<p>Sentenced to 65 years in a Texas maximum security prison, Damon West once had it all.</p><p>At 20 years old, he was a Division 1 starting quarterback at the University of North Texas. After a career-ending injury, drugs helped him manage the pain and the disappointment. After graduation, he worked in the U.S. Congress, was a national fundraiser on a U.S. presidential campaign and eventually trained to be a stockbroker for United Bank of Switzerland (UBS). And then one day, while working 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 to feed his insatiable meth addiction. In 2009, he was sentenced to 65 years in a Texas maximum-security prison for a string of burglaries—effectively a life sentence.</p><p>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 could change the environment around him. Armed with a program of recovery, a renewed faith, and a miraculous second chance at life, Damon worked hard to earn parole and emerged from prison a changed man seven-plus years later. His first book and autobiography, <em>The Change Agent: How a Former College QB Sentenced to Life in Prison Transformed His World</em>, was published three years after his release from prison.</p><p>Today, Damon lives a life of recovery and service, going to meetings and sharing his story of redemption, grit, and determination all over the country with schools, churches, athletic teams, corporations, at conferences and inside prisons. His #BeACoffeeBean message has inspired thousands from Walmart to the U.S. Army to the NBA. He is a college professor (M.S. Criminal Justice) and a best-selling author (with coauthor and motivational speaker Jon Gordon) of <em>The Coffee Bean: A Simple Lesson to Create Positive Change</em>, which <em>Forbes</em> named to its list of the “Top Twenty Books You Need to Read to Crush it in 2020.” The two also partnered on <em>The Coffee Bean for Kids</em>, which was the genesis for Coffee Bean Clubs being started by students at schools all over America.</p><p>In his most recent project, Damon has shared the lesson of the Coffee Bean with dozens of college football teams such as Clemson, Alabama, Georgia, and Texas. His next book, co-written with player development coach Stephen Mackey, is a guide to exploring difficult conversations about eliminating discrimination, overcoming adversity and building an inclusive and high-achieving culture—on the football field and in the workplace. <em>The Locker Room: How Great Teams Heal Hurt</em>, <em>Overcome Adversity and Build Unity</em> was published in 2022.</p>
Former College QB Sentenced to Life in Prison; Now a Story of Redemption to Inspire Others; Bestselling Author, <em>The Coffee Bean: A Simple Lesson in Creating Positive Change</em>
<ul><li><strong>Overcoming Adversity: The Damon West Story</strong></li><li>In this intimate and personal presentation, Damon shares his cautionary tale and message of hope with brutal honesty and candor, using his own story to highlight the power of redemption, recovery and finding meaning and purpose in life, no matter what has happened to you and no matter what you’ve done in the past. Damon takes his audience on an emotional journey from childhood sexual abuse, adolescent addiction and living with ADHD to playing Division 1 football, working in the U.S. Congress and on Wall Street—only to lose everything when he got addicted to meth. Remarkably, the time spent, and lessons learned in a Texas maximum security prison put him on the path to redemption in a story that is as riveting as it is inspiring.</li><li><strong>Servant Leadership: The Secret To Life</strong></li><li>In this session designed for any organization focused on trying to change their culture for the better, audiences will learn why servant leadership isn’t just for the CEO and how to become servant leaders in their teams, schools, communities, organizations and families—helping others and raising others up.</li><li><strong>The Core Values of Your Team: Inspire to Your Full Potential</strong></li><li>Defining his own values and reason for being on the planet were life-changing experiences for Damon West. In this presentation for leaders and teams, he tailors the presentation to focus on your organization’s core values and goals, story and mission statement—helping you clarify and build on them to make them a meaningful part of your organization’s culture. </li></ul>