I didn't expect an MMA Fighter tohave me in tears. I guarantee everyhuman will leave changed for thebetter having heard The Big Pygmy'stalk.
Justin Wren
Humanitarian, MMA Fighter, Author, Mental Health Advocate, Nonprofit Founder/CEO, Podcast Host
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Justin Wren
Biography
Mercilessly bullied as a child, Justin responded by transforming himself into a champion MMA fighter. Yet despite his success, he quietly questioned the significance of his own athletic accomplishments. Each time his hand was raised in victory he thought, “Is this it? Is this as good as it gets?” As he fought his way to the top and battled never-ending injuries that accompany the profession, he slid into pain-killer addiction, battled depression and attempted suicide. He was a champion on the outside, but broken within. It wasn’t until a chance collection of circumstances led Justin to one of the most remote places on earth, to live in the rainforest among the Pygmy people, some of the most impoverished and marginalized people on the planet, that he found his true purpose – helping others.
From that experience, ‘The Big Pygmy’ returned to the ring with purpose, founding the non-profit Fight For The Forgotten (FFTF) along the way. Since 2013, FFTF has provided more than 52,000 indigenous people with access to clean drinking water, replanted thousands of trees, acquired more than 3,000 acres of land in the name of the tribe and helped 1,800 people out of slavery and into freedom. Current projects include housing, education, healthcare and sustainable livelihoods through community empowerment. Today, Justin shares his remarkable story on stages across the country and around the world teaching others the tools, tactics and techniques to navigate any adversity, find purpose, and achieve meaningful impact in business and in life.
Justin Wren
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Current: Fighter & Humanitarian - Demo Reel
Time 04:18
Justin Wren
Featured Keynote Program
From the Ring to the Rainforest
Leadership Principles from an Ultimate Fighter’s Remarkable Journey
A once prominent UFC fighter, Justin emerged from a near death experience, found purpose through service to others, and now stands as a force for good on the international humanitarian stage. The visionary Founder and CEO of Fight For The Forgotten, his organization has provided life-changing clean water, housing, healthcare, land ownership and freedom from slavery for thousands of the world’s most disadvantaged people.
In his inspiring keynote, From the Ring to the Rainforest: Leadership Principles from an Ultimate Fighter’s Remarkable Journey, he unveils the rollercoaster of his life – from headlining MMA (UFC) fights in front of capacity crowds in Las Vegas, to plummeting into the abyss of addiction, and ultimately, to his extraordinary redemption deep in the jungles of Africa helping those most in need. With raw vulnerability and emotion, he narrates how one flawed man, grappling with his own insignificance, discovered the power to create change, one person, one life, at a time.
People leave Justin’s presentation revived in the belief that their own work matters. Their personal individual efforts can create meaningful impact. No matter your place on the corporate ladder, everyone’s effort matters in the mission of the company or organization. He is not asking the audience to pursue a life of service, not at all, that is his calling. Instead, he reminds people that you are never out of the fight, you can always get back up, and that big impact can occur one drop at a time.
Justin speaks of how personal accountability, resilience in the face of adversity, and profound gratitude for each new day can ignite a fire in all of us to create meaningful change in our work, in our lives, and in our world.
Audiences travel with Justin to the remote Congo Basin Rain Forest for a rare insider’s view of the Mbuti Pygmy people, where they laugh, cry, and stand up and cheer as they bear witness to an improbable yet profoundly inspiring tale of redemption – a testament to the enduring power of second chances.
Depending on the company or industry he is speaking to, the purpose of the event, and a client’s specific requests, Justin will frame two or three other key takeaway messages into his presentation around the themes of:
Key Takeaways:
* Teamwork
* Creating Opportunity
* Setting Ambitious Goals
* Taking Action Matters
* Getting Uncomfortable in Order to Grow / Embracing the Grind
* Overcoming Fear
* Ultimate Focus - Unleash Impact
Justin Wren
Featured Book
Fight For The Forgotten
by Justin Wren
From notable mixed martial artist and UFC fighter Justin Wren comes a personal account of faith, redemption, empowerment, and overwhelming love as one man sets out on an international mission to fight for those who can’t fight for themselves.
Justin knows what it feels like to be wronged. Bullied as a child, he dreamed of becoming a UFC fighter and used his anger as fuel to propel his dream into reality. But the pain from his childhood didn’t dissipate. Instead, Justin fell into a spiral of depression and addiction, leading him on a path toward destruction. Kicked out of his training community and with no other place to go, Justin agreed to attend a men’s retreat, and it was there he found God.
As Justin began piecing his life back together, he joined several international mission trips that opened his eyes and his heart to a world filled with suffering deep in the jungle of the Democratic Republic of Congo. There he met the Mbuti Pygmy tribe, a group of people persecuted by neighboring tribes and forced into slavery. His encounter with the Pygmy tribe left him wondering who was there to help them and in that moment Justin stepped out of the ring and into a fight for the forgotten.
From cage fighter to freedom fighter, Justin’s story is a deeply personal memoir with a bigger message about a quest, justice, and the amazing things that can happen when we relinquish our lives to God.
Justin Wren
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