The Grit Generation
A Paris Norriss programme that builds resilience, determination and entrepreneurial thinking in young people.
Protected from hardship. Unprepared for it.
With AI taking on more and more of our hard tasks, the epidemic on the horizon is a generation without the will and perseverance to push through hard situations.
Our children are more protected from hardship than any generation before, and less prepared for it. The Grit Generation helps them meet difficulty as something they have trained for, not something that happens to them.
Created and led by adventurer, television presenter and resilience speaker Paris Norriss, the programme helps young people build grit, determination and a growth mindset, while developing the entrepreneurial and problem-solving skills needed to thrive in a fast-changing world. It turns resilience from an abstract idea into a skill students can practise.
Paris brings the same proof he uses on corporate stages: British-born, raised on the grounds of Longleat, a Millfield decathlete and captain of the Somerset County Athletics Association, educated at Edinburgh, then 17 years of work, film and adventure across the Gulf. Students hear someone who rowed 4,800 km across the Pacific with the Brothers N Oars crew in 39 days, 4 hours and 28 minutes — through 40-foot waves and a near collision with a cargo ship — raising more than £150,000 for the Blue Marine Foundation; who in February 2025 completed 7 marathons on 7 continents in 5 days, 21 hours and 51 minutes with James Elliott-Square as Strides for Good; and who trekked to K2 base camp in 2024 with Maria Conceição — and who will stand next to an ocean rowing boat and answer their questions.
What the research says
Attention and stamina are under pressure
Future Design School’s Future of Education Report found that over 70% of educators say students struggle to concentrate for more than 10 minutes at a time. It links this to the instant-gratification design of digital platforms, and calls on educators to rebuild mental stamina by normalising productive struggle.
Grit and growth mindset drive achievement
Carol Dweck’s research shows that praising process (effort, strategy and persistence) helps young people develop a growth mindset. Angela Duckworth defines grit as perseverance and passion for long-term goals and links it to achievement. Neither is a fixed trait: both can be practised and strengthened.
Entrepreneurial thinking
Entrepreneurship education develops creativity, problem-solving, confidence, financial awareness and personal agency: the belief that “I can make something happen.” Students learn not only to persevere, but to take initiative and turn ideas into action.
Grit you can touch
Students don’t just hear the stories. They get up close with an ocean rowing boat, handle the kit and ask the questions that matter to them.
Assemblies and workshops open with the expeditions, then move into practice: how a crew divides night watches on the Pacific, how a marathon plan survives a bad day, how a mountain team holds a higher purpose when the trek gets hard. The boat is not a prop for a photo. It is a classroom students can touch.
Three capacities for life
Every session pairs memorable storytelling from Paris’ expeditions, from rowing 4,800 km across the Pacific Ocean to running seven marathons on seven continents in 5 days, 21 hours and 51 minutes, with practical exercises that help young people face discomfort, recover from setbacks, work towards meaningful goals and develop the confidence to act.
The programme sits alongside The Grit Code, Paris’s corporate keynote on grit and mindset. Where adults get a method for teams under pressure, students get age-appropriate practice: naming a hard goal, recovering after a miss, and choosing effort when a shortcut is available. That is the same language of grit, translated for school halls and classrooms.
Flexible by design
An independent programme that works with individual schools, education groups, parents and community organisations.
School workshops
In-school sessions and assemblies that turn resilience into something students practise, not just hear about. Ideal for whole-school days, year-group focus weeks and leadership cohorts.
Extracurricular programmes
Multi-week programmes that build grit, goal-setting and problem-solving step by step, so progress is visible to students, teachers and families.
Holiday camps
Challenge-led camps where young people face discomfort, recover from setbacks and work as a team, with storytelling from Paris’s expeditions woven through the days.
Special events
Keynotes and challenge days for school events, parent evenings and community gatherings, including formats that bring parents into the same conversation about grit.
Home-learning resources
Materials families can use at home to keep building grit between sessions, so the ideas do not stop at the school gate.
An adventurer students can believe
The Grit Generation is led by Paris Norriss, CEO of Blazing Sand Studios, host of Guy in Dubai (22 million views; shows distributed in 123 countries) and Guy in the Sky, and a keynote speaker who has delivered The Grit Code for organisations from Nokia and DHL to Expo 2020, COP28 and TEDx Amman.
He is an ambassador for Gulf for Good, has held a charity gala for the organisation at The Lana in Dubai, and has been a brand ambassador for Land Rover Middle East, TAG Heuer Middle East, The Capital Club, Paramount Hotel and Rove Hotel. Schools get a speaker whose public life already models the message: finish hard things, and use them for something bigger than yourself — from the Blue Marine Foundation fundraising on the Pacific row to turtle conservation recognised by the Emirates Marine Environmental Group and Dr Tiffany Delport.
Built for a fast-changing world
The programme’s focus on enterprise and innovation is especially relevant to the UAE’s long-term ambitions, and applies equally to students and education partners internationally.
Paris has lived and worked in the UAE for 17 years. He lived between Dubai and Muscat from 2009 to 2012 before building his television and speaking career in the Gulf. That local grounding matters when a school wants a programme that feels rooted here, not flown in for a single assembly.
I’ve had the privilege of witnessing Paris Norriss in action as a storyteller, motivator and a true catalyst for transformation. Through his powerful awe-inspiring adventures, he doesn’t just recount tales of endurance and grit, he lives them.
FAQ
What is The Grit Generation?
A Paris Norriss programme for schools, education groups, parents and community organisations. It builds resilience, determination and entrepreneurial thinking in young people, using stories and practice drawn from his expeditions.
Who is Paris Norriss?
A British keynote speaker on grit and mindset, adventure TV presenter and CEO of Blazing Sand Studios. He rowed 4,800 km across the Pacific with the Brothers N Oars crew, ran 7 marathons on 7 continents in February 2025 with James Elliott-Square as Strides for Good, trekked to K2 base camp in 2024 with Maria Conceição, and hosts Guy in Dubai, which has 22 million views and is distributed in 123 countries.
What formats are available?
School workshops and assemblies, multi-week extracurricular programmes, holiday camps, special events for schools and parents, and home-learning resources. The programme is shaped around your age group and timetable.
What do students take away?
Three capacities: resilience (recover faster from setbacks), purpose (know why they are pushing) and perseverance (finish what they start). Sessions combine expedition storytelling with practical exercises, including hands-on time with an ocean rowing boat as at Kings’ Dubai.
Is the programme only for Dubai schools?
No. It is especially relevant to schools in the UAE, where Paris has lived and worked for 17 years, and it is also offered to education partners internationally.
How does this relate to The Grit Code?
The Grit Code is Paris’s corporate keynote on grit and mindset. The Grit Generation brings the same ideas into schools in formats designed for young people, including hands-on time with expedition kit such as an ocean rowing boat.
How do we enquire?
Tell us about your school or organisation, the age group and the format you have in mind via the contact page or WhatsApp. You will get a straight answer on availability and fit.
Bring The Grit Generation to your school
Tell us about your school or organisation, the age group and the format you have in mind, and we will shape a programme around it.