Inspirational speaker with a real story: Maarten van der Weijden

You book an inspirational speaker when you want people to look differently at their work and at each other afterwards. Not an evening that was fun and then forgotten, but a story that sticks because it really happened. Maarten van der Weijden brings that kind of story, without inflated words.

He speaks for companies, care organisations, schools, government bodies and sports organisations. At a staff day, a conference, an anniversary or an evening for clients and partners. The occasion differs, the core stays the same: what keeping going really costs, and what it gives you.

Inspiration that is not translated into practice does not stick. That is why Maarten links every part of his story to the situation in your organisation: workload, change, loss or a goal that seems too big. What he learned in the water becomes something your audience can apply on the next working day.

Maarten once swam non-stop for 45 hours, a Guinness World Record. He did it in honour of a friend who died of cancer (December 2023). It was not an achievement for his own benefit. It was a way of doing something with grief.

That grief runs through his whole story. At 19 he was diagnosed with leukaemia himself. After that he started swimming again. In 2008 he won Olympic gold in the 10 km open water race in Beijing. He went on to raise €18 million with his foundation, funding 45 cancer research projects. In 2019 he swam the Elfstedentocht, 200 km through the Dutch province of Friesland. In 2023 he completed the Elfstedentriatlon and raised more than €3.7 million.

On paper that is a list of successes. Maarten also tells what is not on that paper. In his book De laatste slag (Ambo|Anthos, 2026, in Dutch) he writes about the death of his father and of his best friend, the end of his marriage and the second Elfstedentocht. About the guilt of someone who was lucky where others were not. And about where the money that was raised went.

That is why his story lands. A room quickly senses whether someone is speaking from theory or from experience. Maarten speaks from experience, and he does not leave out the difficult parts. People do not need to be Olympic champions to recognise themselves in someone who fails, grieves and still starts again.

Beforehand you have a short call with Maarten about your audience and what is going on right now. He picks the moments from his story that fit your event, and makes the link to resilience, leadership or teamwork.

A few choices make the difference between a nice afternoon and a story people take with them. Write down beforehand what should be different afterwards. Schedule the talk at a time when the room is still fresh. And keep five minutes free afterwards, so colleagues can share one insight and one action in pairs.

A keynote lasts 30, 45 or 60 minutes, with or without Q&A. For more interaction there is a workshop of 60 to 90 minutes. Maarten speaks in Dutch and English. Afterwards you receive photos and short feedback. All formats and practical details are on talks and keynote speaker.