a framework that businesses can apply immediately. Because the reality is simple: the boardroom is no different from the start gate.
The individuals and teams who understand how to train, recover, and perform with intention are the ones who consistently deliver when it matters most.
Peak performance isn’t always about doing more. It’s about doing the right things, at the right time, to perform at your best when it counts.
🇬🇧 Dave Ryding, from ‘dry’ ski slopes to an Olympic medal? ⛷ | Athletes to Watch - Beijing 2022
Watch Dave Ryding in action!
