As one of Britain’s greatest ever swimmers, Steve retired at the top of his game after winning an Olympic Bronze Medal in 2004. He was the inspirational captain of his country who never failed to deliver when it mattered most.
Following his retirement, Steve created Total Swimming, revolutionising swimming across the UK through the nation’s first temporary pool programmes. Winner of the Big Society Award and European Sponsorship best community programme ‘British Gas Pools 4 Schools’ initiative taught 60,000 children to swim in some of Britain’s most deprived areas and, in 2015, culminated in the first British sub £1m 25m swimming pool located in Radcliffe, Greater Manchester.
Steve is also co-founder and director of two Olympian-led organisations, Total Gymnastics Academies with Beth Tweddle MBE, and Becky Adlington’s Swim Stars. Across Steve’s portfolio of sports organisations, some 15,000 young children a week are taught swimming and gymnastics across the UK. When talking Olympic legacy, few sporting greats can match the achievements of Steve since his Athens success in the pool.
In addition to his business interests, Steve is one of the BBC’s most popular sports pundits, presenting BBC Five Live’s swimming coverage in all the major events, as well as numerous appearances on the coveted Question of Sport stage.
Steve’s greatest challenge came when he was diagnosed with cancer in 2009, only 4 weeks after getting married. After treatment, Steve is now 6 years cancer free. If owning and directing businesses wasn’t enough, Steve is proud to be Ambassador for both Cancer Research UK and the Royal Life Saving Society.
As an inspirational speaker, Steve is ideal to convey a message about overcoming adversity, implementing a vision, how to turn failure into success and embracing change. Steve talks openly about his experiences of fighting cancer, building a business and the attributes athletes need to be world class. Steve is a fantastic motivator and highly entertaining speaker, who clearly articulates the need for teamwork, a positive mindset and taking individual responsibility to ensure you get the desired outcome.
”Our business message was landed with a light touch, in an entertaining way which has resulted in it being memorable for all. Above all, Steve’s energy and passion are what made the session great for us. I have had 100% positive feedback from the team.” Heineken UK
