Jake Olson

Jake Olson’s story of overcoming retinoblastoma and going blind at the age of 12 has served as an inspiration to many people across the world. Jake is best known as the first completely blind player in college football history. He famously long-snapped a successful point after try for the University of Southern California (USC) against Western Michigan on September 2nd, 2017, a story which received viral national attention from ESPN, ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, FOX, Fox Sports, Hallmark, TBN, The Golf Channel, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Sports Illustrated, The Washington Post, etc. 

While Jake will always be a proud USC Trojan, his story is far more than a simple 15-minutes-of-fame. After graduating from USC 2019, Jake became a full-time motivational speaker, sharing his story hundreds of events, including clients such as AIG, Ball Corporation, Bank of America, JLL, Google, Invesco, Microsoft, Mondolez, Nationwide, and SpaceX. He is also the founder of a start-up talent booking company, Engage, which helps companies book keynote speakers and athletes for events. The accomplishment Jake is most proud of is his family- he and his wife, Audrey, welcomed their first child in January 2025. 

Jake is sought after as a speaker because he blends a great sense of humor (audiences laugh an average of 18 times during a 50-minute talk (yes, he and his team actually measure this)) with powerful insights that inspire audience members to reframe how they respond to adversity, develop a more positive mindset, and break through self-imposed limitations to achieve at their full potential in their personal and professional lives. Jake customizes his talk for each client to ensure he aligns his message with the event theme and impacts the audience in the way event planners intended.