Isaac Kenyon
Co-Founder and CEO of Climate Explorers
Isaac (aka Mr. Enthusiasm) is a charismatic big picture thinker and visionary who pursues the extraordinary and inspires others with his infectious enthusiasm and philanthropic approach to life. Isaac is a world-record-breaking British eco-adventurer, energy transition spatial analyst/researcher, a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society of London and the Geological Society of London and a trustee for Mind mental health charity. Isaac seeks to make a positive difference to the planet in search of climate solutions and has co-founded Climate Explorers CIC. Isaac has swum seas, climbed mountains, rowed oceans, cycle toured countries and even cycled over sea.
Background
Isaac comes from Luton, where his school failed and was shut down, then reopened with some help from the government. In short, with little access to outdoor green spaces, Isaac didn’t have an easy entry to adventurism. Isaac’s parents were very protective and wouldn’t trust the local green spaces and parks as safe places to hang around in, as they were usually full of gangs and unsafe, so he spent much of his childhood indoors either swimming in an indoor pool, at school or at home. Fortunately, Isaac is a resourceful individual with high levels of emotional intelligence who is highly adaptable to difficult situations and is able to nurture relationships for great success no matter what cards he is dealt with. So Isaac moved on from Luton in order to improve his life and help more people with what he learns along his journey. The greatest benefit of having grown up living in Luton is that Isaac can work with all ages, ethnic minorities and more from an upbringing in a very multi-cultural and diverse town.
It was only at university that Isaac started to learn about the outdoors, in a safer area with plenty of green spaces – he immersed himself in it and never looked back. Unusually, Isaac started the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award aged 20 years old, reaching Silver alongside his degree. He says it wasn’t promoted at school, and had never even heard about it until it was mentioned at university.
Isaac has both a Bachelor degree with honours and a Masters’s degree in Geoscience and his experience as a scientist has given him the ability to share clear messages and make complex ideas easy to understand for everyone as a TV presenter.
Photo credit: Penny Bird and Camera
Since university Isaac has become an adventurer and outdoors ambassador, working with social groups like the Scouts and schools in poor communities, inspiring them to connect with nature and the outdoors. Previous challenges have included a swim across the English Channel, summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro, the Three Peaks Challenge twice, and an unsupported row across the Atlantic Ocean in 40 days. He also holds 2 world records for the longest continual row on an indoor rowing machine for 83 hours solo and 48 hours in tandem… Talk about mental strength to stay awake for that long!
Energy Industry
Isaac is also the Europe Energy Transition Analyst for an energy data intelligence company called MapStand. It is here he strives to learn about the best climate solutions in the energy transition space and is focused on the areas of business development, crowdfunding pitches and research in sustainable innovation and technologies within the energy industry for energy transition and reaching NetZero.
Motivational / Public Speaking
Isaac has polished public speaking and presenting skills and has professionally delivered keynotes to 100s of clients. Adaptable to a variety of businesses, organisations, schools, scouts and universities whom all respond with consistently positive feedback. Isaac has also presented a TED talk on the concept of outdoor time and mental health:
Trustee of Mind in Mid Herts
Why did you want to create climate Explorers?
“I grew up with no idea of what nature really was, having been sheltered indoors from gangs in a poor town called Luton. I needed to escape a world of city concrete blocks and poor quality of life and I found I really enjoyed the stillness and beauty of nature; it is my place of meditation. I am not only inspired by the sheer beauty of our outdoor spaces in the UK, but also the rest of the world, which still has a rich diversity of landscapes and wildlife. I hope that by spreading awareness of climate solutions we can help shield these precious spaces as well as live in co-existence with nature. I like to campaign which is why I founded Pedal 4 Parks which has now evolved into Climate Explorers with the goal to inspire future generations to understand, learn to care for and also have the opportunity to experience these natural spaces that we are so lucky to have. Currently, as a society we are growing at an alarming rate and taking more away from nature than we give back – I aim to be part of the solution reversing this.”
Find out more about Isaac
Isaac focuses on ethical and values-based leadership; the values being: integrity, moral courage, self-discipline, loyalty, respect for others and selfless commitment. He strives to create a platform which encourages improving mental health by finding a balance between technology and nature; for him, there is no better way of doing this than through adventurous challenges. He speaks passionately about this in his motivational talks, and is even writing a book about it which is set for release in the next few years! You won’t find another person quite like Isaac. Find out more about Mr. Enthusiasm on his website.