Damon West

Keynote Speaker, 3x WSJ Bestselling Author, M.S. in Criminal Justice, Philanthropist & Recovering Addict

Damon West

Keynote Speaker, 3x WSJ Bestselling Author, M.S. in Criminal Justice, Philanthropist & Recovering Addict

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Biography

Damon West, M.S. Criminal Justice, is a college professor, internationally known keynote speaker, 3 x Wall Street Journal bestselling author and former crime boss in Dallas, who was sentenced to Life in prison for Organized Crime.

USA Today calls him the “modern day Shawshank Redemption and the most in-demand speaker in America.”

At 20 years old, he was a Division 1 starting quarterback at the University of North Texas, when he suffered a career ending injury and turned to hardcore drugs to cope with disappointments of life.

After graduation, he worked in the United States Congress and trained to be a stockbroker for United Bank of Switzerland (UBS).

One day at UBS, he was introduced to methamphetamines; he became instantly hooked—and the lives of so many innocent people would forever be changed by the choices he made in order to feed his insatiable meth habit.

After a fateful discussion during his incarceration with a seasoned convict, Damon had a spiritual awakening. He learned that, like a coffee bean changing with the application of heat and pressure, he was capable of changing the environment around him. Armed with a program of recovery, a renewed faith, and a miraculous second chance at life, Damon emerged from over seven years of prison a changed man.

On parole in Texas until 2073, his story is one of hope, redemption, grit and the resilience of the Human spirit.

Speaker Videos

The Coffee Bean

The Story of Damon West

Live for the Yes

Position Determines Perspective

Servant Leadership: The Secret To Life

Designed for any group, this presentation is focused and personalized for audiences who are working to positively change their culture. Before coming in to speak to your group, Damon will learn your most serious issues and address them as part of his presentation. Damon emphasizes the need to become servant leaders in their teams, schools, communities, organizations and families. Additionally, Damon will end with a Call To Action, to be like the coffee bean from his story. At the conclusion of the event, Damon will field questions from the audience on any and all topics he discussed.

Overcoming Adversity: The Damon West Story

In this intimate and personal presentation, Damon shares his cautionary tale and message of hope in a brutally honest presentation. Damon takes his audience on an emotional journey from childhood sexual abuse, adolescent addiction and living with ADHD, playing Division 1 football, working in the United States Congress and ultimately working for one of the biggest Wall Street banks, UBS, before being introduced to meth. His nightmare life of meth-addicted crime and receiving the maximum punishment (Life) is vividly described. The survival stories on the life-sentence building inside a Texas maximum security prison and the lessons he learned while incarcerated, which ultimately delivered him into recovery, are spell-binding and riveting. Additionally, Damon will end with a Call To Action, to be like the coffee bean from his story. At the conclusion of the event, Damon will field questions from the audience on any and all topics he discussed.

Core Values of Your Team: Inspire to Your Full Potential

This presentation is designed for businesses, corporations and teams to realize their full potential and stay ahead of the competition. For maximum effectiveness, Damon will personalize his story with your core values and goals, splicing valuable lessons and life-changing realizations he learned along the way with your organization’s story and mission statement. The themes of character, grit, goals, determination and winning the day are paramount in this presentation. Additionally, Damon will end with a Call To Action, to be like the coffee bean from his story. At the conclusion of the event, Damon will field questions from the audience on any and all topics he discussed.

Convocations: Inspirational Keynote for Educators

Hear the message that school districts all over the country are implementing as their motto: Be A Coffee Bean! This presentation is designed for school districts and academic institutions wanting to both motivate their teachers and staff, as well as implement the vitally important message of the coffee bean - that the power to change any situation is within you, not in the outside forces around you. In this presentation, Damon will not only tell his personal story of the coffee bean, he will also talk about the five ways of becoming a coffee bean. Additionally, Damon will end with a Call To Action, to be like the coffeebean from his story. At the conclusion of the event, Damon will field questions from the audience on any and all topics he discussed and do book signings where requested.

Testimonials

"We had a fantastic event! Damon West was phenomenal! Everyone raved about him and he is such a nice guy! We truly enjoyed him."

- Huther Doyle

"He was great! The audience interacted with him and asked several questions. Many staff members interacted with him one on one in the lobby after his presentation. He held the attention of the audience from start to finish which is hard to do. Exit comments and emails stated he was the best speaker we have ever had for opening day."

- Bergenfield School

"It was an incredible morning. Damon 'knocked it out of the park.' Our Staff was so inspired. I was so blessed to bring Damon to Huntington. It was the best Opening Convocation I have ever been a part of. APB did a fantastic job helping in every detail. We were 'socially distanced,' but it did not hamper the morning. Our 282 staff were truly inspired, motivated, and touched by Damon."

- Huntington Schools

"Damon West spoke to our football team and to me, it was real truth. It was about as honest and as straightforward as you can be, and like I said it has a lot to do with ball and sports but mainly about life and the choices you make in life because we have a saying around here, 'the choices you make, make you.' There are consequences to every decision you make. We will make good choices and then good things happen and we make bad choices where bad things happen. But, it is also a great story of hope, that God can find you and he can change you and that we all need God in our life. The word Damon hit me the most with was hope. He gave people hope and his message was so real that if you make a mistake you can come out of it, but even if you make those mistakes, God can lead you in tremendous ways. It’s an amazing story, and something our players can really relate to. It’s a walking testimony to me and was one of the most amazing messages I have ever heard, and I have been a coach for over thirty years."

- Jimbo Fisher, Head Football Coach, A&M University

"Damon worked out so great! He was the absolute nicest, and I have received many great compliments about his presentation. You all were a pleasure to work with."

- Missouri Institute of Mental Health

“Our players were very impressed. He did a great job of talking about servant leadership, did a great job talking about choices and decisions, cause and effects of those decisions. I think his story is very compelling because of the sacrifices he had to make to get his life back to where it needed to be. The message about helping other people and the power of controlling yourself, what you do and what you say, is so important for these guys to hear. I’ve never heard it done as well as what Damon did tonight.”

- Nick Saban, Head Football Coach, University of Alabama

“I’ve been at Clemson 15 years and we just had a guy speak to the team tonight named Damon West. Easily one of the top, most powerful messages I’ve ever heard. Unbelievable presentation. A message all teams should hear. Watching my team and how he captured them was priceless. A great story and very inspirational.”

- Dabo Swinney, Head Football Coach, Clemson University

“The Damon West story is one of perseverance, faith, and recovery against great challenges. He has become a role model of servant leadership through his tireless efforts to inspire all walks of life with a stirring account of personal growth.”

- Joe Tortorice, Jason’s Deli Founder and Chairman of the Board

“Your message stirred our community beyond what you could imagine. I met with the principal from the largest public high school in our area, sharing with him the emotioinal and spiritual experience from which you were the impetus. I did not ask him if wanted to share the message of your life with his students; I told him he NEEDED to share it… and that some student in his school was waiting and needing to hear the message from YOU.”

- Deacon Christopher Fontenot, Principal at St. Louis Catholic High School

“All I can say is wow. Very impactful, very powerful, very poignant, very relevant in terms of the lessons that he taught our team and I saw the messages were so aligned with what we teach our players. Some of them so much that it will be displayed throughout our building. It's an unbelievable story about perseverance, mental toughness of pain for your mistakes and rebuilding your life and learning from your mistakes, but very powerful. Damon West, job well done. Thank you.”

- Tom Herman, Head Football Coach - University of Texas