Given a 10% chance of survival after falling ill following a school trip, ‘Miracle Man’ Anthony Bennett is now a popular motivational speaker. His open and honest talks about his he had to learn to walk and talk again after fighting for his life make him one of the most inspirational speakers on the circuit.
From surviving impossible odds and overcoming everything that was thrown at him, Anthony now motivates audiences in schools and businesses.
In 2006, after returning from a trip with students to Disneyland Paris, Anthony Bennett fell extremely ill and was left fighting for his life. The cause was narrowed down to the air conditioning within the coach which affected 80% of the students on the top, but left Anthony with just a 10% chance of survival. Unfortunately, Anthony had managed to contract four serious infections: Strep-Pneumonia, Influenza, Sepsis and Staphylococcus. These caused:
After regaining consciousness, Anthony had to learn how to walk and talk again, as well as breathe on his own after spending three weeks on an Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) machine.
After making a full recovery, Anthony Bennett played a major role in winning a £7.5 million charity partnership between Whitbread PLC and Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity, where he spent four years travelling the UK inspiring people to get involved with raising much-needed funds.
The money raised went towards the construction of a brand new cardiac hospital wing, helping to treat 20% more children. To date, this partnership has raised over £20 million. He went on to be named one of the happiest people in the UK in The Independent on Sunday’s 2015 ‘Happy List’, a programmes recognised by the Prime Minister for his efforts in enriching the lives of others and making Britain a better place.
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Anthony Bennett is now an international speaker, inspiring global audiences with his tale of survival. He provides keynote speeches at conferences, inspirational talks at businesses and charities, and motivational workshops at schools.
Anthony Bennett Speaking Topics
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Dealing With Setbacks & Being the Best You Can Be:
Positive seeds of growth are often planted during some of our lower times. Opening new ways of thinking about setbacks and the positives that can come out of that, Anthony speaks on the impact of self-challenge and saying yes to opportunities and being the best you can be.
The Journey (Teamwork):
Storytelling through his multiple brushes with death, Anthony highlights the importance of teamwork and how everyone, from the patient-facing cleaners, nurses, and surgeons to the behind-the-scenes procurement and warehouse teams, all played a role when it came to saving his life.
Resilience & Building a Positive Mindset:
With mental-health related absences on the rise, we are seeing an increase in the number of people being signed off work with depression, anxiety, and burnout. When a positive boost is needed, these sessions are the perfect way to motivate and inspire your teams. Anthony shares examples and practical tips on building resilience and working with our inner voices to work with us rather than against us.
For health-related events he delivers a special talk entitled ‘A heartfelt thank you from an ex-patient’.
His presentation gives everyone an insight into the superpower they have, whether they appreciate it or not. Anthony’s thought—provoking sessions uplift the hearts and minds of all listening and makes them wonder: What is your superpower?
As well as these keynote sessions, Anthony has now developed a longer interactive 90 minute session. Consisting of a 60-70 minute speech, he talks through the two voices many people have in their imagination. The ‘Dreamer’ voice that always wants the best for us, and the ‘Puller Backer’ voice that tries to talk us out of ideas.
He also invites members of the audience on stage to step out of their comfort zone and to follow the Dream voice, sharing something that makes them proud of themselves, something they have overcome, reasons why they chose their profession, or simple a thank you to those who have helped them along the way. Creating a safe space to interact, the sessions have proven to be incredibly inspirational and work well for those organisations looking for slightly longer sessions.
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With mental health high on everyone’s agenda – thanks partly to the COVID-19 pandemic, home working and loneliness – Anthony also offers virtual events to help with work-related absences thanks to depression, anxiety and burnout.
He also provides online sessions for schools, utilising digital technology such as social media – where he has a following of over 10,000 – in order to reach the minds of young people and provide them with confidence and motivation.
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AB InBEV, Allocate, Amazon, Beefeater, BMA, BT, CIPD, Citizens Advice, Costa Coffee, EIZO, GS1, Harvard Medical School, hfma, HM Prison Service, IOPC, IQVIA, Lloyds Bank, L’Oreal, Network Rail, NHS, Piramel, Premier Inn, SKY, Swim England, Teenage Cancer Trust, uniper, Very, Whitbread.
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“Anthony Bennett’s engaging style and ability to tailor his presentation/personal story to the audience set the two-day conference off on a high note – within twenty minutes Anthony variously made the audience both laugh and cry as well as telling an uplifting tale of teamwork within a stressful and highly emotionally charged environment – and it was at the charity. The passion he demonstrates when sharing his experiences; engaging and inspiring his audience, play. The feedback from the sessions was simply the most positive I have ever known.”
Glen Hodgson, Head of Healthcare, GS1
“Anthony’s presentation to the full cohort of 270 Year 12 students was a real triumph. Rarely can a speaker hold the audience so intently for such a long time but Anthony’s delivery, his anecdotes and his inspirational message of overcoming adversity were listened to by all of our young adults with respect, enthusiasm and wide-eyed wonder.
I would (and have) asked Anthony Bennett to return and would encourage many other schools as possible to do the same. The change in people’s attitudes after Anthony’s talk was palpable and clear, we at Greenford High School are really delighted that we found such an engaging and passionate young man.”
Mr. Jones, Assistant Head Teacher, Greenford High School
“Since 2006, Anthony has been a tremendous asset to the charity. The passion he demonstrates when sharing his experiences; engaging and inspiring his audience, played an important role in helping the charity to secure a £7.5 mil+ partnership with Whitbread plc.
His natural ability to connect with, inspire and motivate people to support fundraising and to push themselves towards personal success has been astounding. He carries such positivity and it’s a pleasure to witness the impact he has on people, engaging them in fundraising and helping them to understand the ability they have to make a real difference to others.”
Tim Johnson, CEO, Great Ormond Street Children’s Charity
“We invited Anthony Bennett to our sales conference in Spain. He was truly motivational and inspiring. A joy to be with and an amazing individual. Highly recommended.”
Mark Pettitt, CEO, Kimal Group PLC
“At our recent Pride and Practice event, Salisbury NHS had the privilege of hearing the personal journey of Anthony Bennett. This young man through his story ensured that we celebrated all that is good about the NHS but more importantly created the opportunity for us to consider our personal focus and commitment to being the best we can be. Thank you Anthony for pushing us forward on our improvement journey.”
Cara Charles Bark, CEO, Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust
“Everything ran very smoothly and was awesome to have Anthony along to make it a bit more interesting and definitely inspired everyone for sure! Everyone was very positive about him so the outcome was excellent.”
Coastal Group
“Thank you for sharing your inspirational story and for being so patient and engaging with staff even after the event had finished. This represented a real touch of class and was I think completely consistent with how you came across on the day. Your journey was extremely powerful and resonated beyond the upfront struggle of it all and tied in seamlessly with the theme of the day which was – together.”
Tower Hamlets
“It went great! He’s a great guy! The audience loved him and his story, someone commented that it reminds us that life is just too short.”
Swim England
“We have had many comments from those that attended. He definitely gave off such a positive vibe from the stage and had everybody captivated, on the edge of their seats. He uplifted the whole room and truly inspired us to continue doing our best and seizing opportunities. Such a phenomenal speaker. I think what makes him unique is one his positivity but he is so present and went the extra mile to find out about what we do as a society or our goals in life. Having a speaker take that time added a personal touch.”
Exeter University
“Anthony was absolutely brilliant! He is probably one of the most inspirational speakers I have ever heard. He spoke from the heart in such a natural way, it was like having a 1:1 chat with him and he engaged the students from the outset. Anthony’s outlook on life and the way he tackles that may be out of his comfort zone certainly made me think! It was a real pleasure to meet such a lovely, inspirational young man and I am sure that we will be asking Anthony to speak again at one of our future events.”
Northwest Skills Development Network
“Anthony went down a STORM! Brilliant energy. Great message. Everyone left feeling very inspired.”
Action for Children – April 2023
“Needles to say, Anthony was amazing and left everyone inspired to say yes and the courage to step outside of their comfort zone. A few tears were wiped away as his mother joined him in the front!”
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
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