Top 20 Most Inspirational Speaker Slam Speaker of All Time

After 5 years and over 500 Speakers, we are celebrating our Top 20 Most Inspirational Speaker Slam Competitors. These are phenomenal people who have leveraged their Speaker Slam speech to make an impact and inspire the world and who have been an incredibly important part of our journey.

Honorable Mentions to These Amazing Humans:

• Ian Tyson (20)
• Jonathan Andrews (19)
• Alexis Dean (18)
• Rachel Weinstock (17)
• Sandra Elia (16)

#15 Most Inspirational Speaker Slam Speaker of All Time:

Our Top 15 kicks off with the one and only Blake Fleischacker. Not only has Blake been a fan fav, but also a returning judge. He's charming, charismatic, ultra kind and caring, always hilarious and high energy, and probably one of the most generous people we've encountered in 5 years! He won 3rd place in the Grand Slam. His Speaker Slam speeches were featured on Goalcast, Power of Positivity and Innerlight Media and reached over 4 million people.

In his own life as a self-professed Entrepreneur, Husband and Ginger, he inspires youth across the country as a sought after Youth Speaker. He's had multiple TEDx talks and had his own videos score millions and millions of views through social media.

Thank you for playing such an important role in our lives. xo

#14 Most Inspirational Speaker Slam Speaker of All Time:

Nkechi won the crowd with her powerful 'You Matter' Mantra. Her speech went on to get well over 10 million views as her speech was shared over and over on platforms such as Goalcast, Power of Positivity, A Plus and Innerlight Media.

Both of Nkechi's Speakers Slam speeches on Infertility and Identity embraced vulnerability and tackled topics that needed to be openly voiced. She has remained in the Speaker Slam family and recently shared at our Amplifying Voices: Mental Well-th event.

Nkechi Nwafor-Robinson is an entrepreneur, author, professional athlete, and inspirational speaker, devoted to uplifting people and helping them live more fulfilling and purpose-driven lives, beyond that we love her for her passion, energy, heart, and commitment to be seen and heard in this world.

Congratulations for being our #14 speaker to #inspireandimpact as we celebrate 5 years of Inspiration with Speaker Slam.

#13 Most Inspirational Speaker Slam Speaker of All Time:

With his commanding presence, powerful message, and dramatic flair for presentation, Adonis Rosalle Jr. comes in at number #13 on our most Inspirational Speaker Slam Speaker list.

Adonis has close to 20 million views and has been an in-demand speaker on platforms such as Goalcast, A Plus, Power of Positivity, In the Now, Demotivateur, and Innerlight Media. His captivating Body Beautiful Speech, coupled with his much-needed bullying message has made him a perfect choice.

Adonis has been a fixture at Speaker Slam events and has been a constant support for our current competitors. We love him for his high energy, his off-the-charts enthusiasm, his booming commanding voice, and his undeniable passion for speaking.

Congrats @wonderfulspeaking on earning our #13 spot.

#12 Most Inspirational Speaker Slam Speaker of All Time:

Today we recognize Parul Bansal in our #12 spot. She won the Identity competition in 2019 with her powerfully vulnerable speech on losing her hair and reclaiming her self-worth. She later won the Judge’s choice award at the Grand Slam as Goalcast chose her speech about walking away from her Indian Wedding.

With over 15 million views on Goalcast and Innerlight media, Parul has a way of connecting with her viewers. Her authenticity and bravery resonates with people around the world. We are incredibly proud of her bravery and commitment to remaining true to herself.

@parulbee

#11 Most Inspirational Speaker Slam Speaker of All Time:

We celebrate Jessica Opoku in our #11 spot for the top 15 Speaker Slam Inspirational Speakers of all time!

With over 500 speakers, we had a tough time narrowing the list, but Jessica was an easy yes! Jessica won the Grand Slam in 2018 and won the title of Inspirational Speaker of the Year. Jessica’s original Speaker Slam entry was shared by Uplifting Content, Goalcast, and Innerlight Media and received close to 18 million views.

#10 Most Inspirational Speaker Slam Speaker of All Time:

Our top 10 list begins with Sophie Sabbage. We met Sophie as we transitioned into Online Competitions. Finally, we were able to open up to people around the world and she joined us from the UK. Sophie won first place in both competitions she entered on Kindness and Self-Worth, and then earned 2nd place in the Grand Slam last November.

Sophie was featured on Power of Positivity, impacting people around the world. She also created a beautiful Legacy video chronicling her journey with Cancer. She was a beautiful gift to the world who left us too soon. As I shared her final video last week, I was in awe of the almost 200 shares, loving that her beautiful voice has and will continue to make an indelible impact.

Sophie - an accomplished author, a teacher, and an activist. She has written two Sunday Times bestsellers and is well-known in the UK as a patient activist. In all her work, including loving her husband and daughter, she has been dedicated to the authenticity and creativity of the human spirit.

In 5 years, Sophie has been the most exceptionally brilliant writer, fully embodying the essence of Speaker Slam.

Her legacy will continue to inspire and make an impact.

@sophiesabbage

#9 Most Inspirational Speaker Slam Speaker of All Time:

Our ninth spot goes to a young man who blew us all away with his talent, his maturity, and his brilliance, Malcolm Hooper He placed first in his competition with Homeless at 16 and his video later went on to get millions of views on Innerlight Media, Goalcast Motivation2Study and A Plus. Malcolm was also featured in the press, including a spot on Global News.

We are incredibly proud of him and hope to see him back on our stage soon.

@mhooper17

#8 Most Inspirational Speaker Slam Speaker of All Time:

Our #8 spot goes to Shontelle Dubois! This incredible woman took our stage for the first time and pushed through all of her fears to win first place and the Judges Choice Award. Shontelle had the entire room in tears and went on to inspire and impact 7 million viewers courtesy of Goalcast and Uplifting Content.

Her incredible story from training clients in the stairwells of Jane and Finch to running her own Fitness Empire has us bursting with pride. Shontelle has shown what is possible with determination, tenacity, and drive.

@shontelle_dubois

#7 Most Inspirational Speaker Slam Speaker of All Time:

Our 2019 Inspirational Speaker, Dang Nguyen placed first in his competition with his heartfelt tribute to his high school sweetheart in his speech “The Blessings of an Unplanned Teen Pregnancy’, and then hit it out of the park and won first place at the Grand Slam with his humorous take on life as a Short Guy!

He has been a Viral Sensation with well over 20 million views on Goalcast, Innerlight Media, Power of Positivity, and A Plus. He’s been inspiring people all around the world with his captivating videos.

My favorite thing about Dang is that he didn’t start out as a Speaker. He’s just a smart, funny guy that was able to use his voice to set himself apart. He proves that it’s possible.

Congrats on making it to our Top 10 Dang!

@dangnguyen.ca

#6 Most Inspirational Speaker Slam Speaker of All Time:

Our 2020 Inspirational Speaker of the Year Merlyna Valentine! wowed our judges with both Speaker Slam speeches but her “Finding Love After Tragedy” speech was enough to take top honours at our 2020 Grand Slam. That speech still brings me to tears every time I watch it! Merlyna is our first US Champion and has had her video go viral with A Plus and Power of Positivity.

Beyond being an Inspirational Speaker, Merlyna is an Inspirational Woman! After battling Sepsis and losing her limbs, she has gone on to be a beacon of hope for people everywhere as a professional speaker, motivator and change maker. She is tireless in her efforts to inspire and make impact. She was named one of the top 30 on the 2021 D-30 Disability Impact List out of 300 nominations.

We have been incredibly proud to have you represent us this year as our 2020 Grand Slam Champion and know you will stay closely connected to your Speaker Slam Family.

@merlyna_valentine

#5 Most Inspirational Speaker Slam Speaker of All Time:

It has been the joy of a lifetime watching Shirin push through that first trembling moment on our stage for Passion Speed Share, to watching her powerfully own the stage at her first competition, to finally seeing her shine on stage at the Grand Slam.

She will forever be fondly known as ‘the Curry Lady’ as her speech “My Ingredients for the Perfect Curry” went viral with millions of views on Power of Positivity, Jay Shetty and Innerlight Media.

Shirin is a cancer survivor who escaped an abusive marriage. Speaking was healing and cathartic, and now she is the perfect example of what is possible when you create a speech and use it to build momentum in your life. Over the past two years she has spoken at countless events, became a curator at Spoken Lives, became the President of the Brampton Charter for Immigrant Women in Business, been nominated for countless awards and received the International Women Achiever's Woman of Purpose Award, completed her book and had it become a bestseller and was the subject of an Award Winning documentary Beauty and the Beast that just won NY Women's Film Festival.

Congratulations Shirin, you deserve this.

@shirinariff

#4 Most Inspirational Speaker Slam Speaker of All Time:

Joze is a lifelong stutterer turned International Motivational Speaker helping people who hold back, turn fear into action so that they overcome their “inner stutter” and unlock their true potential in life. He was our very first Grand Slam winner with a powerful speech that went on to get over 3 million views with Goalcast.

It has been inspiring to watch his journey as he has shared the stage with Director X, Disney’s CIO, Brendon Bouchard, Jim Kwik, Dragon Den’s Arlene Dickinson as well as comedians Hannibel Buress & Whitney Cummings. Joze has also been featured on TEDx, ABC Forbes, NowThis (about Joe Biden’s stutter), CBC and Global News Canada.

We are most in awe that Joze has managed to take his single speech about pushing through fear and parlay it into an impressive professional speaking career. He is now a Global Speaker, Championing Inclusion and Resilience, one Stutter at a time.

Beyond all of this, Joze is one of our closest friends and one of the biggest Speaker Slam supporters. He has been an ongoing resident judge at our competitions and a tireless promoter of our work.

We wish him so much success. Xo

@yeswayjoze

#3 Most Inspirational Speaker Slam Speaker of All Time:

Unstoppable Tracy has been a large part of the Speaker Slam Family. She’s competed several times, as well as judged our competitions. Her speech, “You Can’t Go to This School” was shared close to 60 million times by almost every Viral Partner we have.

You have to look incredibly hard to find a more driven, motivated, and tenacious speaker. Oprah Magazine shared her story as Quest for the Gold World Cup Sailor. Now in 2021 #1 International Award-Winning Business Leader & MegaSpeaker in over 40+ countries, on multiple TedXs, TV and Podcast HOST, #1 Bestselling Author, and Canada’s Hall of Famer with over 100 million viral video views, BEd, and MBA. Oh, and... she was the 1st four-way amputee to climb the Himalaya Mountains, sail, scuba dive and Bronze medalist alpine skier. Clearly your expert on Disarming Limiting Beliefs.

Tracy we love and admire you. You are an inspiration to all of us. Congrats on earning our #3 spot for most Top Speaker Slam Speakers. xo

@unstoppabletracy

#2 Most Inspirational Speaker Slam Speaker of All Time:

Mike won our 'Courage' competition with his talk 'I said yes' going on to receive over 5 million views on Power of Positivity, Innerlight Media, Jay Shetty, and A-Plus and Chicken Soup for the Soul.

His speech ignited a worldwide movement ‘Paddles Up’ for mental health and people struggling around the world. We have watched him speak on stages with Time Magazine's Kid of the Year Gitanjali Rao, Adam Roa, and Elijah Lawall from Google.

Mike went on to become a columnist writing about mental health and disabilities with the Toronto Sun, author a best-selling book, become the 20/21 International Stand Up Paddleboarding Man of the Year, and receive a nomination this year into the Canadian Disability Hall of Fame.

He has appeared on Healthing.ca, Health Beat NBC, ABC news NBC, CBS News, Yahoo, MSN.com, Global News, The Toronto Star, Breakfast Television, CTV News, Some Good News, Unilad, News, Toronto Life Magazine, CBC National, and more.

Mike is a passionate mental health advocate and community partner of several nonprofits across North America including Canada's #1 Youth Mental Health Organization, Fashion Designer Kenneth Cole's The Mental Health Coalition, and The Trevor Project.

We love Mike for his tireless pursuit of his passion and purpose, and how he is a constant supporter and advocate for Speaker Slam. He has become our poster child for what is possible when you are resilient, determined, and on fire!

@theunbalancedpaddleboarder

#1 Most Inspirational Speaker Slam Speaker of All Time:

Drumroll please….. After 5 years, 500 speakers and 500 million views, we’d like to recognize Gina Hatzis as our #1 Most Inspirational Speaker Slam Speaker of All Time!

Gina won our Body Beautiful event in 2018 and became the first Speaker Slam competitor to go viral on Goalcast with not one but two videos, The Too Much Woman and Nobody's Coming. These videos amassed over 40 million views with Goalcast, Power of Positivity, Innerlight Media, Jay Shetty, Chicken Soup for the Soul, In the Now, A Plus and so many more!

The powerful Too Much Woman anthem birthed a worldwide movement and has been translated, performed, and shared in over 7 languages.

It birthed her first book Celebrating the Too Much Woman and a global Tour spanning North America, hitting South America, and landing in Europe.

Since then, Gina found herself on International Stages everywhere. Most notably at the International Woman's Summit alongside Elizabeth Gilbert, Lisa Nichols, Glennon Doyle, Cheryl Strayed, headlining at the NH Woman's Conference with comedian Kathy Buckley and actress Kim Coles, and leading a Too Much Woman Firewalk in Arizona at the Southwest Institute for Healing Arts.

She was named Top Inspirational Woman of the Year in by Soulful Image Magazine, won 1st place with her speech at the Dynamo Speaking Competition and was featured in a Los Angeles article as 1 of the 3 most important events to empower women in 2019 alongside the Women's March and the #MeToo Movement.

Gina has been dubbed a Confidence Crusader by her almost 300k social media followers and has been featured in over 400 podcast and radio interviews as a sought-after thought leader on women's empowerment.

Over the years, Gina has been a judge at Speakers Slam on multiple occasions, as well as a featured speaker at our events, and has coached many of our own speakers on to their own viral success.

@Ginahatzis