Bob Wilkie

Bob Wilkie

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Calgary, Alberta

NHL Hockey Player Mental Health | Peak Performance Expert

  • Videos
  • Expertise
  • Business & Corporate
  • Business Management
  • HR & Corporate Culture
  • Change Management
  • Employee Management
  • Employee Engagement
  • Health & Wellness
  • Leadership Development

BOB WILKIE BIOGRAPHY

Growing up playing hockey and eventually reaching his dream of playing in the NHL, the culture of the sport ingrained unhealthy habits and characteristics in Bob Wilkie. He experienced many unhealthy power differentials with coaches and bullying by his teammates. As a result, he began to shut down his emotions and became untrusting about his living environment.

In 1986 Bob Wilkie was projected to be drafted in the first round of the NHL amateur draft. Bob Wilkie was traded at the beginning of the season to the Swift Current Broncos of the WHL. Later that year, the team suffered a tragic bus accident which claimed the lives of four of his teammates. Bob Wilkie watched one of his teammates take his last dying breath. All of this happened under the guidance of convicted child molester Graham James.

Bob Wilkie was drafted later that year, 41st overall, to the Detroit Red Wings. In 1989 while still a member of the Broncos, he was a part of the Memorial Cup Winning team closing a significant chapter in his life. Bob’s trauma led him through a complicated professional career. Bob Wilkie struggled with alcoholism, depression, anxiety attacks and suicidal tendencies. Nevertheless, Bob Wilkie played professionally for ten years and, was a part of two major championships, overcame two back surgeries, all while suffering in silence.

When Bob retired from the sport, he had to reinvent himself. Bob grew up in an entrepreneurial home and began his own business while living in Hershey, Pennsylvania. But unfortunately, he lost his first business to his inexperience and had to declare bankruptcy, he and his wife lost a son, and his battle with his mental health continued. As a young father, Bob Wilkie realized that he needed to find help and began his search to relieve the pain he was living in. His journey allowed him to work with some of the greatest minds in mental health and personal growth. Bob Wilkie began his journey of helping others when he started I Got Mind in 2008.

Since then, Bob Wilkie has shared his story with thousands of individuals around the World. Bob Wilkie’s keynotes are thought-provoking and emotional. Bob connects to his audience through his story. Bob has overcome many obstacles and continues to be a risk-taker. Everyone who attends one of Bob’s keynotes is touched emotionally by his ability to be vulnerable. The keynotes are motivational because of Bob’s message to keep moving forward regardless of the challenges that life may throw at you.

Bob Wilkie Related Media

Media Interview

CBC

SBC

Mental Health Kids Hockey Canada - I Got Mind
View

Media Interview

Detroit News

SBC

Former Red Wing Helps Athletes Tackle Mental Health Issues
View

Podcast

Calgary NEXT

Play

David Wallach and Tara McCool

Calgary NEXT with Bob Willkie

Bob Wilkie Related Content

Book

Sudden Death: The Incredible Saga of the Swift Current Broncos
Sudden Death: The Incredible Saga of the Swift Current Broncos
On December 30, 1986, the Swift Current Broncos' bus crashed in horrible weather conditions, and four players died. In 1989 they won the Memorial Cup. In 1996 former Broncos coach Graham James was charged with sexual assault. This book tells the stories of some of the people involved in these...

Articles & Magazine Feature

NHL abuse allegations present a chance to talk to kids about safety

CBC

Wilkie says he now encourages conversations — no matter how awkward — between parents, kids and coaches. He started I Got Mind, an educational program that promotes good mental health for those involved in sports. "We educate the young athletes, the coaches and the parents on how to manage the different challenges that they have so they don't create, unfortunately, lifelong illnesses, stress, anxiety, depression, addiction — all things, unfortunately, that happen with the experience of sport," said Wilkie.
View

Articles & Magazine Feature

Ex-Red Wing Bob Wilkie helps athletes tackle mental health issues

The Detroit News

It had not been an easy life. And then, the dream unraveled. Once a top draft choice of the Red Wings, Bob Wilkie stared across an abyss of anguish. Sitting in the Detroit Plaza Hotel in February 1994, he thought no one would care, or much notice, if he ended his life. How, he thought, could he have let so many people down? “That was the place I found myself,” said Wilkie, whom the Wings selected in the second round, 41st overall, in the 1987 draft. Despite being so highly touted, he played only eight games with the Wings and 10 a few seasons later with the Philadelphia Flyers.
View

Articles & Magazine Feature

A stalwart promoting mental wellness & performance through social and emotional learning in business, education, and sport: I Got Mind

The Silicon Review

View

Articles & Magazine Feature

The Full Show: More reaction to Habs’ controversial draft selection, Safety and utility of trucks & Understanding trauma to help athletes

SBC

View

Bob Wilkie Topic Presentations

Bob Wilkie Calgary, Alberta, Canada delivers Keynote presentations, workshops, fireside chats, moderated Q&A and other presentation formats on a wide variety of topics.Each presentation is unique, customized and tailored for audiences, industries, conferences, and event formats.

It's Lonely at the Top

Getting Mental Wealthy

Drop Your Pack

Fear and Motivation

Attitude Is Everything

Your Culture Is Your Brand

Wellness = Performance

Team Dynamics

Bob Wilkie Speaking Testimonials

Bob was a pleasure to hear from and engage with, and his passion for improving mental wellness certainly came across during the presentation. You can tell he cares. I appreciated the helpful, simple tips.

Chamber of Commerce Hanna Alberta

Thank you, Bob and I Got Mind, for the exceptional presentation regarding life’s burdens and our ability or inability to manage them. The weight of the burdens we carry and how as individuals, we deal with them is something that is far too often overlooked by many. The impact of this presentation on our group was evident from the moment Bob began to speak – very powerful stuff!

Scott

City of Calgary Engineers

Bob’s presentation It’s Lonely at The Top was very impactful and relevant. Becoming a judge is an arduous journey, and Bob’s story related to all of our judges. The pressures of being at the top can take a toll, and Bob’s vulnerability has opened discussions with our group that has proven to be very helpful to all.

Chair
Alberta Judges Education

I wanted to give our group something special as we kicked off our annual planning conference. Bob’s keynote on Fear and Motivation was more impacting than I had hoped for. We found ourselves talking more about that during our planning session that planning. Thanks, Bob for opening the doors of communication for our group.

Chair
Investors Group Alberta

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FAQ

How to book Bob Wilkie for an event?

Bob Wilkie keynote speaker is an expert presenter and has a wide range of experience speaking to a wide variety of audiences and organizations. Bob Wilkie delivers keynotes, workshops & training sessions. They may also host or emcee events. Hire Bob Wilkie from Calgary, Alberta for your event to inspire the audience to take action and make change in their work and their lives. Your workplace will benefit from our keynote speaker and their keynote talks and speeches will shift the mindsets or behaviours for the audience members in Canada. 

Interested in booking Bob Wilkie for an event?

Are you looking to hire Bob Wilkie for your event? Bob Wilkie Calgary, Alberta is a dynamic and engaging speaker that offers audiences researched content paired with expertise and a dynamic speaking ability. Bob Wilkie is also a Canadian corporate consultant and coach and facilitates workshops and training sessions for a corporate audience. Bob Wilkie is an expert keynote presenter and speaks on wide variety of topics. Hiring a great speaker for your event is important and working with a thought leader like Bob Wilkie from Speakers Canada's roster will engage audiences into the content of the presentation to bring awareness and a fresh perspective for their approach to their work and their lives. Book Bob Wilkie to educate, motivate and activate the audience through an interactive and entertaining presentation at corporate meetings and gatherings.

Known as a popular key note speaker in Canada, Bob Wilkie creates life changing experiences for the participants with practical insights and strategic advice they can implement right after the session. Working with one of our leading expert speaker like Bob Wilkie from Calgary, Alberta offers organizations a fresh perspective to assist the people of the organization. No matter if it is a government, association, or business crowd, Bob Wilkie is a perfect speaker for your event. Through unique practical insights for trending topics and years experience speaking to different organizations, Bob Wilkie focuses on changing individuals to make better decisions at work and their lives. No matter if you are holding an in person or virtual event, having an influential speaker such as Bob Wilkie will engage, motivate, and activate the audience to make a change in their lives and inspire action for results to meet organizational goals. Your workforce will benefit from Bob Wilkie's presentations and speeches, with measurable results set to shift the people of the organization and core direction of the company. Book Bob Wilkie speaker for your annual general meeting, conference, summit, or convention in Canada.

How much does it cost to hire Bob Wilkie for a keynote presentation or virtual event?

Bob Wilkie is an expert professional key note speaker with a lot of experience speaking and delivering engaging talks to organizations and audiences in Canada. Each of Speaker Bureau Canada's talent have different ways to assess their fees, and Bob Wilkie speaker fee ranges depending on the size of the audience, event format (in person or virtual), event location, and if the organization booking them is a non profit, association, government department/government agency or business/corporation. The speakers we work with are flexible with their fees, and it is important for us to learn more about your event before we approach them, as it is our role to work for you, and to help you find a speaker within budget. 

Please contact Speakers Bureau of Canada and provide us with your event details so that we can contact Bob Wilkie to check availability or confirm the pricing and associated costs to hire a great speaker like Bob Wilkie for your event. As Bob Wilkie's agent and as a Canadian top speaker bureau and talent agency for speakers, we are able to propose each event opportunity from each host organization's behalf to try to help you get in touch with Bob Wilkie and confirm them for your in person or online meeting/event. We can also provide and advise on the booking process and potentially negotiate their fee. Speakers Canada is a client focused speaker agency, and we work for you in finding good speakers for your team meetings and booking processes.

Bob Wilkie Disclaimer

Speakers Bureau Canada assists companies and event planning teams seeking to hire talent like Bob Wilkie for speaking engagements, virtual meetings, conference appearances, training sessions and workshops facilitations. Our Canadian speakers bureau does not claim to exclusively represent Bob Wilkie, however they are represented by Speakers Canada, and we work with them closely for their Canadian speaking opportunities and bookings. As Canada's top speaker bureau, we represent Canadian motivational keynote speakers and professional guest speakers that will be available on your upcoming events date and location that are withing the budget. Our talented bureau speaker booking agency can help find business speakers or celebrity speakers that aligns with each organization, audience, event theme and the topic themes you hope for the speaker to address in their presentation. 

When SBC receives a request to book Bob Wilkie we provide you with their speaker fees, travel costs and check their schedules. We work closely with the host organization's event planning team and the speaker to handle the logistics and to relay or negotiate associated costs. Our talented team members then will work with our talent directly or their agent/manager/assistant to confirm the Canadian speaker fee and travel expenses, so that event planning teams can receive an official quote for the speaker appearing at the event. Speaker fees and travel costs vary per speaker and our role is to contact Bob Wilkie about your event, after we have connected with the event organizers to learn all the event details and/or conference program. Each booking request is unique since session durations and audience sizes can vary which may affect the speaker's fees. If you are looking to hire Bob Wilkie, we recommend filling out the booking request form so a booking agent from Speakers Bureau Canada can get in touch with our talent to help you coordinate with your team to engage the speaker for a successful event.