“Adam is exemplary as a speaker, a teacher, and an expert on what it takes to succeed in a globally competitive endeavor. He teams with you to help make you a winner -- and he drives the enthusiasm of your colleagues to help you achieve your goals! You can find no finer gold, than the gold in Adam Kreek.”
Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance
Adam Kreek is a four-time World Champion, Olympic Gold Medalist, Entrepreneur and Expert in High Performance.
A self-described "positive realist," Adam has spoken to over 100,000 people across North America on topics of achievement, leadership and teambuilding. Adam is a member of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers, and his upcoming book, Beyond Success, will explore key techniques to maximize personal potential, and how simple and practical principles can be harnessed to achieve individual and organizational goals.
Adam has studied human performance, achievement, and wellbeing for over 10 years, and has applied his learnings throughout realms of his life, including high performance sport. He powered his way to a gold medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, after a disappointing loss at the Athens Olympic Games of 2004. During his 13-year rowing career, Adam won over 60 medals, 27 in international competition, with 43 of these being gold medal or first place performances. Adam was named Athlete Leader of the year at the 2010 Canadian Sports Awards, a lifetime achievement award presented to an individual who has provided outstanding contributions to sport as a leader advocate, change agent and builder.
Adam is committed to inspiring others to expand their personal potential and live well. In addition to his work with organizations, he works in schools with youth, instilling in our next generation the idea that the “secret to happy living is giving”. Adam is an Athlete Ambassador for Right to Play, an international non-profit organization that uses play to rehabilitate youth in disadvantaged regions of the world. He is a board member of the organization Clean Air Champions and speaks to groups across Canada about the benefits of taking care of human and environmental health. Adam is a Play It Cool Athlete Representative with the David Suzuki Foundation and The Climate Project Canada, and a Team Power Smart Leader with BC Hydro. He is a Big Brother, with Big Brothers and Big Sisters, and also serves on the Canadian Olympic Committee, where he supports the goal of spreading the benefits of sport across a broader Canadian society.
Organizations that Adam has spoken to include HSBC Bank Canada, CBC, EPCOR, the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia, DFH Real Estate, the University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business, Ledcor, the Government of British Columbia, KidSport Canada, Royal Military College, The David Suzuki Foundation, Strathcona County, Alberta, Right To Play and the Gold Medal Plates Galas, among dozens of others.
Always eager to take on new challenges, Adam will row across the Atlantic Ocean in Dec. 2011 to advocate for health and wellness and to raise funds for Right To Play.
Adam holds a degree in Geotechnical Engineering and Hydrology from Stanford University.
Presentations Include:
Self-Empowerment for Success
Four-time World Champion, Olympic Gold Medalist and High Performance Coach, Adam Kreek challenges audiences to attain success and fulfillment simultaneously. In this thought-provoking keynote, Kreek describes key tools and techniques used by Olympians to achieve. In his hallmark down-to-earth manner, Kreek illustrates how we can each harness the lessons of high performance sport and apply them across contexts of workforce performance, team dynamics, and day-to-day tasks. Integral to success is finding fulfillment, an essential component of sustaining long-term achievement and wellbeing. Organizations filled with team members living beyond success are sustainable. Fulfilled individuals do not burn out - they burn brighter.
A captive audience is guaranteed; after a compelling introduction of what if feels like to compete at the Olympic Games, Kreek rallies the crowd and has each member singing the National Anthem at the top of their lungs!
I have found personal fulfillment and more traditional success than I could have imagined by sharing the fruits and knowledge of my labor with the broader community. Martin Luther King said it best: "Success is judged by the quality of our relationship with humanity." Live beyond success and engage in activity that truly satisfies and energizes you!
Shared Leadership: Lessons in Effective Teamwork
Successful teams are filled with leaders. Two-time Olympian and Entrepreneur Adam Kreek shares valuable insights on fostering impactful leadership in competitive team environments.
From 2001 to 2008, Kreek's team lost and won publicly on the world stage, learning powerful lessons in the process. Kreek shares a spectrum of tools and techniques gained from personal experience and his studies of high performance. His on-stage energy and innovative engagement activities entertain and inspire diverse audiences. From participant powered high performance rowing simulations to experiential visualization learning, there is never a dull or uninformative moment in Kreek's teaching. His ability to mobilize audience liveliness is remarkable and leaves an impactful memory for individuals and organizations.
Learn how to identify and sustain focus on a clear vision and ensure engagement of all team members. Capitalize on personal strengths and identify distinct talents within your team, apply these to maximize team output and effective collaboration. Recognize how leadership and teamwork are synergistic: great leaders find personal achievement in group success, while superior team players choose to apply their potential in group leadership roles. Realize the power of resilient team cohesion through shared success.
Optimum Health and Wellness for Peak Performance
From a childhood plagued with ADHD, to Stanford University and the Olympic Gold Medal podium, Kreek's journey to success required a learned understanding of the integral relationship between nutrition, physical health, mental wellness and human potential. A Healthier You offers science based, gold medal strategies for sustained health and wellness. Kreek shares his intimate understanding of what it takes to reach optimum health and the advantages once attained.
Introducing a concept he calls Habitual Momentum, Kreek describes step-by-step techniques and rituals to manage stress, non-productivity and mini-crises while striving towards work-life satisfaction. His strategies to circumvent bouts of inactivity ensure mental and physical wellness take precedence.
Kreek's true story of excellence is inspirational and a testament to the power of human potential when we exercise belief in possibility and an attitude of positive realism. Audiences are left armed with the tools and motivation to transform their wellbeing.
Be a Catalyst for Change
Insights into creating real and lasting positive change in our communities, workplaces and homes…
2010 Canadian Athlete Leader of the Year, and 2009 Recipient of the Athletes CAN social responsibility Award, Adam empowers his listeners to create better communities, stronger relationships and authentic personal well-being. From a modest and average background, Adam makes a big difference because he believes that the secret to living is giving. In a heart-warming and inspiring keynote, Adam answers the question often asked of him: “Community and volunteer work require time I don't have. But I know this work gives me an elevated feeling of well-being. You're extremely busy and do it. How can I?” The answer is surprisingly simple, almost serendipitous and applicable to all walks of life.
Keynote Deliverables:
• Audiences are inspired to take small steps, or short bursts of focus towards, a cause they believe in.
• Audiences learn about their own internal energy balance and are encouraged to focus on activities that give them energy.
• Audiences will be emotionally awakened by stories from Adam’s volunteer experiences with Big Brothers & Sisters, the Canadian Olympic Committee, Right to Play, Clean Air Champions and others.
• Audiences leave with a strengthened ethic of volunteerism and social responsibility.
• Audiences learn to become catalysts for change in their own organizations, teams, communities and families.