About Paris Norriss, keynote speaker on grit
Paris Norriss is a British keynote speaker on grit and mindset, an adventure TV presenter and CEO of Blazing Sand Studios. His keynote, The Grit Code, draws on rowing the Pacific in 2023 with three teammates and running 7 marathons on 7 continents in 5 days, 21 hours and 51 minutes. His adventure TV shows are distributed in 123 countries, and Guy in Dubai has 22 million views. Based in the UAE, he has spent the last 17 years working, filming and having adventures across the Gulf.
Raised outdoors
British-born in Bath and raised on the grounds of Longleat, a stately home in the English countryside, Paris spent most of his childhood outside.
Sport came early. He won a scholarship to Millfield School, where he competed as a decathlete, an event that rewards consistency across ten disciplines rather than brilliance in one. He was captain of the Somerset County Athletics Association. He completed his studies at the University of Edinburgh, specialising in finance, worked in the City of London for a short time, and moved to Dubai shortly afterwards. From 2009 to 2012 he lived between Dubai and Muscat: weekends in the wadis and mountains, a technology business with a local Omani partner, rugby for Muscat Rugby Club, and the start of his love of adventure and Omani culture. Muscat was his entry to the Middle East.
In Dubai he built his career as an entrepreneur, fundraising and launching new business ventures, learning first-hand how pressure, uncertainty and setbacks shape the people and companies that come through them. He has lived and worked in the UAE for 17 years, and has spent the last 17 years working, filming and having adventures across the Gulf.
Tested at the edges
The Grit Code is not theory. It is built from expeditions that asked for preparation, teamwork and the decision to keep going when conditions turned.
Rowing the Pacific
With the Brothers N Oars crew, Paris rowed 4,800 km from California to Hawaii in 39 days, 4 hours and 28 minutes as part of a self-supported, unassisted team in the World’s Toughest Row. The crew faced 40-foot waves, storms and a near collision with a cargo ship, and raised more than £150,000 for the Blue Marine Foundation. On stage he uses it to talk about preparation, adapting the plan when the weather changes, and finishing what a team starts.
The World Marathon Challenge
In February 2025, Paris and teammate James Elliott-Square, running as Strides for Good, completed seven marathons on seven continents in 5 days, 21 hours and 51 minutes: Antarctica, Cape Town, Perth, Dubai, Madrid, Fortaleza and Miami. The challenge is a core story in The Grit Code: how to hold a standard when fatigue, travel and pressure stack up.
Into the Karakoram
In 2024 Paris completed a 14-day trek up the Baltoro Glacier to K2 base camp in northern Pakistan, to support his good friend Maria Conceição, who reached the summit of K2. He filmed the expedition. It showed him how much the people around you, and a higher purpose, shape what you can endure. Read the lessons from K2.
Closer to home in the Gulf, his adventures range from mountain and desert expeditions to wreck dives such as the MV Dara. That breadth gives the keynote range: ocean, endurance, mountain or diving stories, depending on the theme of the room.
Guy in Dubai & Guy in the Sky
Paris hosts the adventure travel series Guy in Dubai, available on more than 12 major platforms including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, OSN and Emirates ICE, and broadcast in 123 countries. Guy in Dubai has 22 million views. He has partnered with or been featured by brands including Land Rover, TAG Heuer and Oakley.
His newer series, Guy in the Sky, takes the format to Ireland, Poland, Saudi Arabia and Malta. Both are produced by Blazing Sand Studios, the AI video and TV production company he founded and leads as CEO. His shows have aired on Dubai TV and OSN, and inflight on Emirates, flydubai, Etihad Airways and Air Arabia. His recent credits also include 39 Days to Paradise.
You can watch full episodes, with write-ups and transcripts, on the Adventure TV shows page.
For recaps of recent keynotes, from TEDx Amman to Kraft Heinz and IHG, see past speaking events.
Adventure with a purpose
His productions have highlighted turtle conservation and mangrove planting in the UAE.
The Emirates Marine Environmental Group praised the work, with Dr Tiffany Delport, its Director of Marine Operations, noting that his show “addresses conservation initiatives in a meaningful way.”
Paris is an ambassador for the charity Gulf for Good. In November 2025 he held a charity gala dinner at The Lana, Dorchester Collection, in Dubai to raise money for it, including an auction of art inspired by the 7 marathons. He has also been a brand ambassador for Land Rover Middle East, TAG Heuer Middle East, The Capital Club, Paramount Hotel and Rove Hotel.
Why he speaks
Each expedition left Paris with the same question: why do some people keep going when everything tells them to stop?
The Grit Code is his answer. Drawing on his own expeditions and on interviews with some of the world’s most tenacious high achievers, he has delivered it at TEDx Amman, the UN Tourism General Assembly in Riyadh, COP28, Expo 2020, the US Army at Fort Shafter, DHL, Nokia, Dulsco, Kraft Heinz, Dubai Airports, Al Kabeer Foods, SITTF and IHG, and for founder communities such as Creative Zone and OPUS. He has also spoken at the University of Wollongong in Dubai and at Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, and for Durlston Partners in London.
He is an active member of the British Chamber of Commerce Dubai (formerly the British Business Group). Through The Grit Generation he brings the same ideas into schools, helping young people practise resilience, purpose and perseverance. See his motivational keynote and mindset keynote.
Seventeen years of work, film and adventure
Paris has spent the last 17 years working, filming and having adventures across the Gulf. Dubai is home base; Muscat was the entry point; and the region as a whole is where his television, speaking and production work grew up together.
That Gulf chapter includes rugby against clubs such as Doha Rugby Club on business visits, wreck diving the MV Dara, filming for Guy in Dubai across the UAE, and building Blazing Sand Studios as an Abu Dhabi-registered, Dubai-based company focused on AI video production and television. When he stands on a stage in the region, the stories are not imported. They were lived here.
FAQ
Where is Paris Norriss from?
He is British-born in Bath, raised on the grounds of Longleat in Somerset, educated at Millfield School (where he competed as a decathlete) and the University of Edinburgh, was captain of the Somerset County Athletics Association, and briefly worked in the City of London before moving to Dubai.
Has Paris lived in the Middle East for long?
Yes. He moved to Dubai shortly after Edinburgh and the City of London, lived between Dubai and Muscat from 2009 to 2012 (including a technology business and rugby for Muscat Rugby Club), and has lived and worked in the UAE for 17 years. He has spent the last 17 years working, filming and having adventures across the Gulf.
What is The Grit Code?
The Grit Code is Paris’s signature keynote on grit and mindset. It turns lessons from rowing the Pacific with the Brothers N Oars crew, running 7 marathons on 7 continents with James Elliott-Square as Strides for Good, the K2 base camp trek with Maria Conceição and other expeditions into a method teams can use at work.
What TV shows has Paris hosted?
Guy in Dubai, which has 22 million views and is distributed in 123 countries, and Guy in the Sky (Ireland, Poland, Saudi Arabia and Malta). His credits also include 39 Days to Paradise. The shows are produced by Blazing Sand Studios, where he is CEO.
Which charities and brands is Paris linked with?
He is an ambassador for Gulf for Good and has been a brand ambassador for Land Rover Middle East, TAG Heuer Middle East, The Capital Club, Paramount Hotel and Rove Hotel. He has also partnered with or been featured by brands including Land Rover, TAG Heuer and Oakley. His Pacific row raised more than £150,000 for the Blue Marine Foundation, and his productions have highlighted turtle conservation with the Emirates Marine Environmental Group.
Who has Paris spoken for?
Organisations including TEDx Amman, UN Tourism in Riyadh, COP28, Expo 2020, the US Army at Fort Shafter, DHL, Nokia, Dulsco, Kraft Heinz, Dubai Airports, Al Kabeer Foods, SITTF, IHG, Creative Zone, OPUS, the University of Wollongong in Dubai, Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi and Durlston Partners in London.
Does Paris work with schools?
Yes. The Grit Generation programme brings resilience, purpose and perseverance into schools, education groups and community organisations, including sessions such as those at Kings’ Dubai with an ocean rowing boat. Enquire via the contact page.
What is Blazing Sand Studios?
Blazing Sand Studios is the AI video and TV production company Paris founded and leads as CEO. It is registered in Abu Dhabi and based in Dubai, and it produces his adventure television alongside commercial work.
Bring grit to your next event
Tell us the date, the audience and what you want them to walk out with. You will get a straight answer on availability and fit.