He's invented a bike with wings. Won the Coast to Coast a couple of times. Was poisoned by bat dung while racing in the Borneo jungles. Nearly died, and then fought back to win the Coast to Coast seven times more, in a row!

Steve has competed both domestically and internationally and has featured in television competitions "Clash of the Codes" and "Blood Sweat & Fears". He also competed in endurance adventure races overseas traversing jungles, swamps, rivers, seas, deserts, mountains and streams. Athletes navigate their way through the course by foot, horse, raft, kayak, bike and sometimes camel. For 8-10 continuous days they sleep only when they dare and as you might expect Steve has some rather interesting tales to tell that will make you cringe, cry and laugh!

It was one of these adventure races that toppled Steve from his reign as NZ's "winningest" multi-sport athlete. Infected by bat dung as they raced through the Mulu caves, Steve suffered circulatory collapse, pulmonary oedema followed by renal failure. This saw him dragged through intensive care wards in Malaysia and Singapore, coming very close to death.

It's Steve's fight back to winning form in just 2 years in the face of scepticism, doubt and uncertainty of health that has spawned many requests for speaking engagements. He also speaks on teamwork - understanding fully what makes a successful team as in many race situations it can mean the difference between life and death.

Steve has an engineering background having worked as a professional engineer for 4 years before pursuing his sport as a professional athlete. He graduated from Canterbury University in 1986 with a mechanical engineering degree and runs an engineering design company in conjunction with his sporting pursuits - he is no stranger to the challenges of the business world.

Steve was awarded Order of Merit in the 2004 New Year’s honours "for services to Endurance sport". He also writes regular columns for the NZ Adventure magazine, NZ Triathlete Magazine & Total Control and his book "Lucky Legs" (what he’s learned about winning and losing) was published in 2008.

Obstacle or Opportunity?
 
Life is full of obstacles and opportunities.  The important thing is to appreciate that the obstacles themselves are commonly opportunities when viewed from a positive angle.
 
During the Raid Guloises Adventure Race in Borneo, Steve was infected with Leptosporosis by bat dung as his team raced through the Mulu caves.
 
Steve suffered circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema followed by renal failure while being dragged through intensive care wards in Malaysia and Singapore.  He came very close to death.
 
It is Steve's fight back to winning form (winning 7 Coast to Coast races in a row afterwards) in just 2 years, in the face of medical professionals' skepticism and doubt that spawned many requests for speaking engagements.
 
Learn how he turned this, and many other of his life's large obstacles into a winning opportunity.
 
Favourite obstacle/opportunity topics:
   • Hey! I'm not dead yet! -  How to stage a come-back.
   • Success is a skill
   • Turning stumbling blocks into stepping stones
   • Resilience Seminars

Practical NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming)
 
Steve used NLP techniques to race winning effect through out his racing career. He was so convinced at their efficacy that he decided to become a certified trainer.

Remember how you got that tingle down your spine, goose bumps, that irrepressible grin on your face, and you were saying fantastic things to your self, possibly even proudly yelling out loud?
 
At times like that we are in a very powerful state and capable of performing at our best.
 
With NLP we can train ourselves to access that state at any time, at will.
 
“Winning isn’t really about simple goal setting. It’s about choosing goals that give me goosebumps and then being clever and precise about how I imagine myself getting to those goals. I used NLP for this, and it was so incredibly powerful that I trained to be an NLP coach myself to help others get their big and audacious goals!”
 
Favourite NLP topics include:
   • Goal setting that works
   • Adapting with change
   • Introduction to NLP

Fitness and Sports Goals
 
Steve jokes about his ‘lucky legs’ ("so scrawny, lucky they don't snap off and poke up my bum"), his diminutive stature, and the fact that he always came last in races at school.
 
Steve was so determined to win that he searched everywhere for advantages, learnt new techniques, trained harder and more thoroughly, invented new equipment, and cunningly outmanoeuvred the competition on race days.  In his talks, and his book (Lucky Legs) he generously shares his strategies for success that can be used by anyone, in any field - be it sport or business.
 
Among other techniques, he has figured out how to incorporate fitness training into his everyday life's routines, and is excited to pass on this knowledge to make others healthier and happier, and through these techniques, helping to make a cleaner, greener society.
 
Favourite Sport topics include:
   • How to train for adventure racing
   • Incorporating exercise into daily life
   • 15 weeks from nothing to running
   • Developing a winning attitude
   • Death by Cotton Wool

Adventure to Gooney is about:
   • gaining skills
   • doing research
   • gathering reliable equipment
   • doing prior planning to prevent piss-poor performance
   • building figurative fences at the top of the cliff instead of organising ambulances for the bottom
   • taking personal responsibility (that’s what gives the satisfaction)
   • stepping out side of my comfort zone but inside the danger zone
   • and then committing with intelligence to make good decisions about calculated risk out in the field.

Steve loves inspiring people to greater heights and loves teaching people how to make mole-hills out of mountains.  Want to hear more? Contact us now!