Martin Roberts is an award-winning mental health lead within one of the UK’s largest banks and founder of Keep In Mind. Drawing from his own personal experiences of surviving the Hillsborough disaster and reliving it through the legal proceedings years later, and his own suicidal thoughts following several personal tragedies, Martin has become a leading speaker on mental health. He shares his story with organisations in a bid to create an open and honest discussion about mental health and shows that mental health issues can impact anyone at any point in life.
Martin’s own remarkable story began April 15th 1989 at 15:06 as a survivor of the Hillsborough football disaster, something that was to have an impact on him later in life. Living an everyday life, personal tragedy struck as Martin’s mother died, his father received a cancer diagnosis, his wife developed a rare bone tumour and he had to relive Hillsborough due to the ongoing legal proceedings. Martin battled to keep his pain private, ashamed of asking for help. This eventually left Martin on the brink of suicide. He started to plan how he would take his own life. However, on that morning, his wife awoke and at that point, Martin took two steps forward and said the three most important words ever “I need help”. That morning changed his life and how now a simple pair of brown shoes have now become the most important personal possession he has!
Martin has held various positions within his current employment and for the past several years as the Mental Head Lead within one of the bank’s largest divisions (c7k colleagues) where he has implemented many successful initiatives which have been recognised in the two awards attained in 2019 & 2020 for his work. He is also the founder of Keep In Mind, an organisation that works with businesses of all sizes to develop and implement their mental health and wellbeing strategies to help them support their staff in the best way possible.
Available as a motivational and inspiring speaker, Martin Roberts is perfect at getting the audience thinking about mental health through his open, honest, thought-provoking talk, drawing on his own personal experiences will touch everyone in attendance. Martin will share insight into successful strategies that can be implemented into any organisation and more importantly will leave you with trusted and proven tools & techniques, which together with the right care and support, positive mental health can be achieved again. As Martin says the starting position should always be “It’s NOT okay NOT to be okay.”
“Martin is an amazing gentleman and has spoken twice to Close Brothers on mental health and resilience. His speeches have moved people to tears but equally leaving with really practical ways of combating the pressures of modern way of life. People have said that it was the best external engagement we have had – I couldn’t recommend more highly.”
“I have worked with Martin on a number of occasions over the past few years. Martin’s passion and drive to support people’s mental health is inspiring. He manages to connect and engage his audience so that they go away thinking about what they can do in their lives to improve and look after their own mental health. I’d recommend Martin to any company/ organisation wanting to engage its employees in mental health.”
“Martin is a truly authentic and inspiring speaker who leaves a lasting impression on the people he meets. He delivered an engaging talk to our team on resilience and caring for yourself, sharing practical tips and guidance for team members and leaders. He took the time to understand the needs of our team and used his personal experience to shape a brilliant range of content. His natural and approachable style encouraged colleagues to reflect on their personal experiences and opened up a discussion on topics sometimes avoided. We could not recommend Martin more highly.”
“In 2019/20 we ran a nationwide project with Martin bringing choirs to five of LBG’s key sites around the country. From the outset Martin’s passion and vision for the project was apparent, generating huge levels of interest and engagement from all sites. Tune In was groundbreaking for LBG, a project the likes of which they had not attempted before in scale and creative ambition, and thus presented various challenges; organisational, cultural and logistical. In spite of this, Martin was always a pleasure to work with, highly professional in dealing with challenges, always with a smile and a kind word on a personal level and continually ensuring that our experience as a wellbeing provider was smooth and friction free. Martin is an asset to LBG and the mental health of their employees.”
“Martin spoke to the Defence Women’s Network on ‘A Wellbeing Check-In for a Virtual World’. From the moment he started telling his own personal journey our audience was captivated, his talk was also amazing and the feedback from our members was ‘we need more of Martin’! I can’t stress what an impact this has on our members and I’m being asked what he can speak about next! Anyone working with Martin will not be disappointed, he really is a positive influence. I look forward to working with you in 2022!”
“First and foremost Martin cares… it is as simple as that. His energy focuses on ensuring everyone he meets, connects with, or works alongside, knows he will listen. Martin engages with all audiences as much as the person who may be sitting next to him. He speaks with honesty, passion and clarity and not only enlightens you about the importance of mental health and without embarrassment and you leave with a “toolkit” to know that self-care is not selfish. Thank you, Martin; those who have the privilege of listening to you and working with you will never forget your words.”
“Martin Roberts is one of those few people that understand the real effect of Mental Health, Martin’s insights and awareness is a powerful message adeptly illustrated not only by his presentations but also by the passion and empathy in his delivery. I strongly recommend everybody to take some time to read Martin’s commentary, and if you want to really understand the impact then you want to see Martin’s presentations. For the short time it takes to listen you could help your workforce better understand what to look out for and how to support your colleagues. Martin is an ambassador for mental health that takes the subject seriously, supported with facts with advice that will arm you and your workforce to do the right thing.”
“Martin was brilliant! It was an honour to hear him speak, and be a small part of his journey. He was invited to stay for the day, and he stayed for most of it. It was like he was part of our team. Highly recommend him”
The Mental Health Speakers Agency has been one of the UK’s leading bureaus for emotional wellbeing experts since 2020. We supply speakers for corporate and public events across the world, and cater to both in-person occasions and online webinars. Our roster includes athletes, psychologists, celebrities and more, to ensure that audiences of all demographics receive tailored, impactful mental health guidance.
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