Thoughtful and entertaining, Andy Pag is constantly reconciling opposing pressures: he has a passion for sustainability and a love of big engines.
Andy Pag is a BBC TV reporter who spent two years driving around the world powered by used cooking oil in an old school bus he salvaged from a scrap yard and turned into a home using reclaimed materials. This journey was part of a series of experimental expeditions searching for a way to travel sustainably. Andy has driven a chocolate-powered lorry to Timbuktu in Mali, the world's first carbon negative expedition. And he organised the 'Grease to Greece' rally for cars fuelled on restaurant scraps.
Andy is an award-winning BBC TV reporter, bringing both the daily news and hard hitting investigations to viewers across Northern Ireland. In 2015, Andy won silver for best documentary in the prestigious PPI Radio Awards.
As an engaging and entertaining keynote speaker, Andy talks with passion about:
• Reality of sustainability
• Staying Motivated in Tough Times
• It's not easy being green.
• Teamwork and engaging with Communities across Cultures
• Embracing Change
• Travel & Transport
• Science, technology & engineering
Andy is an engineer and award-winning investigative journalist, but his spirit of adventure led to twelve years of heading up vehicle-based expeditions to remote part of Africa and the Sahara Desert, until he was inspired to change the elements of his life that were unsustainable. He experimented with alternative ways of powering his overland journeys. Today Andy's entertaining talks explore how each experimental eco-adventure has taken him closer to understanding exactly what sustainability really means and ever more clues on how to achieve it.
Andy's talks are tailored for each event but often include:
Sustainability
Is it possible to find a practical way to travel sustainably? Andy Pag shares the successes and failures of his entertaining eco-adventures with a thought-provoking and uplifting undercurrent. From turning four tonnes of waste chocolate into fuel for a expedition across the Sahara Desert, to starting a fire under his vehicle to melt frozen cooking oil in the back streets of Tehran, the lessons haven't always been easy.
Facing a Challenge & Tough Times
Locked up in an Indian prison over a bureaucratic mix-up, facing ten years in jail, sleeping on a cold stone floor sandwiched between a murderer and a squat toilet... Andy Pag's two-year journey around the world wasn't going to plan. Mechanical breakdowns of his truck fuelled on chip fat dogged the expedition. It almost came to an end when he ran out of fuel in a country where they don't eat fries. Andy shares the upsides of the downs in a funny and lively talk that reveals his insights into staying motivated and finding the silver lining.
Teamwork & Community (Engaging with the World)
After years of searching for sustainable ways to travel, eco-experimenter Andy Pag embarked on a journey so ambitious, it was bound to end in disaster. Strangely, it didn't. Andy puts the unexpected success of his drive around the world fuelled by used cooking oil down to the enthusiasm of people for helping out a stranger. He shares tales of generosity and friendship and draws surprising conclusions about the power of Community and embracing difference.
Andy's talks are supported by wonderful images from his travels and film footage where appropriate. He has a wide range of adventures and experiences to draw upon when tailoring his talks - from being shot at by Senegalese bandits to being presented with Farrero Roche by the British Ambassador in Athens. Andy's journeys to Timbuktu, Greece and around the world were covered extensively by the global media including: BBC, ITV, Sky News, CBS, Reuters, The Telegraph, Paris Metro, Spiegel, Le Figaro, Le Point, РИА Новости, Times of India, India Today, O Globo, The Globe and Mail, the New Zealand Herald, The Jakarta Globe and Deutsche Welle.
Andy Pag is available for Inspirational Keynotes, After Dinner or Lunch events, Awards Evenings and Educational Talks on his experience of searching for sustainable ways to travel.
An experienced TV and radio journalist, Andy is also available as a facilitator or host for corporate conferences, seminars and meetings on a broad range of issues.
Find out how to book Andy Pag as the tv personality speaker for your next event by calling SpeakOut! on 020 8914 8966 or clicking the button below.