Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Domitrz

Hi Mike, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?

Decades before sexual assault cases were on the cover of every major media publication, Mike Domitrz was being brought in by middle schools, high schools, universities and the U.S. military to help them pursue a new standard of consent and respect. With Mike being the author of 3 books and an award-winning DVD for parents, he is one of the world’s leading influencers and thought-leaders on respect, bystander intervention, survivor support, and consent.

You may have seen Mike on Dateline NBC’s “My Kid Would Never Do That” as a featured subject matter expert or being quoted in international news publications such as Forbes and The Wall Street Journal. He continues to be sought out for his proven track record of helping people shift their paradigm on respect and consent.

In 2022, Mike was one of only 5 speakers to be inducted into the National Speakers Association Hall of Fame. In 2020, he became a Certified Virtual Presenter and in 2008, he earned the Certified Speaking Designation. Mike is an expert in providing powerful programs onsite or online.

Why does Mike have such an intense passion and drive to share with people of all ages?
In 1989, he received a phone call that his sister had been raped. As he held the phone tightly to his ears, he simply could not believe what he was hearing. In the years following, Mike decided to make a difference. As he researched the issue of sexual assault and dating, he constantly heard students complaining that most sexual assault seminars were boring and depressing. Mike knew what needed to be done.

With his background in entertainment, he created the speeches titled “SAFER Choices” and “Can I Kiss You?” – fun, interactive, and thought-provoking programs that focus on teaching consent, respecting of boundaries, bystander intervention, and supporting survivors.

Each year, Mike travels the world sharing his message in schools, on campuses, on military installations and for organizations of all sizes.

Executives, coaches, authors, and fellow speakers now seek Mike out for speaker and presentation coaching. He provides 1-on-1 coaching and special Speaker Retreats in locations such as the jungle of Costa Rica where helps each person become a more impactful speaker.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?

The struggles on the journey started right away. When I first started speaking out, I was 20-years-old and looked like I was 15. Keep in mind this was 1990 when almost no one was talking about sexual assault and consent. No matter how effective my program was, schools were afraid to have anyone discuss these topics with their students. Due to where the culture was at the time, I found myself needing to do additional work to financially survive. In those first 12 years, I was a high school coach, worked in corporate management, and stated a multi-operator DJ entertainment company.

Then in 2002, after a few speakers saw me present and asked why I wasn’t speaking full-time, I was inspired to try to focus solely on speaking. The next 12 months was rough. We sold our DJ company to we removed all debt. However, we had very little cash reserves. Thus, we were trying to support a family of 6 with a new business venture of speaking full-time while we had almost no speaking events lined up. The one constant was we knew this is what I belonged doing. The “We” at this time was my wife and I. In 2003, my sister Rita would join our team running the sales, marketing, and customer service. Within those first 2 years we went from 1 speaking event to 70 a year. Suddenly, there was a constant demand for our program.

And yet still obstacles and challenges would occur. We once had a 20-tour-date international speaking contract cancel 10 days before the tour started. Imagine losing overnight what could be 20% of your revenue for the year. During those years was also the recession of 2008 when the economy dove. How about COVID in 2020. In the matter of one week, all your events for the rest of the year (and you are only in March) look like they are not going to happen. I learned how to quickly be able to produce high-energy and interactive live virtual programs that resulted in us reaching more people than we could have imagined.

The key to obstacles is asking, “What can I do to make an impact?” instead of wallowing in fear and/or pity.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?

We are known for providing high-energy, interactive skills-based educational keynotes, trainings, and workshops that leave audiences with specific strategies for implementing immediately into their life.

What sets us apart is our clients share that we lead audiences in a true conversation (the audiences are answering the key questions that drive where each program goes) and thus every presentation is focused on and tailored to the people in the room and their challenges.

Clients refer to my approach as being a “Safe Provocateur” that helps you look yourself in the mirror and see what you are capable of without being confrontational. Generals have said, “Mike helps each of us get comfortable in the discomfort and that is where the growth happens.”

What I love about our brand is the results we bring individuals, organizations, and communities. As an example, after hearing me speak, 93% of audience members say they are more likely to ask first, intervene for others, and proactively support survivors (across all demographics). I love how audience members tell us they feel we were talking directly to them about them with an inclusive approach.

With speaker coaching, the inspiring part of the work is watching the executive, the speaker, the coach, or the author have major breakthroughs in their speaking style and in how to create a demand for their work.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?

The biggest risk early on was diving full-time into the business with no bookings and trying to support my family of 6 with no revenue scheduled to come in. The key was my wife and I had a vision and were willing to work through those tough times to get to where we wanted to go. The VISION was key at all times, especially when creditors were calling in the early days.

Another risk was sticking to the plan of speaking and getting our message out when COVID hit. Many speakers were taking other jobs or were waiting for COVID to pass (they thought weeks to a month). I went into researching live virtual programming and how to be my best self in live virtual sessions. To help with that, my wife picked up extra jobs (working 3) to help us while I was investing in learning the new technology for getting our message out.

The commitment by both of us worked as we launched our first few live virtual programs and received overwhelming feedback from audiences and clients saying they wanted more live virtual sessions with us.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.centerforrespect.com/
• Instagram: https://www.Instagram.com/MikeRespects
• Facebook: https://www.Facebook.com/MikeRespects
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/MikeRespects
• Youtube: https://www.YouTube.com/CenterForRespect
• Other: https://soulfulspeakers.com/costa-rica/

Image Credits

all images are owned by The Center for Respect Inc and Mike Domitrz.