Joe Roberts
Skidrow CEO - Unlimited Potential…Unlocked Customizable keynotes that inspire lifetime belief in the power of possibility
- Author,
- Corporate Social Responsibility,
- Inspiration,
- Leadership,
- Mental Health,
- Mindset,
- Motivation,
- Perseverance,
- Purpose
Presentations
- From Skid Row to CEO Building resilience one step at a time
- There’s More to You Than You Can See Collapsing mental health stigma
- To Protect and Serve The life-changing potential of every interaction
- Safety - It’s About the Little Things Leading and inspiring a culture of safety
- The Push for Change; How to lead, inspire, and engage on purpose
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From Skid Row to CEO Building resilience one step at a time
In this empowering keynote, Joe teaches audiences how to build the resiliency needed to succeed in the face of adversity and change by taking small, attainable steps. Sharing the story of his catastrophic failure and extraordinary success, Joe inspires audiences to see beyond their perceived limitations to overcome life’s challenges and embrace change.
This keynote is ideal for anyone who is:
● Trying to adapt to significant change or disruption● Disconnected from their purpose and passion and showing signs of burnout or underperformance
● Feeling stuck or holding onto limiting beliefs and a negative outlook
● Struggling to see their potential and ability to accomplish anything!
The audience will leave with:
● Actionable insights on building personal resilience no matter what challenge or change they are facing
● A greater understanding of the cumulative impact of small, consistent actions and the motivation to take the first step
● Renewed interest and focus in their work as they reconnect to their purpose and passion
● Tools for reframing a limiting mindset so they can see the possibilities in themselves and the world around them
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There’s More to You Than You Can See Collapsing mental health stigma
In this eye-opening keynote, Joe shares the critical role family and community support played in helping him overcome a lifelong struggle with substance use disorder and mental illness. Through the lens of his incredible transformation, audiences will be reminded that every person, including themselves, has enormous potential and will leave inspired to create safe spaces for others to learn, grow, and change.
This program is perfect for leaders and teams who are:
● Seeing a rapid rise in sick leave, burnout, suicide, PTSD, substance use disorder, and depression in their organization● Experiencing productivity decreases, increased sick days, quiet quitting, unmotivated staff, high turnover, or internal strife and tensions
● Needing to build empathy-based leadership and a psychologically safe work environment
● Unaware or unconcerned about the stigma and issues surrounding mental health, addiction, and suicide
The audience will leave with:
● The motivation and tools to develop empathy centred leadership and see the possibilities in everyone they meet
● Simple steps anyone can take to create a safe space where people are seen and heard
● Practical techniques for supporting the person AND challenging the behaviour, including tools for conducting “Tough Stuff” Mental Health Conversations
-
To Protect and Serve The life-changing potential of every interaction
Suitable for: Law Enforcement, Probation, Parole
In this inspiring keynote, Joe Roberts highlights the life-changing impact first responders can have in every interaction through his own remarkable story.
What was a typical distress call for Constable Scott MacLeod (another man with a gun threatening suicide) became a moment that changed Joe’s life forever. Joe’s story reminds first responders of the power of every interaction and the deep impact they have, but don’t always see, on their communities.
This keynote is perfect for any first responder who is:
● Feeling under-appreciated under the weight of public hostility, negative headlines, and the growing anti-police movements● Needing a reminder of the good work being done every day in their millions of positive interactions
● Struggling to see the potential in the people they support and serve because of burnout, frustration, or unrecognized bias and stigma
The audience will leave with:
● A feeling of being honoured and appreciated for their work
● A powerful reminder of their ability to make a difference in their community through a real-life example
● A rededication and commitment to purpose and passion and tools for staying inspired and motivated despite external factors
● Greater empathy and respect for the potential of those who struggle with mental health or addiction
-
Safety - It’s About the Little Things Leading and inspiring a culture of safety
Suitable for: Corporate, Educators, Non-Profit/Associations, Government, Healthcare, Safety Leaders
In this keynote, Joe explores the connection between mental safety and physical safety and shares how anyone can connect their personal purpose to safer behavior.
As Joe walks the audience through his first poor choice and how it led to a journey of degradation and despair, they will understand why people make unsafe decisions and how they can intentionally build physically and mentally safer workplace, classroom and community spaces with every small decision.
This presentation is perfect for safety leaders and teams who are:
● Unaware of the significant impact mental health can have on job performance and safety● Lacking a safe and supportive environment where people feel comfortable discussing their mental health
● Struggling to pay attention to the little things, leading to potentially costly mistakes
● Unsure how they can build a culture of empathy where people feel seen, heard, and safe enough to address potential safety issues
The audience will leave with:
● A deeper understanding of why the little things matter so much and the motivation to make every small choice a good one
● A greater appreciation for the importance of advocating for prevention, even if it means having a tough conversation
● Tools for creating a safe space where people are not only seen and heard but also supported in their struggles
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The Push for Change; How to lead, inspire, and engage on purpose
Suitable for: Corporate; Educators, Non-Profit/Associations, Government, Healthcare
Pushing a shopping cart 9,064km across Canada may sound impossible, but amazing things happen when passion aligns with purpose!
Joe shares lessons learned from The Push for Change; a 17-month walk across Canada to support the end of youth homelessness. As audiences follow along with his journey, they’ll learn practical insights for developing a purpose-driven leadership that inspires and engages others.
This program is perfect for any audience who wants to lead well but is:
● One of the 4 in 5 people that aren’t playing to their strengths in the workplace● Unsure how to handle the issues they’re facing with their teams, such as decreased productivity, increased sick days, unmotivated staff, and internal strife and tensions
● Struggling with apathy, disengagement, and underperformance, due to burnout-out or a disconnect from their purpose and passion
The audience will leave with:
● Tools they can immediately use to overcome adversity and reframe a limiting mindset
● The ability to tackle big projects and stay focused by tapping into their deeper sense of purpose-driven leadership
● Three core things that get people and teams fired up so they can achieve literally anything!
From Skid Row to CEO Building resilience one step at a time
In this empowering keynote, Joe teaches audiences how to build the resiliency needed to succeed in the face of adversity and change by taking small, attainable steps. Sharing the story of his catastrophic failure and extraordinary success, Joe inspires audiences to see beyond their perceived limitations to overcome life’s challenges and embrace change.
This keynote is ideal for anyone who is:
● Trying to adapt to significant change or disruption
● Disconnected from their purpose and passion and showing signs of burnout or underperformance
● Feeling stuck or holding onto limiting beliefs and a negative outlook
● Struggling to see their potential and ability to accomplish anything!
The audience will leave with:
● Actionable insights on building personal resilience no matter what challenge or change they are facing
● A greater understanding of the cumulative impact of small, consistent actions and the motivation to take the first step
● Renewed interest and focus in their work as they reconnect to their purpose and passion
● Tools for reframing a limiting mindset so they can see the possibilities in themselves and the world around them
There’s More to You Than You Can See Collapsing mental health stigma
In this eye-opening keynote, Joe shares the critical role family and community support played in helping him overcome a lifelong struggle with substance use disorder and mental illness. Through the lens of his incredible transformation, audiences will be reminded that every person, including themselves, has enormous potential and will leave inspired to create safe spaces for others to learn, grow, and change.
This program is perfect for leaders and teams who are:
● Seeing a rapid rise in sick leave, burnout, suicide, PTSD, substance use disorder, and depression in their organization
● Experiencing productivity decreases, increased sick days, quiet quitting, unmotivated staff, high turnover, or internal strife and tensions
● Needing to build empathy-based leadership and a psychologically safe work environment
● Unaware or unconcerned about the stigma and issues surrounding mental health, addiction, and suicide
The audience will leave with:
● The motivation and tools to develop empathy centred leadership and see the possibilities in everyone they meet
● Simple steps anyone can take to create a safe space where people are seen and heard
● Practical techniques for supporting the person AND challenging the behaviour, including tools for conducting “Tough Stuff” Mental Health Conversations
To Protect and Serve The life-changing potential of every interaction
Suitable for: Law Enforcement, Probation, Parole
In this inspiring keynote, Joe Roberts highlights the life-changing impact first responders can have in every interaction through his own remarkable story.
What was a typical distress call for Constable Scott MacLeod (another man with a gun threatening suicide) became a moment that changed Joe’s life forever. Joe’s story reminds first responders of the power of every interaction and the deep impact they have, but don’t always see, on their communities.
This keynote is perfect for any first responder who is:
● Feeling under-appreciated under the weight of public hostility, negative headlines, and the growing anti-police movements
● Needing a reminder of the good work being done every day in their millions of positive interactions
● Struggling to see the potential in the people they support and serve because of burnout, frustration, or unrecognized bias and stigma
The audience will leave with:
● A feeling of being honoured and appreciated for their work
● A powerful reminder of their ability to make a difference in their community through a real-life example
● A rededication and commitment to purpose and passion and tools for staying inspired and motivated despite external factors
● Greater empathy and respect for the potential of those who struggle with mental health or addiction
Safety - It’s About the Little Things Leading and inspiring a culture of safety
Suitable for: Corporate, Educators, Non-Profit/Associations, Government, Healthcare, Safety Leaders
In this keynote, Joe explores the connection between mental safety and physical safety and shares how anyone can connect their personal purpose to safer behavior.
As Joe walks the audience through his first poor choice and how it led to a journey of degradation and despair, they will understand why people make unsafe decisions and how they can intentionally build physically and mentally safer workplace, classroom and community spaces with every small decision.
This presentation is perfect for safety leaders and teams who are:
● Unaware of the significant impact mental health can have on job performance and safety
● Lacking a safe and supportive environment where people feel comfortable discussing their mental health
● Struggling to pay attention to the little things, leading to potentially costly mistakes
● Unsure how they can build a culture of empathy where people feel seen, heard, and safe enough to address potential safety issues
The audience will leave with:
● A deeper understanding of why the little things matter so much and the motivation to make every small choice a good one
● A greater appreciation for the importance of advocating for prevention, even if it means having a tough conversation
● Tools for creating a safe space where people are not only seen and heard but also supported in their struggles
The Push for Change; How to lead, inspire, and engage on purpose
Suitable for: Corporate; Educators, Non-Profit/Associations, Government, Healthcare
Pushing a shopping cart 9,064km across Canada may sound impossible, but amazing things happen when passion aligns with purpose!
Joe shares lessons learned from The Push for Change; a 17-month walk across Canada to support the end of youth homelessness. As audiences follow along with his journey, they’ll learn practical insights for developing a purpose-driven leadership that inspires and engages others.
This program is perfect for any audience who wants to lead well but is:
● One of the 4 in 5 people that aren’t playing to their strengths in the workplace
● Unsure how to handle the issues they’re facing with their teams, such as decreased productivity, increased sick days, unmotivated staff, and internal strife and tensions
● Struggling with apathy, disengagement, and underperformance, due to burnout-out or a disconnect from their purpose and passion
The audience will leave with:
● Tools they can immediately use to overcome adversity and reframe a limiting mindset
● The ability to tackle big projects and stay focused by tapping into their deeper sense of purpose-driven leadership
● Three core things that get people and teams fired up so they can achieve literally anything!
Testimonials
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I have heard you speak twice now, and both times you successfully touched the audience in a way that only someone who has lived their story can. You taught us all that we can endure change and hardship in life and still come out victorious. Your “Skidrow to CEO” message is what the world needs today.”
President, Justice Institute of BC
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"Joe’s message is a true testament to the strength of the human spirit and what you can achieve when you set your mind to it."
Former Board Member, OACF, Fire Chief, Town of Essex
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"You connected with people using your authentic personal experience with both mental health and addiction, something that touches all our lives."
Area Manager, BC Hydro
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Your presentation was absolutely thought-provoking, powerful, and very moving. It was very motivational for the group to hear what happens when "things go right."
Commissioner, Ontario Provincial Police
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"Our members were very impressed with Joe’s story and appreciated his great insight on leadership."
Executive VP and ACEO, Credit Union Managers, Association of Manitoba
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"Rarely do we find individuals whose personal life experience has the power to motivate and move people like your story did. The way you delivered with consistency night after night and the impact you had on each room was reflected in the high level of engagement and feedback that we are still receiving. Your message was perfect, and I want to thank you for inspiring, educating, and empowering all of us."
Vice President Strategic Accounts, AGF
President, Justice Institute of BC
Media Gallery
Books
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The Push for Change, Stepping into Possibility Awaken your inner strength for achieving the unthinkable as you read this extraordinary story. On a cold rainy night in 1989, Joe Roberts was homeless and destitute on a park bench in Vancouver, but he made a promise that if he was granted a second chance in life, he would pay it forward. Walk with Joe through his personal transformation, his success in business, and the epic pay-it-forward campaign that saw Joe walk across the entire width of Canada. Bulk purchases are welcome. Contact us for more information.
