Speaker Profile
I am available to speak through Caroline Rose Management for: keynote presentations, award ceremonies, conferences, board meetings, staff motivational events, product launches, festivals & educational talks.
I deliver the highs and lows of my stories with good-natured humour and candid honesty, so audiences can relate as I talk about my then inexperience and the changes I made in leaving the glamorous world of modeling behind to become an endurance athlete.
As I took my final footstep of my very first expedition, walking 4500km along The Great Wall of China, I instantly understood, that the feeling of accomplishment, achievement or success is directly proportional to the effort, commitment and hardship put into achieving it. This made me passionate about awaking potential in others. We are all capable of so much more than we think, physically and mentally. I aim to encourage others to take a leap into Theadore Roservelt’s famous ‘arena’, unknowing of the outcome, get comfortable with being uncomfortable, and to not loose hope and motivation when things get tough.
I would like to think, that just on meeting me and hearing my story, people could quickly see I am not your ’typical adventurer’. Unlike many people in the world of adventure, I’m not very brave, nor an adrenaline junkie or a daredevil, I’m just a normal girl, who loves pretty dresses, pink painted nails and lying on the sofa watching Strictly come dancing, with a mug of tea and a packet of RichTea biscuits. I therefore believe I am the epitome of ‘if I can do it, you can do it’.
Ordinary people can do extraordinary things if we can just be bold enough to begin.
Key Messages
Having The Courage to Change
Staying Motivated in Tough Times
Setting & Achieving Goals
Peak Performance
Overcoming Adversity
Words from Caroline: Katie-Jane’s story is all the more inspiring because she left behind the catwalk to take on expeditions in hostile environments. Katie-Jane’s unique story is told with great humour and fantastic film footage and photographs. Her presentations are entertaining, moving, dramatic and awe-inspiring with key messages about change, challenge and above all, how we have hidden reserves of strength and potential to face fear and the toughest of tasks.
Katie-Jane proves that we can face fear, doubt, exhaustion (and Nature at her worst) and yet still find the courage to take another step and reach seemingly impossible goals.
Katie-Jane L’Herpiniere (formerly Cooper) built a successful career as a commercial model. Working for M&S and Alexander McQueen among many others, Katie-Jane was enjoying the opportunities that modeling created. She acted as Cameron Diaz’s body-double in the film ‘The Holiday’ as well as appearing in several other Hollywood films.
Meeting explorer Tarka L’Herpiniere, however, changed everything. Katie and Tarka became the first people to walk the full route continuously along the Great Wall of China West to East. They approximately 30 miles a day and faced blizzards, temperatures of minus 35°C, frostbite, starvation, exhaustion and dehydration. She lost an inch in height from the weight of her backpack. Despite the odds, the former model made it through the heat of the Gobi Desert and the sub-zero temperatures of the mountains and completed 4300km (3,000 miles) in 167 days. A world-first.
Katie continues to embrace change and opportunity. She has set goals and taken on challenges far beyond her comfort zone. She cycled through Ethiopia (2008) and she also worked as part of a scientific support team near the North Pole (2009). In 2009, Katie made the longest crossing by a woman on the Southern Patagonian Ice Cap: the world’s third largest ice cap and an area that remains mostly unmapped. Katie and Tarka’s tent was ripped to shreds in a terrifying storm. They spent 5 nights in a makeshift shelter slowly making their way down a glacier in horrendous conditions (suffering snow blindness) to finally reach safety. Surviving a terrifying ordeal, Katie discovered that she had become the first woman to complete a major crossing of the Ice Cap – an extraordinary achievement. They were also the first British expedition to do so.
Katie’s story reveals that we can leave our comfort zones and achieve what seems impossible. Her story is about succeeding in harsh conditions and not losing hope and motivation when it gets tough. Katie is enthusiastic about awaking potential in others. Audiences relate to her honesty and humour as she talks about her inexperience and the changes she has made in leaving the glamorous world of modeling behind to become an inspiring endurance athlete.
I have to say that Katie-Jane was THE most inspirational speaker I've ever seen (and I've seen a few) I was absolutely transfixed throughout the whole presentation and I didn't want it to end!!
Dale Carneige
What can we say. Katie-Jane was an absolute inspiration and made our final Women in Business Lunch this year the best yet. Her strength of character and courage knows no bounds and the whole audience was speechless with many tears at the end of her fascinating insight into model turned adventurer. Highly recommended and absolutely fascinating
Unique: Women in Business
We thought that Katie was lovely and that her talk was fascinating, especially hearing about the many challenging situations that she had to overcome. I was very grateful that she joined us afterwards to continue to answer questions in the less formal setting of the hotel bar too!
HSBC Insurance
Her presentation and story was inspirational, uplifting and captivating. Everyone on my table agreed and was full of praise for her motivational speech. Her humour and wit really captured the audience and made it possible to relate to Katie’s situation even though we were all in awe of what she has achieved.
We Are Slater
Engaging, inspirational and humbling. Katie's story portrays the life and journeys of unique and driven individuals, testing their bodies and mental strength in some of the most hostile environments known to mankind. Whilst many of us can only marvel at the physical achievements undertaken, the real message is in the focused approach to tasks that can be accomplished and only excuses will prevent you from achieving.
Bournemouth University
Katie is an amazing person and a natural presenter, the delegates really warmed to her. A truly excellent presentation, really inspirational and motivating, making people believe the impossible is possible. We wouldn’t hesitate in recommending Katie and definitely would use her again.
Lancaster Chamber of Commerce
What an amazing story! Katie's journey from model to adventurer shows that the only barrier to fulfilling our dreams are inside our own minds, or perhaps you just need to meet a Frenchman skiing uphill. Thank you again.
Digital Explorer
Katie gave an excellent talk with some wonderful photographs. She must have tremendous courage. A most enjoyable night. (There were very few seats left in the lecture room: the busiest night we have had for a long time!)
Royal Scottish Geographical Society
I just wanted to say how truly inspirational Katie’s presentation was - absolutely fantastic.
Advance Performance
I would like to thank you for the absolutely fantastic talk that you gave. Everyone I spoke to after the event found your story captivating and very inspirational. People have been talking about it ever since.
EUI Ltd, Admiral Group
Tarka and Katie gave an inspirational talk about their journey to our international conference. All those who attended rated them exceptionally highly (with top marks) on their feedback forms at the end of the conference. The presentation was so inspiring, thought provoking, motivating, and interesting.... the short DVD clips at the end almost had our most hardened delegates having to push back tears. Excellent. Really, really, really, really brilliant. I was (as you can probably tell) very pleased.
Allen Carr’s Easyway International Ltd
It was a really enjoyable talk full of interest and good humour, full of great anecdotes and adventures, good stories and excellent photography. I thought their massive achievement was modestly understated and I found myself seriously impressed by the distances covered through hostile conditions. It really was a most enjoyable lecture.
The Wilderness Lectures
Katie-Jane and Tarka’s presentation was entertaining and uplifting and yet still delivered a very relevant message. The photographs and video footage were stunning. The way they interacted with each other to tell their story was great. Friendly, informative and humorous.
Orchard Information Systems
Tarka and Katie went down a storm – they were fantastic and I am really pleased we chose them as our speakers for the evening. Feedback was all extremely positive. They were both such lovely down-to-earth people, wanting to share their experiences – and the story is amazing. Certainly made the audience think (including me!) about ‘what’s next’ in life.
Midlands Excellence
Katie-Jane!... What an inspiration! Her strength of character and courage left us all, I think, speechless and emotional. A brilliant lesson in embracing change, surviving tough times and achieving the impossible.
Unique: Women in Business