Ian is one of life’s achievers in whatever he does. He captivates the audience -whether school children or top corporate executives - with his story of balancing the highs and lows in sport, business and life. The former World Champion has natural story telling abilities and his personality shines through during the presentation of his journey, from childhood eye cancer to competing in 5 Paralympic Games and becoming a successful salesman. Follow the journey of this Paralympic Silver Medallist and European Champion through his business and sporting careers and hear how Team Work, Goal Setting and Life Balance are the corner stones to his success in life.

Ian is a very self-motivated individual. Both in his sporting and vocational careers he has overcome his disability and shown that with a will to do his best at anything he starts, he can excel, have fun and inspire others while doing it.

He has been an international athlete for over 20 years and a sales representative for 10. Alongside his sporting and work activities, Ian is foremost a dedicated family man, with two children and a very supportive wife.

Ian started Judo when he was seven for self defence reasons and gained his black belt at 17. In the same year (1989) he was selected to fight in his first Visually Impaired (VI) European Championships, where he won a Bronze Medal. From that point Ian decided to make Judo a very big part of his life. With a long list of successes in both fully sighted and VI competitions, Ian is a 4 time European Champion, a former World Champion and has competed in the last 5 Paralympic Games, winning a Bronze in Atlanta and Silver in Athens.

Using the motivation Ian gained from his sport, Ian has also enjoyed a successful 10-year career in Sales. Working for such organisations as ACER, Edify and TIS, he has experience at both proactive and reactive sales. Ian has successfully opened opportunities in markets where others have failed.

Ian’s record is made even more impressive in that he has achieved all this after loosing the sight in one eye and most of it in the other. He attributes most of his success in life to team work, goal setting, good family values and an unwavering drive for success.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your visit to us on the 19th January 2005. It was a great way to round off our Sales Meeting and I believe it truly made some members of the Sales Team look at themselves and question if they are really doing enough to maximise their potential. The speech you gave was truly inspirational but I do now regret trying that throw on the Managing Director as we left the meeting!
Phoenix Computers Sheffield

I would recommend Ian Rose as a motivational speaker in the highest possible terms. Ian is a very talented and committed individual, who put incredible effort into winning his Paralympic medal and who clearly puts the same amount of dedication into everything he does. Ian spoke for us recently, at a Black Tie Dinner and Reception at Hampton Court Palace. His presentation was witty and inspiring, amusing and personal. His character shone through and all the guests were delighted with his presentation. I would recommend Ian to speak at any type of function, where his down to earth wisdom and enthusiasm will be bound to have a positive effect on the audience.
Padraig Herlihy, Head of Strategic Planning and Partnerships, Sport England South East

Great entertaining speaker who manages to show you how you can achieve your dreams despite personal disadvantages and how he has not allowed these to hold him back. A great example of how you can do anything with hard work and if you put your mind to it, proving this with his Olympic medals. I can highly recommend him as a motivational speaker.’
Sudheer Gupta BA (Hons) FCA - Partner, Alliotts Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors

I felt that I was there with Ian, living the experience....a great talk and highly motivational.
Paul Marmor - Partner, Sherrards Solicitors

As a double Paralympic medallist, Ian demonstrates how courage and preparation can overcome obstacles to produce world beating success. ‘The Story so Far’ is more than motivation it challenges audiences to recognise strengths and overcome weaknesses when building personal paths for success in their own endeavours.
Steve Dobson - Managing Director, The Marketing Medic Limited

I loved Ian’s talk. His story, message and enthusiasm inspired and motivated me and the audience. What Ian has done as an athlete is tremendous, he has repeated this success on stage.. Ian’s talk encompassed both his sporting and business success and left the audience with many valuable messages. I would highly recommend Ian to any organisation looking for a top inspirational and motivational speaker.
Frank Furness CSP Worldwide Motivator

Ian Rose is an inspirational speaker - able to deliver important messages on motivation, nerve control and goal setting with aplomb. Ian speaks in a highly engaging and humorous manner about his path to Olympic bronze and silver. He's clearly on track for even greater Olympic heights. My advice is to book Ian early - before demand goes through the stadium roof once he has that gold medal around his neck.
Michael Dodd - Broadcaster and Media Trainer, Sky News Commentator

Ian's energetic and challenging presentation made a significant contribution to the success of our event. He helped us to create a positive, engaged and receptive audience for the rest of the day. Ian told his personal story fearlessly and from the heart. He demonstrated for us how important it is to take control of your life and take personal responsibility.
Ian Burns - Head of Client Management - Business Link for London

Ian recently gave a motivational presentation to my Aftersales team in High Wycombe. It came at a time when the team had gone through a period of significant change, starting with a change of ownership of the company mid-2005 and the resultant cultural change from that, and culminating in the reorganisation of the Aftersales department the week of Ian’s presentation.

The impact of Ian’s presentation on my team was extremely positive. I got a tremendous amount of direct feedback from team members over the days following the presentation. Ian had clearly given them a general lift of spirits and some new ways of thinking about personal motivation, which they will retain and use.

One aspect of Ian which I think works particularly well is the fact that he is still a competing athlete that seemed to make what he said more real. The fact that his amateur status means he has to work in addition to competing also enabled his audience to connect with him. I am very happy and pleased to recommend Ian for his motivational speaking and presentation.
Graham Lightfoot - Aftersales Director - Hyundai

"We were looking for someone to speak at an event we were organising where we would be discussing the development of a long term strategy for providing services to people with a physical and/or sensory impairment. We wanted a speaker who could illustrate what someone with a disability could achieve if given the right support and encouragement. Ian was suggested and after speaking to him on the phone two things occurred to me, firstly, that he was a nice guy and secondly, that he would deliver what we were looking for. I was not disappointed Ian’s talk was entertaining, illuminating and motivating. I spoke to a few people in the audience; Ian was able to make them laugh and some of them, after seeing images of him collecting his silver medal, were almost moved to tears. Many of the people there on the day were involved in delivering services to disabled people and agreed with his message that achievement is about the person and not the disability. My personal highlight was getting to hold some Olympic Medals, but imagine the sense of achievement in actually winning some. Ian's speech covers motivation, team work and achievement and is applicable to many areas of business and I would heartily recommend him to anyone looking for an inspiring speaker. I would undoubtedly hire Ian again if the need arose."
Kirklees Council