Born and bred in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Dee Bleakley moved to Scotland as a 15 year old and very quickly made a name for himself. Within just eighteen months of moving, in one of the biggest schools in the country and (despite having an Irish accent) regularly spoke at assemblies and key events in his final school year.

 

 

A former table tennis national champion back in Belfast and a sport enthusiast generally- Dee believes the hard work and dedication required to be successful in high level sport, have huge parallels in life and he uses his level of high experience in sports to promote mental toughness and the determination it takes to be successful. 

 

 

By age 21 with a degree in Environmental Science and also Education- Dee or ‘Mr.Bleakley’ became a Geography teacher. Working with young people is something he is extremely passionate about but he will be the first to admit his favourite part of teaching wasn’t speaking to young people about geogrpahy; but rather, speaking to young people about how to make the most of school, discussing their goals, aspirations and ultimately how to go about making them happen.

 

 

 

He decided to make the move to full time speaking, travelling all over the UK working with schools, businesses and corporate clients with one of the UK's leading motivational training companies. Dee picked up two 'Speaker of Year' awards in his only two full calendar years at the company.

 

 

Being spontaneous and silly, living for the moment, and enjoying each day as it comes are values Dee strives to hold onto in life. He has always been a positive, cheery and down to earth person. Learning to have the will to face adversity head on, making the most of any situation and turn challenges into opportunities is something central to his character.

 

 

As a speaker, Dee likes to keep things at an up-beat tempo, keeping participants on their toes in a fun, humorous and engaging manner whilst simultaneously motivating delegates to ultimately make the right choices for themselves.