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Randy Kearse
TV Host, Best-Selling Author & Youth Motivational Speaker
Randy Kearse
TV Host, Best-Selling Author & Youth Motivational Speaker
Biography
In August of 2005, Randy Kearse stepped out of prison after doing close to 15 years. His journey from honor student, high school dropout, to federal inmate #14866-057 to TV talk show host, best-selling author of Changin' Your Game Plan: How I used incarceration as a stepping stone for SUCCESS and motivational speaker is an extraordinary one.
Born and raised in the low-income housing projects in Brooklyn, NY, Kearse had a lot of opportunities growing up. He came from a loving, nurturing two-parent household where he learned positive morals and values. However, the influences of the streets were too much for him to ignore. He began getting into trouble, his grades slipped and he was arrested at 17 years old for attempted murder. By the time he was 21, Kearse was fully entrenched in a cycle of violence, drug dealing and jail.
At 26 years old, Kearse was arrested and indicted on a slew of federal drug offenses, including trafficking and weapons possession. He was found guilty and sentenced to 15 years in federal prison, not before the sentencing judge called him a menace to society. During his prison stay, he completely transformed himself; his mindset, perspective, goals, dreams, as well as his vision for himself and his community.
Upon his release from prison, Kearse immediately began working to help steer troubled youth in the right direction. He has dedicated his life to educating and empowering today’s youth. From first-hand experience, he shares the thought process and lack of principles that steer young people off track.
Kearse’s story is one of redemption, overcoming adversity and the challenge to change. He is a testimony to the strength of the human spirit. He takes full responsibility for his choices, places no blame and makes no excuses. Out of chaos, Kearse finally found his purpose and has dedicated his life to helping others make better choices, realize their potential and be the best one can be.
If you’re looking for a memorable and moving speaker, Randy Kearse is your man. Each presentation is delivered in a way that will leave your audience inspired, motivated and empowered. Whether speaking to business men and women or talking entrepreneurship with at-risk youth, Kearse’s experiences of living on the wrong side of the law chronicle how he took many of the skills he used as a criminal and transferred them to the right-side-of-the-law. He can show the most hardened skeptic how they can get the most out of their life.
Speaker Videos
New York Times Feature
Randy Kearse on the Colbert Report
Speech Topics
Changin’ Your Game Plan
Changin’ Your Game Plan is Randy Kearse's signature presentation, based on his hugely successful book Changin' Your Game Plan: How I used incarceration as a stepping stone for SUCCESS.
Randy takes you on a journey, a journey of change from his stable childhood to the life he led as one of Brooklyn's notorious drug dealers. He shares his ability to let the consequences of his poor choices and the lessons he's learned shape and mold him to be the person he is today. He will have you re-examining your own life, whether you've been incarcerated or not.
Not solely about physical incarceration, Kearse delves deeply in mental incarceration, emotional incarceration, spiritual incarceration and how they all separately or collectively play a role in keeping people from living their full potential in life.
Street CEO (Business)
“At 21 years old, I was a “Street CEO” with 35 employees. I had a product, inventory, distribution channels and marketing teams. I held board meetings and was involved in hostile takeovers. The only difference between a Fortune 500 company and myself was my business was illegal.”
–Randy Kearse
Randy teaches young people and adults how to identify and understand the similarities between illegal street hustles and legal business practices. Not being able to identify and understand these similarities are why so many young people, especially young people of color, never rise above being a Street CEO and ultimately land in prison or the graveyard.
Kearse shows people how to identify the street skills and practices that are transferable into the legal work place, entrepreneurial and business environment and the ones that are not.
Beyond Prison Probation and Parole
With over 2.2 million people in prison and over 10 million under some sort of probation, parole or court ordered supervision, more and more people are feeling like their criminal past is tantamount to the infamous scarlet letter. Rebuilding one’s life beyond prison, probation and parole can seem like an insurmountable task for many people. What is now being called “Felony Discrimination,” the concept subjects many individuals to minimal jobs or keeps them out of the work force altogether.
Beyond Prison Probation and Parole was created by Randy to help these individuals, their families and the people who serve this population better understand the real and not so real barriers and challenges that keep people from shedding their past and embracing their future.
With prison recidivism rates extremely high – 68% of people released from prison go back within three years – this presentation is a blueprint to successfully transitioning from one lifestyle that usually leads to prison to a lifestyle of stability and peace.
Speaking to the Youth
Young people are falling victim to a system that promotes violence, gangs and drugs as a means to validate one’s self worth. We are losing too many young people to the streets, the penitentiary and the graveyard because of the destructive mentality of the streets. This presentation is a thought provoking, motivating and empowering event for young people, parents and adults who work with young people and especially at risk young people.
Randy’s goal is to build self-esteem, encourage academic achievement and provide young people with the tools, resources and blue print to succeed in life – all the while empowering youth with the methods to practice positive thinking.
Randy examines the impact of the urban street mentality/culture on the lives, choices and futures of young people in urban and suburban communities. In a culture where education is shunned upon and the prospect of going to prison is embraced, Kearse has faced, fell victim to and overcome many of the same negative challenges facing young people today. Based on firsthand experience, he brings a truth to young people that is inescapable.
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