From sporadic gigs to consistent $5–10K corporate stages.
Colin Judge
How a Paralympic athlete with a powerful story turned "you are so inspiring" into a real, bookable speaking career.
Industry
Sport, disability, confidence & resilience
Country
Ireland
Role
Paralympic Table Tennis Player
Followers gained
3K → 60K
Corporate speaking fee
€5–10K
Stages booked
TEDx + Meta
Before
Inspiring everyone, paid by no one
As a man with no legs and one arm, everywhere he went people said the same thing: "you are so inspiring." Colin shared his story sporadically — universities, schools, the occasional corporate client. Mostly unpaid. He didn't see how speaking could become something bigger, didn't know how to get in front of corporate organisations, and his mindset was: "I tell my story and people find it inspiring… but I don't feel like this is worth money right now." On top of that, he wasn't fully ready to put himself out there online — afraid of what people, especially people who knew him, would think.
The challenge
A chronological life story is not a keynote
Colin's life story was powerful, but a captivating keynote needs a clear throughline, emotional tension, transformation and strong takeaways. Telling events in order wasn't going to book him on corporate stages.
What we built
Confidence, structure, paid positioning
The work wasn't about making him a different person — it was about helping him trust that who he already is was enough. We focused on the "season of suck", a safe space to practice, and the idea that confidence doesn't come before you start, it's built through movement. On the keynote itself we built a real throughline, emotional rhythm and strong takeaways. We worked on delivery — more dynamic on stage, sharper speaking technique — without changing his personality. And once the talk landed, opportunities started referring opportunities.
“
"I only had 3,000 followers when I met Laurie. Now I'm at over 60,000, getting the fees I wanted and securing opportunities I used to only dream about. I always dreamed about the big stages, but I didn't feel ready yet. Laurie helped me stop overthinking and start showing up. Now I'm speaking every week, getting booked internationally and building a real speaking career from my story."
After
3–6 stages a month, TEDx done, Meta booked
Colin now speaks 3–6 times a month, gets consistent €5K–10K fees, recently did his TEDx Talk and got invited to speak at Meta. One of the most unexpected outcomes: he now receives DMs daily from people sharing how much his videos on social media impacted them.
