 Ahead of his "Dare to Dream BIG" school tour in Peterborough, ON, Chris Gray sat down with Scott Arnold of Oldies 96.7 & FREQ 90.5 and talked about his life as a traveling speaker and professional wrestler.
You can read the entire article and here audio from the interview HERE
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 Chris Gray will be one of the keynote speakers for the Alberta Student Leadership Conference in Olds, Alberta in May 2026. This year's theme is "Rooted in Leadership: Growing for Tomorrow." "I'm humbled and honoured to be a part of this year's speaker line-up," Chris said. "ASLC has a long history of impacting student leaders in a very meaningful and powerful way. I'm grateful that this year I get to be a part of that positive impact." Chris will also be touring schools around the province before and after the conference. Any schools in Alberta interested in booking Chris from May 1st to May 8th, can reach out to him at [email protected]   Professional Canadian Speaker Chris Gray had the following to say on his social media about his upcoming tour of New Brunswick in March:
"Let’s go New Brunswick! JOIN THE TOUR Monday March 9 - Friday March 13 I’m heading out for a full week speaking tour across the beautiful province of New Brunswick this March. I’ll be visiting some amazing schools in some beautiful towns like Grand Falls, Miramichi, Rexton, and Saint John. ONE SPOT REMAINS! If your school would like to snatch up the final spot on the tour, drop me a request at [email protected] I’m looking to make an IMPACT in New Brunswick this March! Chris Gray to lead a one of a kind workshop at the Creator Olympics in Rosetown, Saskatchewan1/21/2026  The Creator Olympics is a program of Sun West School Division that encourages creative activity of all kinds and provides opportunities for students to acquire and enhance their creative skills.
Coming March 20! DROP THE MIC: The Art and Science of Motivational Speaking Introduction Workshop Trainer: Motivational Speaker Extraordinaire Chris Gray Drop the Mic: the Art and Science of Motivational Speaking is a one-day workshop taking place on March 20, 2026, at Rosetown Central High School (RCHS). Training at the workshop is provided by Chris Gray, a motivational speaker who has spoken to thousands of young people across North America. Elements of the Workshop and Follow up Participants must have developed a draft for an approximately ten-minute speech that they can deliver at the workshop to Chris Gray and the other participants. All participants must be at RCHS prior to 8:55am, where there will go to the RCHS gym and watch an assembly presentation by Chris Gray to all RCHS students. Following the assembly, participants will go to a RCHS classroom where they will spend the remainder of the day until about3:00 pm. There will be ice-breaker session at the beginning that covers basis public speaking skills. The participants will receive feedback from Chris Gray and can get to know one another. During the remainder of the day, each participant will have the opportunity to give their speech and receive feedback, ideas, and techniques from Chris Gray to help them improve their presentations and skills. A complimentary lunch will be provided to participants at 12:00 noon. Lunch hour will only go to 12:30 pm At the end of the day, the participants will select an evening date in May 2026 where the participants will present a polished version of their speeches in a Creator Olympics Showcase. This will be an open public event in Rosetown, in which participants are encouraged to invite their family and friends. Who can Participate? All Sun West Grades 8-12 students can apply to participate. Applications require the student to complete an application, provide a teacher reference (who is not a parent or family member), and provide a brief description of their topic and an outline of the speech they would deliver at the workshop. The deadline for applications is February 27, 2026. Click here for the application form Click here for the teacher reference form Students selected to participate in the Workshop, must provide a draft copy of their speech to be delivered at the workshop by March 16, 2026. Students who do not provide a complete draft by March 16 will not be allowed to participate in the Workshop. The number of spots for participants is limited. Deadlines will be strictly followed. Sun West will be in contact with the parents and schools of each participant once they are selected to coordinate their travel to, and from, Rosetown on March 20. Potential Speech Topics Students can develop speeches on topics of their own choice but are encouraged to speak on subjects they are passionate about and that can inspire others. The following are a few ideas to help students develop speeches. Tell a personal story about a barrier you have over come or a goal you have reached. Speak about a cause you believe in and that you have worked for (cure for a disease, helping disadvantaged groups or victims of war, famine, or other tragedies). Encouraging your audience to achieve their best, work towards their goals (perhaps by showing how you or others did this). Speak about an issue that you feel is crucial to your community, Saskatchewan, Canada, education, the future or even the world; and explain why it is crucial (AI, social media, mental health, music, citizenship, the economy, agriculture, a sport, etc). Speak about making a difference or making the world better by describing how it can be done or has been done (perhaps by yourself or others). Questions Contact Mike Fedyk at [email protected] More about the Creator Olympics Creator Olympics is a program designed to encourage and recognize all creative activities within Sun West schools as well as on a division-wide level and several other new Creator Olympics projects are being examined. Be on the look out for annoucements about these activities on Sun West social media pages. Past events included LIGHTS! CAMERA! ACTION! Acting and Digital Storytelling Training. Learn about it here.  News Release
Monday, January 19, 2026 For Immediate Release: Kiwanis Club of Peterborough to sponsor Chris Gray Speaking Tour The Kiwanis Club of Peterborough is pleased to announce today their sponsorship of a sixth tour of local schools by professional speaker Chris Gray. Gray, who performs as Cody Deaner with TNA Wrestling will speak at St. Theresa Catholic Elementary School and Kawartha Montessori School on February 2nd, and St. Catherine Catholic Elementary School and Keith Wightman Public School on February 3rd. “We’re very excited to bring Chris back to Peterborough for another tour”, stated Kiwanis Club of Peterborough Past-President Jeff Westlake. “His previous tours have been tremendously popular with both students and staff. This will bring the number of schools we’ve visited to 20.” “I’m delighted to be returning to Peterborough next month”, stated Gray. “The partnership with the Kiwanis Club of Peterborough has been outstanding these last few years, and I’m eager to inspire area kids with my stories and message of “Dare to Dream Big”. Gray is a recommended speaker with the Canadian Student Leadership Association. Their mission statement is “to support and encourage student leadership in Canada.” The Kiwanis Club of Peterborough is celebrating 105 years of service to the Peterborough community. It is part of a global membership of over 550,000 in 80 countries. For over a decade, Chris Gray has travelled the world sharing his story of perseverance, grit, and importance of PUTTING IN THE WORK in order to follow through with your goals. His unique career as professional wrestler "Cody Deaner" gains him immediate favour with young audiences and grabs their attention. Chris' hectic life as a professional wrestler, producer, speaker, and father, are featured in a new documentary entitled "Immersed" brought to you by The Fight Network. You can watch the two part series now across Canada on The Fight Network channel, or worldwide on The Fight Network YouTube channel below. Part 1Part 2 As a teacher, administrator, or student leader… ask yourself something: “Do I want to have influence, or do I want to have authority?” I’ve tackled this question from various viewpoints. I’m a certified teacher. A professional wrestler. And, a professional speaker. Interesting resume, eh? With youth today… what’s more important… influence or authority? As someone who has worked with youth in various forms over two decades, I can tell you that I’ve noticed a distinct shift in what students respond to nowadays. Kids respond overwhelmingly greater to influence rather than authority. I see it when I speak at schools. I’ll call upon an “expert,” or an “authority” on a particular subject and I see the eyes gloss over in the audience. But, when I speak from my experience, and tell a story of someone who influenced me, or how I was able to positively influence someone else, I feel the opposite happen. Eyes are focused on me. Students lean forward. They’re invested and interested. The question then becomes… why?  I don’t think it’s an easy answer. It’s not as simple as kids being more interested in Instagram influencers than any authoritative study found in a textbook. That’s not it.
We live in a world where the old adage “Knowledge is power” is no longer true. We ALL have knowledge at our fingertips. We all own a device that we can ask any question and it will spit out the answer within milliseconds. We have access to the authority figures on any subject instantly. But, what we don’t have access to instantly is INFLUENCE. And, I’m not talking about access to influencers on TikTok. I’m talking about true influence. Here’s an example. In my keynote, I often share a story of how I met a young wrestling fan named Ethan. When I met him, I learned he was born with a debilitating disease and he’d never walked a day in his life. My heart went out to him and his family and I wanted to help. Through various positive influences and a strong community that surrounded that young boy, together we raised over $120,000 for Ethan to get a surgery that allowed him to eventually walk on his own power. And, I was there to share Ethan’s very first public step with the world. When I tell that story, there’s rarely a dry eye in the audience. I have students come up to me after my presentation to talk to me. They don’t talk about some cool Instagram reel that I posted that got hundreds of thousands of views of me in a wrestling ring somewhere. They talk to me about Ethan. And they’re inspired. We might not all have an “Ethan story.” A powerful and influential story that will make a room full of people cry. But, we all have a story. And we all have stories to share. Personal ones that will influence students sitting in your classroom. Stories that will potentially change the life of your students… if you have the courage to tell them. As educators, we’re more than just information vessels. The time when a teacher was simply the giver of information is over. We need to be able to offer something more. We can offer true influence to our students through our stories and sharing of ourselves. I encourage you… you have the power to be a positive influence in your classroom. You’re still the authority figure in your classroom. But, you’re so much more than that. You’re the positive influencer that changes the lives of your students each and everyday by simply being yourself. And sharing that with your students. So… “Do you want to have influence, or do you want to have authority?” Shoot for the influence. Trust me. It’s so much more rewarding. "Guelph Today" recently did a feature article on my presentations and programs I offer schools when they took in my programming at the 18th annual Child Witness Centre Youth Symposium. You can read the article HERE: https://www.guelphtoday.com/local-news/chris-gray-inspires-students-with-story-of-wrestling-dreams-and-resilience-10526439  Chris Gray is proud to have expanded his satisfied client list this past year. While Chris has a huge re-booking & retention rate with his clients, he was happy to add 12 new clients to his client list over the last year, including: Grosse Pointe Schools Upper Grand District School Board Blackgold School Division Morongo Unified School Division Red Deer Catholic Schools NLSchools in Newfoundland Nicola Similkameen SD58 in BC Amethyst Demonstration School Child Witness Centre Battle River School Division Dearborn Public Schools FBLA - Future Business Leaders of America Satisfied Clients: Once February hits, many people realize one thing, “I didn’t stick to my New Year’s resolution.” Whether it was to go to the gym more, eat healthier, stop scrolling through your social media feed so much… whatever it is, by February… a lot of people give up. To all you leaders out there - whether you’re the advisor of your school leadership class or the young leader for your student council - I have some advice. Don’t focus on your New Year’s resolution. Instead, focus on being resolute in all the amazing things you’re already doing. The definition of being resolute is this: “being admirably purposeful.” As a speaker who had the privilege of travelling across Canada in 2024 to share my story and various life lessons I’ve learned in my journey, I couldn’t help but admire the young leaders I met. I didn’t admire the goals they had for their leadership committee. I didn’t admire the aspirations they had for the various activities they wanted to do at their next pep rally. It wasn’t the resolutions they set for themselves that received my admiration. It was their sense of purpose.  Whenever I deliver one of my programs to a school, I ensure that I leave enough time to stick around after a presentation to talk with the students one-on-one. Often, I’m not doing most of the talking. I spend most of my time listening. I listen to young leaders tell me all the things they’re doing in their school. And it quickly becomes clear to me that the leaders I’m meeting are filled with purpose. A purpose to make their school a welcoming place. A loving place. A place where everyone feels like they belong.
Every school I’ve visited this year has been resolute. They’ve been admirably purposeful about making their school better. I’ve noticed something else. That resolute quality and character these young leaders have is coming from somewhere. Oftentimes… it’s coming from you… their advisors. If you’re an advisor reading this right now – kudos. I saw what you accomplished in 2024. I saw it firsthand, live and in living colour as I travelled across this awesome country. I saw young people determined to make the school community they live in everyday is better for the people who will live in it after they’ve moved on. And my experience has shown me that the RESOLUTE purpose these students have is a learned behaviour. And they’ve learned it from you awesome advisors out there. So, again… don’t focus too much on resolutions for this year. Especially ones that get dropped, don’t receive “buy in” from the student population, or perhaps get chopped off at the knees by an administrator that lacks your vision. Honestly, just keep doing what you’re doing. Because what you’re doing is awesome. It’s admirable. And it’s filled with purpose. Continue to be resolute in 2025. |
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Chris Gray SpeaksChris Gray has been a professional motivational speaker for over a decade. He's shared his story with and created moments of impact for hundreds of thousands of people. For more information on booking Chris for your event, email [email protected] or fill out the form on the bookings page. |
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