Dr. Andrew Walshe is a globally recognized leader and expert in the field of elite human performance. For over 20 years the Australian native has been focused on the goal of “de- mystifying talent” by researching individuals and teams across a vast network of world-class programs in sport, culture, military and business settings with the goal of optimizing human performance. Andy’s general framework is the research and training of all aspects associated with the management and delivery of human performance via both personal and organizational strategies. Ultimately his goal is to “Hack Performance” so that we can develop a greater understanding of the “Human Potential” construct. Through this understanding it is Andy’s vision that we can share these lessons and develop intelligent systems to optimize its application towards the betterment of society. In short, help those individuals and groups working on our g reatest challenges succeed using the techniques we have mastered in the elite training environment. Ultimately Andy’s programs are designed to distill and share human performance programs across all platforms and ensure the best talent can deliver at the highest levels under conditions of consequence.
Fight or Flight response – maximum performance based on your preparation- Push beyond and performance decreases
Try to find a way to boost preparation to boost peak performance.
Andy currently leads Human Performance for Red Bull, where he works with hundreds of international athletes and cultural opinion leaders and supervises a team of industry-leading experts charged with developing and implementing elite performance models. It was in this role that Andy was also appointed as the Performance Director for Red Bull Stratos, leading the performance plan for Felix Baumgartner’s record-breaking jump to Earth from the stratosphere in 2012.
In an effort to continue to explore the boundaries of this field Andy also founded “Glimpses”, the annual Human Potential Red Bull gathering. This conference is a two-day symposium that brings together world-class talent from all areas of life to illuminate our understanding of human potential. The highly interactive symposium is designed to challenge our belief systems and shift the paradigm of what we think is possible in this field.
Andy consults directly with numerous organizations and institutions in his field, including performance focused sectors of government, professional sports teams, military groups, Fortune 500 companies, artists and athletes worldwide. He currently holds a seat on the Information Science and Technology (ISAT) advisory board for DARPA as well as serving on a number of other advisory boards for business and start-up companies. His work is frequently showcased in numerous research and media outlets and he is regularly invited to participate and share his learning’s at a number of global events and conferences.
Training camps
Train people to hold their breath up 4 to 7 minutes and to free dive down to 120 feet.
Red Bull High Performance trains top athletes to hold their breath up to five minutes.
They are looking at psychological and telomere and other measures to predict the characteristics of elite performers.
They look to boost performance from elite good to elite great.
Breath-Hold Camp
The first Breath-Hold Camps were designed to teach surfers how to sustain their breath for an average of four minutes. When Red Bull’s coaches discovered that athletes were also using these techniques to manage stress levels and break psychological barriers, they expanded the camps to include skiers, snowboarders and other action athletes. Breath-hold exercises are now part of the Performing Under Pressure Camps.
Project Acheron: Snow
Named after the river that borders Hell in Dante’s Inferno, the first Acheron took athletes led by former US Navy SEALs on a tour across Patagonia. The second took four female athletes to the Australian outback for extreme hiking, kayaking and freediving.
Project Stratos
On October 14, 2012, daredevil Felix Baumgartner freedived for 50 seconds when he jumped to Earth from an altitude of 39km. Trained by Andy Walshe, the 43-year-old became the first person to break the speed of sound unassisted.
Performing under pressure
The first PuP camp was in October 2015. Its goal: to push the limits of the 12 participants and improve their ability to deal with high-pressure situations. Activities included mindfulness classes, breath-hold training and speed racing.
The Hacking Creativity site is here
Courage is a factor that is needed for creativity. It takes courage to be creative
Good Coaches and trainers can see when their people are reaching their limit
They can see subtle facial and other cues to know how to push someone to their limit but not beyond.
Systems could help scale the access to great coaches for better training and performance and helping people reach their full capacity.
Using tools and metrics for everyone to become more.
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels.
A frequent speaker at corporations, he has been a TEDx speaker, a Singularity University speaker and guest at numerous interviews for radio and podcasts. He is open to public speaking and advising engagements.