Gayton McKenzie Motivational Speaker

Gayton McKenzieMotivational Speaker
After an extraordinary life of crime, prison and redemption, Gayton McKenzie is today one of the most well-loved and sought-after motivational speakers in the country and has addressed millions of school kids, parents and businesspeople with his hard-hitting, entertaining, engaging and inspiring talk, which inspired his best-selling autobiography The Choice. He has worked with various corporate sponsors such as Chubb and Nike, and as the spokesperson for the JAG Sports and Education Foundation which is bringing hope to kids in underprivileged areas. He has been very successful over the past two years in building his own business profile: currently, with his business partners, he owns ZAR Lounge in Sandton and has been laying the foundations for a strong venture capital company with investments in mining and energy projects in Africa. He is a valued consultant in the SA mining industry, his strength primarily in stakeholder relationships.Gayton McKenzie came to controversial public attention in 2002 when he and a small group of fellow inmates smuggled secret video cameras into Grootvlei Prison in the Free State rovince.Gayton, who, until then had been a committed criminal, having entered jail for, among other crimes, bank robbery, and who was one of the prison's most senior gang members, turned his back on crime. The secret video footage showed numerous acts of warden corruption, including buying prison food, supplying drugs and liquor, smuggling a loaded pistol into jail and, finally, selling a juvenile for the purpose of sex to another prisoner, who was also part of the video team. When the footage hit national television, and was also screened internationally, McKenzie's team became known as the "Grootvlei Four".They were subsequently victimised in prison, with several attempts made on their lives. Three of the four men (other video makers'identities had been successfully kept secret) were finally released from prison after obtaining remissions of sentence for their exposure work. McKenzie went on to marry the advocate he met while still in jail, after she was sent by the South African Presidency as a member of the Jali Commission tasked with investigating corruption in South African prisons.After his release he went on a national campaign to combat ever-higher levels of crime in South Africa. His talks to school children were sponsored by a security company, and he is still serving as an advocate against crime. Thus far, he has reached 2 million South African school children of all ages. Thanks, in part, to his great exuberance and charisma, he was also voted the country's top corporate speaker for three years in a row by the New Beginnings Group.Gayton’s talks examine the following themes, among many others:• His own personal journey and what led to his changed views on life• The legacy of crime in South Africa• The question of racial division in South Africa and how it can be overcome• The need for personal integrity and ethics• How to recognise your blessings• Reaching your dreams• How to turn your suffering into something that enriches youGayton’s talks are extremely memorable because he shocks as much as he entertains, and he is always very entertaining. No one who’s listened to him can ever walk away quite the same person.