Explorer & Athlete
Before he became a successful business explorer, Jeff MacInnis was a world adventurer by sea, desert and jungle, cultivating experiences which are harvested today in his business programs.
Northwest Passage
a 400 year old challenge
Jeff led the first expedition to sail the Northwest Passage. Using an 18 foot catamaran, the team was able to accomplish a 400 year old challenge.
After researching the trip for 18 months, with 130 people helping, he and a professional photographer succeeded in sailing the 4,000 km Passage in 100 gruelling days. Says MacInnis: “We were challenged by huge amounts of Arctic ice, ever-changing winds, numerous polar bears and massive storms.”
The trip was documented and a story was published by Jeff in National Geographic. The book Polar Passage was published by Random House and became a best seller. Also, a Rolex print ad about the expedition was featured in Time, Fortune and The Economist magazines.
Borneo - Eco- Challenge
Love and Courage in Borneo
In 2000, Jeff and an all-rookie Canadian team spent nine days and 23 hours completing in the Eco-Challenge World Championships in Borneo. If one person quit, the entire team would lose. A teammate, Yvonne, broke her wrist but finished the race against a doctor’s wishes. No one got much sleep amongst extreme heat, leeches, snakes, and jungle. The team relentlessly paddled, trekked and constantly talked one another into not giving up. The race was covered by Discovery Channel.
Jeff: “I was so moved by the courage, grace and tenacity of Yvonne in all areas of her life, I asked her to marry me! Lucky for me, she said yes.”
New Zealand - Eco-Challenge
Top-10 Finish in New Zealand's Eco-Challenge
Jeff completed his second Eco-Challenge in 2001 in New Zealand, his Canadian team finishing 10th in the world, racing relentlessly for five days and 18 hours up and down 60,000 feet over the brutally-tough Southern Alps. The race was 500 km long.
“Of all my races, “I’m most proud of this,” he said. “It was only our second world championship.
MacInnis and the team slept less than nine hours all of that week, usually going to bed at 4:30 a.m. and rising at 6 a.m.
Overland Challenge
Jeff's Epic Overland Challenge Across Russia
In 1994, Jeff competed in a $7 million live action TV series, The Overland Challenge – a two-and-one-half month journey across Russia in winter. MacInnis visited the Gulags, the Soviet Camps, where Stalin had sent an estimated 25 million to die. He said, “The human and environmental devastation that I learned empowered me to demonstrate that humanity has grown and evolved since the time of Stalin.”
In sub-zero weather, Jeff and his team crossed the Bering Straits. When their 14- ton amphibious tracked vehicle sank, they continued by snowmobile through Alaska. and then into vehicles for a race to New York City.
Canadian National Ski Team
Jeff's Skiing Journey: Prodigy to National Team
In the era of the Crazy Canucks, Jeff was a member of the Canadian National Ski Team.
He began downhill skiing at age seven. At 14, he won the Canadian Juvenile Slalom Championships and decided that “winning had a clarity and finality that I liked. Being up against competition and the clock left no room for error.”
By 17, he had made the Canadian National Ski Team Development Group and the following year he switched to the downhill team, racing in first two World Cups. At 19, he was on the National Downhill Team, training and racing in Europe, motivating him to say, “I achieved a life-long goal.”
His competitive drive is infectious and today inspires his business clients
World Championship Mountain Biking
1999
Jeff placed 5th in his age catagory at the World Mountain Bike Championships in 1999.
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The 1999 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships were the 10th edition of the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships and were held in Åre in the North of Sweden. The events included were cross-country and downhill. The 1999 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships were the first to include the cross-country team relay.
Ironman USA
2007
Jeff completed Ironman USA in 2007. Finishing his first Ironman in 11 hours and 17 minutes.
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The 2007 Ford Ironman World Championship was a triathlon race held on October 13, 2007 in Kailua, Hawaii County, Hawaii. It was the 31st Ironman World Championship, which has been held annually in Hawaii since 1978. The champions were Chris McCormack and Chrissie Wellington.
