Monty Halls

Monty Halls

  • Marine Biologist and Former Marine
  • Explorer and Expedition Leader
  • Leadership and Motivational Speaker

Monty Halls is a broadcaster, speaker, naturalist, former Royal Marine, marine biologist, travel writer and leadership specialist. His experience covers over two decades of leading teams in some of the most remote environments on earth, presenting wildlife and adventure documentaries, and working with blue chip companies both in the UK and overseas.

Monty is an ex-Royal Marines Officer who worked for Nelson Mandela during the peace process in the early nineties. He left the Marines to pursue a career in expeditions, travel journalism and biology, achieving a First Class Honours Degree and becoming qualified as a marine biologist.

His degree was funded by running expeditions, the most notable of which was leading a multi-national team to the discovery of a sunken city off the Indian coast in 2002. During this period he also led four expeditions to Southern Africa, three to Malawi to explore the ecosystem of the lake and investigate poaching activity on the Nyika Plateau, and one to South Africa to dive looking for evidence of prehistoric settlements in cave systems off the Cape. For his work he was awarded the Bish Medal for services to exploration by the Scientific Exploration Society.

INTO THE BLUE

In 2003 Monty formed his own expedition company, completing four circumnavigations of the globe over the next four years, seeking out the greatest encounters in the ocean. This brought him to the attention of television producers, being head-hunted as a competitor in the flagship Channel 4 show ‘Superhumans’, a test of elite performers, competing in a series of challenges devised by the QinetiQ testing centre. Monty won this competition, and was in demand to present further series for Channel 4, National Geographic, the History Channel, Channel 5, and the BBC.

He is best known for his three BBC2 series ‘Great Escapes’, where he lived on the west coast of Scotland and Ireland with his dog Reuben. He also presented the multi-award winning series ‘Great Barrier Reef’. In 2014 he has completed filming on the ground-breaking expedition series ‘Lost Worlds’ for the Discovery Channel. Monty has written several books, and is a regular contributor to magazines and newspapers, many of them communicating his enthusiasm for the natural world. He is also an Ambassador for various conservation groups and was awarded an honorary Doctorate by Plymouth University.

SPEAKING FROM EXPERIENCE…

Over the last twenty years, Monty has established a reputation as one of the most entertaining and thought-provoking speakers in the UK. His talks cover the full range of events and occasions – from small, intimate dinners and seminars, through to international conferences with several thousand delegates. Based on his experiences as a Royal Marines Officer, as an expedition leader, working with natural history film crews, and as a TV presenter and broadcaster, Monty’s talks are full of memorable moments and engender complete engagement.

The predominant themes are the adventures and mis-haps of the individuals and groups he has worked with, allowing pertinent team building and leadership messages to be incorporated through outstanding storytelling..

Monty has had the good fortune to be accompanied by truly world-class cameramen and photographers on many of his projects, resulting in a series of beautiful images and stunning video footage. These act as a vivid back-drop to his talks, bringing the stories alive and creating an unforgettable experience for those in the audience.

To book Monty as a Motivational Speaker, or as a fascinating After-dinner Speaker, contact a Prime Performers Booking Agent via the online booking enquiry form or alternatively call 020 3500 3331.

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Testimonials

It was both insightful and energetic and you brought some excellent experiences to the fore, which were relevant to the culture we are trying to create at Gloucester. The team building was again fantastic and I know a lot of work went into the planning in a short space of time. I look forward to working with you again in the near future.
Monty was excellent. Many reports have been received and confirm that Monty was one of the best after-dinner speakers we have ever had. Note that we have had quite a number of professional annual dinners, over and above CISI, held over many decades.
Monty was brilliant! He was charming, friendly and got stuck in chatting to students, staff, festival goers and such, getting photographs taken with them (the marine science students were completely star-struck!!). He was a delight and everyone loved him. I would absolutely recommend him. He was an inspired choice for us because of the presence of our science students who were pretty much stalking him from the moment he arrived! He took it all in his stride though. His conversation with Sir John Lister Kaye was lovely and the audience just lapped it up. Really good event and thanks for making that happen.