JR LaRose

JR LaRose

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Vancouver, British Columbia

CFL Champion | Resilience | Equity & Indigenous Inclusion Expert

  • Videos
  • Expertise
  • Cultural Diversity
  • Diversity & Inclusion
  • Inclusive Leadership
  • Mindset & Goal Accomplishment
  • Mental Health
  • Health & Human Performance
  • Influence & Negotiation
  • Indigenous

JR LAROSE BIOGRAPHY

JR LaRose is a 2011 Grey Cup champion. A proud member of One Arrow First Nation, he is an ambassador for Aboriginal peoples. He is an accomplished speaker who has facilitated over 400 presentations throughout Canada and the United States since 2008. A proud family man JR’s path to success has been a long and hard-fought journey. Growing up in a low incoming housing in Edmonton’s inner city didn’t exactly set JR LaRose up for success but it did give him the drive to succeed. JR grew up without a father and did not have the opportunity to meet him since his dad is of Nigerian heritage was deported back to his native country before JR was born.

The family JR LaRose did have, he watched struggle with drug addiction, specifically his Mom. JR’s Mom, Barbara, was a survivor of the Residential School system, where many First Nations children were torn from their families and culture only to be abused by those who promised them an “enlightened life”. The abuse experienced by Barbara not only affected her life but also the lives of her children. Turning to drugs and alcohol to numb the pain of an abused past, turned Barbara away from her responsibilities as a mother to her two children. Like so many of his peers growing up in high risk environments, JR LaRose faced a number of challenges with self value, self worth and had an anger management problem. Without the guidance and support of parents, JR easily could have fallen into a life of crime and drugs.

But, then a door opened to him. A teacher suggested he become involved in a sport to help channel his aggression. JR LaRose was soon on the football field and dedicating his life to the sport. Coaches became a steadying influence in his life as a youngster and that through the power of sport, through the power of sport JR’s life was to take a new path. Being taken in by a family at a local church was the catalyst to a new life for JR. The family that took JR LaRose in introduced him to the sport that would forever change his life. Starting football at the age of 15 gave JR LaRose an opportunity to develop skills and build confidence. It would also be the beginning of a long and passion filled career as a football player. In 2005, he originally signed with the Edmonton Elks as a territorial protected junior.

JR LaRose signed with the Edmonton Eskimos as a territorial protected junior for the Canadian Junior Football League’s Edmonton Huskies, where his team won the Canadian Bowl. He then played in the Canadian Football League for the Edmonton Elks and the BC Lions. As a professional football player in the Canadian Football League for nine years. He played four seasons with the Edmonton Eskimos. In 2008, he had is final season with the Elks In his final season with the team (2008), he severely broke his leg and ended his career with the Eskimos.

In 2010, JR LaRose tried out for the BC Lions and made it as a backup safety, although within playing 15 games with the team he broke the same leg again. After rehabilitation he was able to play in the 2011 season as starting safety, but in the last pre-season game he broke his forearm. LaRose was able make it back for playoffs of the 2011 season and help the BC Lions to victory, winning the 2011 Grey Cup, a moment he pursued for his whole life as his biggest dream. He played two more seasons with the Lions, which included what is said to be his best season of his career. In 2013, LaRose started all 18 regular seasons games as well as picking off his first interception. After his 2013 season, he set his consecutive games played streak to 44, and beat many of his personal best records for tackles, knockdowns and fumbles. This year JR completed his ninth season in the CFL with the BC Lions and retired in 2014.

JR LaRose strives to achieve success not only on the field but off as well. His pride in his Native heritage and his heart for his fellow Aboriginal people was the inspiration behind his speaking tour. JR is a gifted speaker, whose story of redemption is universal, breaking down racial and generational walls, bringing forth a sense of hope and humanity. JR’s determination not to let a dark past rob him of a bright future has inspired thousands. He hopes to inspire thousands more through sharing his story and is on a mission to change the outcomes for those who face systematic racism, oppression or abuse. He brings the term “resilience” to have a whole new meaning, and is able to share the lessons he has learned along his journey to inspire new ways of thinking about ourselves or each other.

Recognized by his team as a community leader, JR LaRose has been awarded the team’s Jamie Taras award of Community Service for four straight years. He has also been nominated for the Canadian Football League’s Tom Pate award four times, which honors the player who demonstrates outstanding sportsmanship, contribution to his team, contribution to his community, and contribution to his association. JR is a spokesperson for BC’s Be More Than A Bystander campaign. JR travels with other speakers to bring awareness and to educate youth on the issue of violence against women. JR hopes to continue to contribute to his team and his community as he endeavors on new ventures; always striving, always achieving.

JR LaRose Related Media

Coming Soon!

JR LaRose Related Content

Coming Soon!

JR LaRose Topic Presentations

Raising Up Warriors

  • Virtual PresentationKeynote PresentationWorkshop SessionHalf Day TrainingFull Day Training
  • In his Warrior presentation JR challenges stereotypical images of masculinity and calls boys and men to rise up to be the warriors they were born to be. JR facilitates workshops and raises awareness, educating people on what violence against women looks like and what we all can do to stop it. JR is committed to this cause because it is a personal one. As a young boy he witnessed his mother and sister suffer violence at the hands of men in their lives. JR is an ambassador for BC’s Ending the Violence Association, Be More Than a Bystander campaign.

Overcoming Obstacles

Healing After Sexual Abuse

Alozie: My Great Journey To Redemption

JR LaRose Speaking Testimonials

Thanks JR for providing a powerful message and role modelling for the young warriors at our last Warrior camp.

Preston Guno

Northern 1st Nations child and family service council

I had the opportunity to work with JR for five years in delivering positive and impactful presentations to youth across the province of BC. JR exemplified diversity in his ability to carry any of our numerous initiatives and always represented our brand well in the community.

Sean McGarva

Sr. Coordinator, Community Relations
BC Lions

JR LaRose Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

JR LaRose Keynote Speaker delivers customized and tailored keynote presentations, workshops, and training sessions on a wide variety of topics. Each presentation is unique and are designed for a variety of audiences, industries, conferences, and event formats.

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FAQ

How to book JR LaRose for an event?

JR LaRose keynote speaker is an expert presenter and has a wide range of experience speaking to a wide variety of audiences and organizations. JR LaRose delivers keynotes, workshops & training sessions. They may also host or emcee events. Hire JR LaRose from Vancouver, British Columbia 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 JR LaRose for an event?

Are you looking to hire JR LaRose for your event? JR LaRose Vancouver, British Columbia is a dynamic and engaging speaker that offers audiences researched content paired with expertise and a dynamic speaking ability. JR LaRose is also a Canadian corporate consultant and coach and facilitates workshops and training sessions for a corporate audience. JR LaRose 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 JR LaRose 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 JR LaRose 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, JR LaRose 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 JR LaRose from Vancouver, British Columbia offers organizations a fresh perspective to assist the people of the organization. No matter if it is a government, association, or business crowd, JR LaRose is a perfect speaker for your event. Through unique practical insights for trending topics and years experience speaking to different organizations, JR LaRose 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 JR LaRose 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 JR LaRose's presentations and speeches, with measurable results set to shift the people of the organization and core direction of the company. Book JR LaRose speaker for your annual general meeting, conference, summit, or convention in Canada.

How much does it cost to hire JR LaRose for a keynote presentation or virtual event?

JR LaRose 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 JR LaRose 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 JR LaRose to check availability or confirm the pricing and associated costs to hire a great speaker like JR LaRose for your event. As JR LaRose'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 JR LaRose 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.

JR LaRose Disclaimer

Speakers Bureau Canada assists companies and event planning teams seeking to hire talent like JR LaRose for speaking engagements, virtual meetings, conference appearances, training sessions and workshops facilitations. Our Canadian speakers bureau does not claim to exclusively represent JR LaRose, 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 JR LaRose 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 JR LaRose 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 JR LaRose, 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.