Ben Kay
Adman & Former Rugby Forward
Gareth Thomas
Gareth Thomas CBE
Welsh Rugby Legend
Wales' most capped rugby player captained his side to Grand Slam victory and led a British & Irish Lions tour of New Zealand. He became the ninth highest try scorer in the world, then switched codes. Gareth also hit the headlines as the only openly gay man in the sport; he holds the tag with pride, but still looks towards the day when it's no longer an issue. In his speech Gareth talks about success on the field and the hurdles he had to overcome.
Speaking Topics
- Diversity & Inclusion
- Peak Performance
Biography
Gareth ‘Alfie’ Thomas is one of the biggest and most respected figures in rugby. He became Wales third most-capped player, the twelfth highest try scorer in the world, and one of very few to notch up four tries in a single match.
After captaining both the Grand Slam-winning team and the British & Irish Lions tour of New Zealand, Gareth made the switch to Rugby League. Proving the doubters wrong, he put in several bravura performances before a serious arm injury finally ended his career.
Off the field Gareth’s personal life hit the headlines when he revealed his sexuality, making him the only openly gay player in the game. He holds the tag with pride, though he hopes to see the day when it’s no longer a newsworthy issue. Having established himself in retirement as a widely admired campaigner and role-model, Gareth also later revealed he was living with HIV.
Gareth’s autobiography Proud, was the winner of the British Sports Book Awards Sports Book of the Year. Stronger is the broader story of how Gareth has managed to deal with the adversity life has thrown at him across the years, from childhood to his gruelling announcement that he was HIV positive.
Alongside many media and charity commitments he is an ambassador for Stonewall and a passionate supporter of ChildLine.
Gareth is an engaging speaker on his rugby experience, and as a member of the LGBT+ community. He discusses the need to end homophobia and support diversity and inclusion.
“A really inspirational story”
Delivered more than we could have wished for! Masterful, engaging and intimate. His vulnerability and eloquence was captivating – he directly addressed issues around LGBTQ+ inclusion, engaging and informing allies, and inspiring our LGBTQ+ colleagues to be out and proud. There were tears, laughter, curiosity, and loads of questions which he handled superbly.
Words cannot describe the immensely impactful moment Gareth created in that room yesterday. I have been inundated with positive feedback on his presentation both on the day, last night and this morning, for a very formal & serious company – that is saying something!!!! I have also received many photos and positive comments on our internal version of twitter, which reaches out to all of our employees across the globe.
Gareth was so open about his story that it broke down inhibitions in the audience and set up some really open and deep discussions as a result. The buzz and atmosphere in the break, when he had finished was very telling to me that the audience were able to start opening up about how it had made them feel.
We would love to work with Gareth again… please send him a huge virtual hug from the RR Engineering leadership team at Rolls-Royce. He has made a real difference in the way we think about the world we live in.
Gareth could not have been any better. Great mix of rugby stories and his experience of coming out.
The audience were very moved by his story, I would say he was the most impactful speaker we have had.
I have always been a Gareth Thomas fan for his numerous accomplishments on the Rugby pitch. I recently had the opportunity to meet Gareth and, hear him share his story with hundreds of BNY Mellon employees. Gareth spoke with incredible emotion, candor and caring – his story was a lesson for us all. I can honestly say I admire him even more for what he has done, and is doing, off the pitch!!
Gareth was very well received, thank you. He had a really inspirational story and we had a mix of people in the room which meant that we had a wide range of questions in Q&A and Gareth was very happy to answer everything. Unfortunately I had to leave immediately after the talk but I believe that Gareth stayed on and spoke with a lot of our employees. He had a good mix of topics and themes from Rugby, motivation and LGBT etc.
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