RORY GIBBS OLY

RORY GIBBS OLY

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Rory Gibbs
Olympic champion · speaker · coach

Rory Gibbs

My experience in elite sport taught me that talent opens the door, but character walks you through it. Now I help aspiring athletes and teams close the gap between where they are and where they want to be.

Work with me Book me to speak
GoldParis 2024 gold medal
Paris 2024 Olympics, M8+
2×
World Champion
5×
European Champion
6×
World Cup Winner
What I do

Help aspiring athletes build the skills needed to succeed in sport and beyond.

Everything I offer comes from a decade of learning from Team GB psychologists, physiotherapists, nutritionists, S&C coaches and teammates. Pick the door that fits you below.

Ways to work with me

Athlete Mentoring

One-to-one coaching for ambitious young athletes. Mindset, training, and the character required to compete at the top. A handful of clients only.

Explore mentoring

Speaking

Keynotes and fireside conversations on teamwork, resilience and performance. From FTSE 100 rooms to school halls.

Explore speaking

Workshops

Bring your team to the boathouse for a team day: tank or water session, keynote and lunch.

Explore workshops

Built Not Born Course

The mindset of a champion, as a self-paced course. Launching soon.

See the course

Shop

The books, the course and summer training programmes, all in one place.

Visit the shop

LUMO ↗

Children's books that build character through sport and story. At planetlumo.com.

Visit LUMO
About me

A late start isn't always a disadvantage.

I started rowing at 18, having previously played rugby and a few other sports. Fast forward 8 years, I competed at my first Olympics in Tokyo 2021; we fell short of our goal, almost crashing into our competition. Three years later, my crew and I won gold at the 2024 Paris Games. Now I've stepped away from international rowing, I spend my time supporting the next generation of athletes, delivering keynotes and trying my hand at some children's books centred on sport, values and adventure.

What people say

★★★★★
"My son trained with Rory over the summer, and in that time he gained 5kg of muscle mass and added around 10 to 15 kg to every weightlifting PB he had prior. Rory also changed how he thinks and engages with his coaches and teammates, not just how he trains."
SH
Sarah Hughes
Parent, mentoring client
★★★★★
"Best speaker we've had at our leadership offsite in years. Honest, specific, and our team still quotes him months later."
DM
David Mercer
People Director, fintech
★★★★★
"Our Year 11s were riveted. Rory talks to teenagers like adults and they rose to it. We've booked him again already."
JP
Joanna Park
Head of Sixth Form
Worked with

Let's get to work.

Whether it's your team, your own performance, or your child's, tell me what you're chasing, and I'll tell you how I'd help.

Work with me Book a talk
Athlete mentoring

Think like an Olympic champion.

One-to-one mentoring for ambitious young athletes. Learn the mindset, habits, and character that separate those who make it from those who don't. I take a small number of athletes at a time.

Apply for a place How it works
Why me

Whatever sport you play, the fundamentals behind it are the same.

Many young athletes lack a system or understanding of the mental side of sport, the most important side. I help developing athletes navigate these areas: selection, coach-athlete relationships, pressure, injuries, goal setting, resilience and more. From age 14 onward, these topics matter, and how you develop those skills determines how far you go in sport.

Who it's for

Profile 01

The aspiring elite

Aiming for county, national or scholarship level and needs the mental game to match the physical one.

Profile 02

The talented but stuck

Has the ability but inconsistency, nerves or motivation are getting in the way of it showing up on the day.

Profile 03

The all-rounder

Simply wants to improve, enjoy their sport more, and build habits that carry into the rest of life.

Suitable across all sports and levels. I support aspiring athletes aged 14 to 22.

What we work on

The complete athlete. Each week, one skill or value that moves the needle.

01

Mindset under pressure

Nerves, self-talk, identity, and how to perform when it counts rather than freeze.

Mental
02

Strength & physical base

Holiday training programmes built around the demands of your sport, so you come back fitter and stronger.

Physical
03

Competition prep

Routines, race-day plans and the rituals that make a big day feel like any other day.

Performance
04

Consistency & habits

The unglamorous engine. How to be excellent on the days you don't feel like it.

Habits
05

Character & values

Kindness, communication, accountability. The soft skills that decide long careers.

Character

How the mentoring works

Structured, personal, and built around your week.

WEEKLY

We review your data

Training load, mood, energy, sleep and heart rate. We start from where you actually are.

EACH SESSION

One key skill

We work through a single value or skill in depth, so it sticks rather than blurs.

FORMAT

1:1, online or in person

In the holidays, I can write a bespoke physical programme. If local to me, we can train together; if not, we can do it online. 

ALWAYS

Full attention

I only take a handful of athletes so every one gets my proper focus, not a template.

Also available

The two-day experience

Don't have the time for weekly interactions? Spend a day or two with me. A one-to-one session in the gym, the mindset required for success, and an honest conversation about where you want to take your sport. We can do technical work in a rowing tank, weight testing, and erg tech support. A brilliant one-off in its own right, and a low-pressure way to build into weekly mentoring.

Enquire about a day

From parents & athletes

★★★★★
"The weekly structure gave my daughter something she'd never had: accountability, and directly from an Olympic champion, someone she actually looks up to. Game-changing."
RK
Rachel Kemp
Parent of a junior rower
★★★★★
"Rory introduced me to weightlifting and taught me how to actually think on the start line instead of panicking, which was something I was really struggling with."
TC
Tom C.
Mentee, age 16
★★★★★
"Worth every penny. My son is a young rugby player. Rory introduced him to weightlifting and treats the mental side as seriously as the physical, which no one else around us was doing."
MP
Mark Patel
Parent, mentoring client

Mentoring questions

Who is it suitable for?

Athletes of all levels and sports, from those aiming to represent their country to those who simply want to improve and enjoy their sport more. The common thread is wanting to take the mental side seriously. I typically work with rowers aged 14 - 21, but my mentoring is open to all sports. I often introduce young aspiring athletes, around 14/16 years old, to S&C (weightlifting). Contact me if you have any more questions about this. 

How is it delivered?

One-to-one, weekly, online or in person. During holiday periods, I can write a bespoke physical programme aligned to the demands of your sport. Contact me if you have any more questions around this. 

How exclusive is it?

I deliberately work with only a handful of athletes at once so each gets my full attention. That's why places run as an application rather than instant sign-up.

What does it cost?

It's a bespoke service, so I discuss pricing privately once we've established what you're looking for. Contact me below, and we'll talk it through on a short free discovery call, or I can email you my pricing.

How do we get set up?

Contact me on the form below with as much information as you're happy to share. We will then have a short, free discovery call to discuss your goals and my service in greater detail. If it's a good fit, we will progress to some mentoring.

Apply for a place

A few details and I'll be in touch to arrange a free discovery call. No commitment, just a conversation to see if it's a fit.

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Speaking

Talent opens the door. Character walks you through it.

Assemblies, keynotes and fireside conversations on character, teamwork and resilience. Built for schools across the UK, and for organisations who want their people to think like athletes.

For schools For organisations
The talk

Performance. Relationships. Discipline.

I started rowing at 18, had the equivalent of a car crash at my first Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021, and rebuilt for three years before winning gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Every talk is honest, specific to your room, and built around my personal experience in elite sport.

For schools

Secondary keynote · ages 13 to 18

The Athlete: Built. Not Born.

An honest, interactive keynote on what separates the students who fulfil their potential from those who don't. Not a highlight reel, the real story of failure, work and character, told in a way teenagers will connect to and understand.

What students leave with

01

Talent is only the start

Effort, habits and character decide the rest, and all three can be built.

02

Handling setbacks and pressure

What to do with nerves, comparison and the days it goes wrong.

03

Confidence beyond results

An identity that holds up whether they win or lose.

Additional school talk opportunities

Primary · ages 4 to 7

The LUMO assembly

A warm, story-led assembly built around my LUMO books and the Crystal Crew, on teamwork, confidence and kindness. Interactive, gentle, and pitched right for little ones.

Reception to Year 2
Any age group

Sports day & speech day

A short, rousing address for sports days, speech days and prize-givings, tailored to the moment and the year groups in the room.

Assemblies, ceremonies, after-dinner
Flexible

Workshops & Q&A

Smaller-group workshops or a candid Q&A for sports scholars and senior pupils, going deeper than a single assembly allows.

Scholars, teams, sixth form
Bring it to your school

For organisations

Keynotes and firesides for companies, conferences and leadership teams. Same story, pitched for the boardroom.

01

Teamwork under pressure

A boat moves its fastest when every athlete and coach is fully aligned on the goal and plan of attack. What that demands, and how it maps to teams that don't row.

Teams
02

Resilience and the comeback

Tokyo to Paris. What you actually do in the years, months and weeks between a failure and a result, when nobody is watching.

Setbacks
03

Leadership and standards

How elite environments hold a line without a manager in the room. The standard you walk past is the standard you set.

Leadership
04

Consistency, the quiet engine

Gold is won in the sessions nobody posts. The case for boring, repeatable excellence over bursts of effort.

Performance
05

Identity & mental health

Who you are when the result doesn't come. Protecting identity is a performance issue, not a soft one.

Wellbeing
Format 01

The keynote

A tight, story-led talk for conferences and larger audiences. Clear takeaways, no notes, no filler.

Conferences, away days
Format 02

The fireside

A hosted conversation or live Q&A. More candid, more interactive, strongest feedback.

Leadership offsites, smaller rooms
Format 03

After-dinner & awards

An after-dinner speech or awards-night address that lands the room and sends people home talking.

Dinners, awards, celebrations
See team workshops on the river

How booking works

No agency. You deal with me directly, start to finish.

STEP 1

Enquire

Send a few event details below. I reply personally, usually same day.

STEP 2

A video call

On your audience, the occasion and your goal.

STEP 3

Tailored talk

Built around your goal, not a stock deck. You see the shape before the day.

STEP 4

Delivery

I turn up early, deliver, and stay for Q&A or after engagements.

What people say

★★★★★
"Pitched perfectly for teenagers. Our GCSE students really enjoyed the talk, and we've booked him again already for next year."
JP
Joanna Park
Head of Sixth Form
★★★★★
"Effortless to work with and genuinely brilliant on stage. The room was completely with him from the first minute." 
EL
Emma Lawson
Q&A format, CoinShares
★★★★★
"We wanted resilience without the clichés. Rory delivered exactly that, with a story our people are still talking about."
DM
David Mercer
Dexters

Speaking questions

Do you mainly do schools or companies?

Both, though schools are my focus right now and I'm actively taking the keynote around the UK. For organisations I do keynotes, firesides and after-dinner speaking. Tell me which you are and I'll tailor everything to suit.

What ages can you speak to?

From primary (the LUMO assembly, ages four to seven) right up to sixth form, and adult corporate audiences. I adapt the language, length and stories completely to the room.

What kinds of events do you cover?

Assemblies, keynotes and workshops, sports days, speech days and prize-givings, plus corporate conferences, leadership offsites, after-dinner and awards evenings.

Do you travel?

Yes. London-based, across the UK as standard, and international dates are very doable with a bit of notice.

How much does it cost?

It depends on the audience, format, location and date. Send your details, and I'll come back with a clear answer.

Send an enquiry

The more you tell me about the audience and occasion, the more useful my reply.

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Team workshops

Bring your team to the boathouse.

A team day at Thames Boat Club built around how an Olympic gold medal-winning team works: a session in the rowing tank or on the water, a keynote, and lunch together.

Plan a day See the day
The idea

Rowing is one of the most demanding team sports in the world. Eight people, one rhythm, one goal, zero room for ego. Your team spends a day inside that.

Most team-building is forgettable. This isn't, because the boat is brutally honest, it only moves when people genuinely sync. Then we sit down and translate exactly what just happened into how your team works back at the office.

A day at Thames Boat Club

Shaped to your group. A typical full day runs like this.

01

Arrival & welcome

Coffee at the boathouse, and a short framing of the day.

Morning
02

The tank or the water

Hands-on rowing in the indoor tank, or out on the river in a stable crew boat with full guidance. No experience needed.

Session
03

The keynote

A focused talk on teamwork, trust and standards, tied directly to what your team just felt on the water.

Talk
04

Lunch or dinner together

Proper food, riverside. Where the real conversations and the team takeaways actually land.

Lunch

What's included

On the day

Coached session

Tank or water session led by an Olympic champion, with safety measures in place. Suitable for total beginners.

On the day

Tailored keynote

A talk written for your team's moment, whether that's a merger, a reset, or a group that's grown fast and lost its rhythm.

On the day

Lunch & takeaways

Lunch together plus a simple one-page set of team principles to take back to work.

Group size (typically)
8 to 16
Scalable on request
Length
½–1 day
Half or full day
Where
Tideway
Putney / Hammersmith
Level
Any
No experience needed

Plan your team day

Tell me about your team and what you're hoping the day does, and I'll put together a plan and a quote.

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Online course · Launching soon

Built Not Born: the system.

Everything I'd teach a young athlete about the mental game, distilled into a self-paced course you can do anywhere. The mindset of a champion, for the price of a pair of trainers.

Join the waitlist What's inside
Who it's for

For ambitious young athletes, and the parents and coaches around them, who can't do one-to-one mentoring but want the same thinking.

My mentoring places are limited and bespoke. This is the way to get the core of it, in your own time, at a price that works for any family.

What's inside

Modules drawn straight from my book and the exact topics I cover in one-to-one mentoring. Short, practical lessons. Watch, apply, repeat.

01

Identity & what success really is

Who you are beyond results, what success actually looks like, and confidence without arrogance. The foundation everything else is built on.

Module
02

Pressure, nerves & comparison

Handling pressure and peer pressure, making mistakes in front of others, and stepping off the comparison and social-media treadmill.

Module
03

Setbacks, selection & patience

When you're not picked, injuries, setbacks, and feeling behind everyone else.

Module
04

Consistency, standards & energy

Goal setting and standards, why consistency beats motivation, and the basics that hold it together: food, sleep, energy and avoiding burnout.

Module
05

Character, team & relationships

Teamwork when it doesn't suit you, leading without being the loudest, handling jealousy and difficult coaches, and caring deeply without spiralling.

Module
06

Confidence, enjoyment & the long game

Rebuilding confidence, body image and development, why enjoyment matters more than people admit, and what winning is really for.

Module

How it works

Format

Self-paced video

Watch on any device, in any order, as many times as you like. Built to fit around training.

Included

Workbook & prompts

A simple workbook to turn each lesson into action, not just something you watched.

Forever

Lifetime access

Buy once, keep it. Including any updates I add over time.

One-off price

Everything, for £99

A fraction of one-to-one mentoring, with no subscription. Join the waitlist now, and you'll be first in line when it opens, with this early-bird price.

£99
one-off · lifetime access


Be first in

Join the waitlist

Leave your email and I'll let you know the moment it's live, with an early-bird price for the list.


Shop

My offerings.

The books, the course and the training programmes, all in one place. Everything I'd want in the hands of a young developing athlete.

The Athlete: Built Not Born
Book · Ages 12 to 18

The Athlete: Built Not Born

The mindset, habits and values that build a champion, written for ambitious young athletes and the people who support them. Drawn from the journey to Paris 2024.

From £9.99Buy on Amazon
Books · Ages 3 to 6

LUMO

Children's books that build character through sport, imagination and storytelling. Meet the Crystal Crew on Planet Lumo, learning kindness, teamwork and confidence.

From £9.99Shop LUMO
Coming soon
Online course · Soon

Built Not Born: the course

The mental game of an elite athlete, distilled into a self-paced course you can do anywhere. Identity, pressure, consistency, setbacks, and the complete athlete mindset.

From £99.99See the course
Programme · Holidays

Summer training programmes

Bespoke physical programmes for the holidays, built around the demands of your sport so you come back fitter, stronger and ahead of where you left off.

From £49.99Find out more

Not sure where to start?

Tell me a bit about you or your athlete, and I'll try to point you to the right thing.

Get in touch
The Crystal Crew
Sport. Adventure. Values.

LUMO

A bright, sporty, values-based world where every adventure quietly helps little ones grow kinder, braver and more sure of themselves. Made for ages 3 to 6, and the grown-ups reading along.

Get the books Print & colour

Three words. Three books.

Teamwork

Working alone won't beat a team that works together.

The Power of Teamwork
Kindness

One kind thing can turn somebody's whole day around.

Kindness Saves the Day
Confidence

Try the thing that feels a teeny bit scary. That is how you grow.

A Test of Confidence

Welcome to Planet Lumo

One colourful planet, many little worlds. The Crystal Crew zip across its districts on sporty adventures, with a fresh challenge waiting in every one. They have the talent but lack the soft skills, and in each story that is exactly what they learn: how to put their talent to good use.

Values

Sport

Adventure

Fun

Every book finishes with fun, interactive challenges: colouring, simple physical exercises, and little tasks built around the value, so the story carries on off the page.

Print & colour at home

Free colouring and challenge sheets to print off and enjoy. Tag @planetlumo on Instagram to be shared on the page.

LUMO teamwork colouring sheetColouring sheet (A4 PDF) The Three Word Challenge sheetThe Three Word Challenge (A4 PDF)

Be kind.
Work together.
Back yourself.

And grab your LUMO books