Growing up in the ’80s and with over twenty years of leadership experience in corporate marketing, Chris knew three things very well – ’80s pop culture, business and this crazy thing we call life. One day, in his mid 40s, he was on his couch having a self-pity party of one over a job that just wasn’t working out for him.
He was watching The Breakfast Club when John Bender said, “Screws fall out all of the time. The world’s an imperfect place.” He sat straight up and said to himself, “I’m at an imperfect place. My screws have fallen out. What am I going to do to put them back in?” Continuing to flip channels he stopped on the classic 1983 movie The Outsiders and literally jumped off his couch when he heard Johnny Cade say, “You still have a lot of time to make yourself be what you want." Yes, I do still have a lot of time to make myself be what I want, he thought to himself.
He took the advice of Johnny Cade and left his corporate career of 20 plus years to become a keynote speaker and author on the topic of lessons from 80s pop culture for life and work. Combining his areas of experience, he created the popular book series, The Ultimate Series on Essential Work & Life Lessons from ‘80s Pop Culture, which includes two volumes of What ’80s Pop Culture Teaches Us About Today’s Workplace, and his newest title Raised on The ’80s: 30+ Unexpected Life Lessons from the Movies and Music That Defined Pop Culture’s Most Excellent Decade.
His keynote is titled “Everything I Need to Know (For Life and Work), I Learned From ‘80s Pop Culture”. The content focuses on the life and work lessons we can learn from 80s pop culture. It's a fun, unique, educational, interactive keynote and there really is nothing like it in the marketplace.
The lessons apply to people of all ages, career levels and generations. Lessons for life, leadership, teamwork, communications, workplace culture, and more from movies like The Breakfast Club, The Goonies, Coming To America, Beverly Hills Cop, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, The Karate Kid, Die Hard, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Outsiders, Stand By Me, Back To The Future, Field of Dreams, Ghostbusters and so many more including a musician who loved the color purple!
And his keynotes can be customized to fit any meeting/event size, theme, industry, or organization as he has over 160 lessons from roughly 40 movies.
He’s spoken to a diverse set of organizations and companies including PoolCorp, VISA, DHL, University of Florida, UPenn Medicine, CMAA (Club Management Association of America), SGAC (State Government Affairs Council), American Marketing Association (Iowa), FuturePharma, HR Healthcare, Nostalgiacon and more. He’s also a frequent guest on podcasts with topics ranging from workplace culture to 80s pop culture and has been referenced or interviewed in numerous publications such as Entrepreneur.com and Esquire UK magazine.
A graduate of Elon University in North Carolina, he has over 20 years of marketing leadership experience with companies ranging from Planet Hollywood to DHL. He’s been lucky enough to build brands, lead brands through transition and spearhead sports sponsorships with NCAA Basketball, PGA, MLB, International Soccer and the UFC.
Animal Rescue Advocacy
Chris is passionate about animal rescue and donates a portion of the proceeds from his book sales and speaking gigs to Wonder Paws Rescue in Ft. Lauderdale, Fl which is the rescue that saved his pit mix rescue Bodhi boy. He also volunteers his time to transport Bully breeds to safety for Off The Streetz Bully Rescue and always makes an attempt to volunteer at an animal rescue in the local area for an event or meeting where he has a speaking engagement.
“Back by popular demand, Chris delivered a captivating conversation, “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine): Lifelong Life Lessons from 80s Pop Culture.” With enthusiasm, passion and deep knowledge, Chris connected the iconic era to great wisdom! He was upbeat, fun and inspirational and the audience raved about his engaging storytelling, relatable anecdotes and seamless delivery.”
“Back by popular demand, Chris delivered a captivating conversation, “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine): Lifelong Life Lessons from 80s Pop Culture.” With enthusiasm, passion and deep knowledge, Chris connected the iconic era to great wisdom! He was upbeat, fun and inspirational and the audience raved about his engaging storytelling, relatable anecdotes and seamless delivery.”