Joe Roberts
Joe went from Skid Row to CEO in 12 years. With this experience, he inspires a fresh perspective to common problems everyone faces. Joe connects people to purpose and redefines what’s truly possible.
On a cold, rainy day in 1989, a man named Gus sat down on a park bench next to Joe Roberts. Gus took in Joe’s dirty clothes, disheveled hair, and shopping cart and decided to say something.
“There’s more to you than you can see.”
Those eight words changed the trajectory of Joe Robert’s life.
At the time, Joe was a homeless opiate addict. He had no money, no prospects, and no belief in his own potential.
He’d been living on the streets of Vancouver, struggling with opiate addiction and mental health issues, in large part due to childhood trauma and abuse.
It was hard for Joe to see his own possibility.
As he sat there in the rain, he never would have imagined that within 12 years, he’d be featured on the cover of Canadian Business as one of the most successful entrepreneurs in Canada.
But Gus’s words opened Joe’s mind to the idea that maybe, just maybe, he had the potential for more.
That one spark of possibility changed everything.
It wasn’t an easy journey, but Joe got sober. He went back to college. He graduated with honors. He started a career in sales and then built from the ground up a successful media company. His dramatic turnaround earned him the moniker The Skid Row CEO.
All because Gus had shown him a glimpse of the unlimited potential that had always existed inside of him.
But as Joe became extraordinarily successful, he also became increasingly aware that his work wasn’t connected to his purpose.
He wanted to help others the same way he’d been helped. So he left his job and set out on a mission to make a difference.
He’d already started sharing his story, but he wondered if he could do more to help the younger versions of himself living on the street.
So in 2016, he started pushing a shopping cart again- this time for the thousands of homeless youth who needed help to achieve their potential, just like he had.
He pushed that shopping cart for 17 months across the entire width of North America.
And it worked. After walking almost 12 million steps through rain, snow, and shine, The Push for Change campaign made a tangible impact on Canada’s homeless youth. It raised awareness and funds and, more importantly, inspired permanent improvements to federal programs for vulnerable children.
Along the way, Joe found his belief in the power of possibility strengthened exponentially. He found that the more he embraced the possibility of a challenge - climbing the next hill, walking through the rain, speaking to the nation - the more he was inspired to go further.
Everything he needed to overcome the next challenge or change he already had.
It’s this belief that drives Joe’s work. Everyone has unlimited potential: they just need to realize it.
Joe’s goal with every speaking engagement is to inspire that same belief in others. For over 25 years, he has shared his powerful story with thousands of people in every industry imaginable.
His message is simple. Yes, he overcame catastrophic failure to achieve extraordinary success, but he’s not special. Everyone has this same unlimited potential.
Sometimes, they just need to hear, “There’s more to you than you can see.”
So that’s what Joe tells them.
Because when you believe in yourself, anything is possible.
On a cold, rainy day in 1989, a man named Gus sat down on a park bench next to Joe Roberts. Gus took in Joe’s dirty clothes, disheveled hair, and shopping cart and decided to say something.
“There’s more to you than you can see.”
Those eight words changed the trajectory of Joe Robert’s life.
At the time, Joe was a homeless opiate addict. He had no money, no prospects, and no belief in his own potential.
He’d been living on the streets of Vancouver, struggling with opiate addiction and mental health issues, in large part due to childhood trauma and abuse.
It was hard for Joe to see his own possibility.
As he sat there in the rain, he never would have imagined that within 12 years, he’d be featured on the cover of Canadian Business as one of the most successful entrepreneurs in Canada.
But Gus’s words opened Joe’s mind to the idea that maybe, just maybe, he had the potential for more.
That one spark of possibility changed everything.
It wasn’t an easy journey, but Joe got sober. He went back to college. He graduated with honors. He started a career in sales and then built from the ground up a successful media company. His dramatic turnaround earned him the moniker The Skid Row CEO.
All because Gus had shown him a glimpse of the unlimited potential that had always existed inside of him.
But as Joe became extraordinarily successful, he also became increasingly aware that his work wasn’t connected to his purpose.
He wanted to help others the same way he’d been helped. So he left his job and set out on a mission to make a difference.
He’d already started sharing his story, but he wondered if he could do more to help the younger versions of himself living on the street.
So in 2016, he started pushing a shopping cart again- this time for the thousands of homeless youth who needed help to achieve their potential, just like he had.
He pushed that shopping cart for 17 months across the entire width of North America.
And it worked. After walking almost 12 million steps through rain, snow, and shine, The Push for Change campaign made a tangible impact on Canada’s homeless youth. It raised awareness and funds and, more importantly, inspired permanent improvements to federal programs for vulnerable children.
Along the way, Joe found his belief in the power of possibility strengthened exponentially. He found that the more he embraced the possibility of a challenge - climbing the next hill, walking through the rain, speaking to the nation - the more he was inspired to go further.
Everything he needed to overcome the next challenge or change he already had.
It’s this belief that drives Joe’s work. Everyone has unlimited potential: they just need to realize it.
Joe’s goal with every speaking engagement is to inspire that same belief in others. For over 25 years, he has shared his powerful story with thousands of people in every industry imaginable.
His message is simple. Yes, he overcame catastrophic failure to achieve extraordinary success, but he’s not special. Everyone has this same unlimited potential.
Sometimes, they just need to hear, “There’s more to you than you can see.”
So that’s what Joe tells them.
Because when you believe in yourself, anything is possible.
From Skid Row to CEO | Building Resilience One Step at a Time
Format: 60-90 minute Keynote, In Person or Virtual
In this empowering keynote, Joe teaches audiences how to build the resiliency needed to succeed in the face of adversity and change by taking small, attainable steps. Sharing the story of his catastrophic failure and extraordinary success, Joe inspires audiences to see beyond their perceived limitations to overcome life’s challenges and embrace change.
This program is...
There’s More to You Than You Can See | Collapsing Mental Health Stigma
Format: 60-90 minute Keynote, In Person or Virtual
In this eye-opening keynote, Joe shares the critical role family and community support played in helping him overcome a lifelong struggle with substance use disorder and mental illness. Through the lens of his incredible transformation, audiences will be reminded that every person, including themselves, has enormous potential and will leave inspired to create safe spaces for others to learn, grow, and...
To Protect and Serve | The Life-changing Potential of Every Interaction
Format: 60-90 minute Keynote, In Person or Virtual
In this inspiring keynote, Joe Roberts highlights the life-changing impact first responders can have in every interaction through his own remarkable story. What was a typical distress call for Constable Scott MacLeod (another man with a gun threatening suicide) became a moment that changed Joe’s life forever. Joe’s story reminds first responders of the power of every interaction and the deep impact...
Safety - It’s About the Little Things | Leading and Inspiring a Culture of Safety
Format: 60-90 minute Keynote, In Person or Virtual
In this keynote, Joe explores the connection between mental safety and physical safety and shares how anyone can connect their personal purpose to safer behavior. As Joe walks the audience through his first poor choice and how it led to a journey of degradation and despair, they will understand why people make unsafe decisions and how they can intentionally build physically and mentally safer...
The Push for Change | How to Lead, Inspire, and Engage on Purpose
Format: 60-90 minute Keynote, In Person or Virtual
Pushing a shopping cart 9,064km (5,625 miles) across Canada may sound impossible, but amazing things happen when passion aligns with purpose! Joe shares lessons learned from The Push for Change, a 17-month walk across Canada to support the end of youth homelessness. As audiences follow along with his journey, they‘ll learn practical insights for developing a purpose-driven leadership that inspires and...
Energy Health Management | How to stress-proof your life and build energy health and resilience
Format: 90-120 minute Workshop, In Person or Virtual
Optimal health & performance aren’t just about hard work and accountability; they’re also about managing the normal limits of output. Using the latest research from Dr. Sean Richardson and his own experience, Joe shows participants how to develop discipline around recovery and build resilient mindsets that boost productivity and stress-proof their lives.
Your leaders...
Transforming Emotions | How to respond to difficult emotions during stress, challenge, and change
Format: 90-120 minute Workshop, In person or virtual
Research on effective emotional transition shows that individuals, businesses, and organizations need the right tools to guide themselves and others through the normal emotional response to stress, change, and challenge. Using Dr. Sean Richardson’s PhD research, this session helps participants transform their reactions to challenge and change into powerful foundations for possibility, growth, and...
The Brain Science Behind Achievement | A practical system for reaching uncommon, audacious goals
Format: 90-120 minute Workshop, In Person or Virtual
This life-changing workshop equips participants with the same systems and brain science Joe used to walk the length of Canada during the Push for Change campaign. As participants learn to eradicate their illusions, they will uncover the courage needed to go after their most audacious goals.
Your ambitious goal-setters will learn to:
- Understand where...
