Kriss Akabusi

Kriss Akabusi began his International career in 1983 as a member of the 4 x 400 metre relay squad. It was a momentous occasion when he helped Britain clinch the Gold in the 400m relay, beating the Americans in the World Championships in Tokyo in 1991.
When he won a Gold medal in the 1990 European Championships, Kriss also beat David Hemery’s 22-year-old British Record.

And what of Kriss’s earlier career? In 1975, Kriss joined up as a trainee data telegraphist in the Royal Signals and he transferred to the Army Physical Training Corps in 1981. He served three tours of duty with various infantry battalions and was discharged into the reserves with an exemplary record in 1990 as a warrant Officer Class 2.

The media first identified Kriss’s wonderful character and positive personality whilst he was a competing athlete. He was invited to present the Big Breakfast in 1993. This was followed rapidly with a full time position as a co-presenter on Record Breakers. He has gone on to present various children’s programmes, in particular Saturday morning television. He appears regularly on various programmes such as game and chat shows, and always enjoys appearing, especially if the brief is fun and entertaining. Appearances are not restricted to television; he can often be heard on the radio debating serious topics of the day too.

Kriss is a fantastic speaker with a broad appeal. He exudes a positive attitude and remains inspirational.

Can you pass on our sincere thanks to Kriss for his amazing up-beat Business communication at our conference. Our managers are still all hyper and still talking about it. It was also great that he could join us for drinks in he evening and I can honestly say everyone is still on a high form it all. A great end to a fantastic conference. There really must be an opportunity to drive Brand Akabusi…”
ScotMid

“Kriss'' energy, enthusiasm and natural ability as an entertainer deliver a winning combination that both inspires and motivates his audience, keeping them enthralled from the starting gun to the finish line.
Southern Water

“Kriss went down a storm, was very personable and down-to-earth whilst funny and inspiring in equal measures. It was really fantastic to watch him in action and made the day extra special. In my direct dealings, I found him so personable and a pleasure to deal with. I will have no hestiation recommending him to colleagues and peers.”
Airbus

“We are really grateful to Kriss for stepping in so last minute and for the absolutely fantastic job he did on the night. He was truly inspirational – I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed a speaker fire an audience up as much as Kriss did! We really cannot thank him enough.”
BOA

“I just wanted to say what an amazing conference we had last week. Ending the day with Kriss was the absolute highlight and made a major difference to a number of people. The night was full of people talking about Kriss and how they have now looked at themselves in a new light, people were buzzing! My thanks again for an amazing session and the effort that had gone into making sure it was relevant and tailored to my messages. Kriss certainly is in a class of his own!”
Capita IT

“I wanted to write and say thank you for your fabulous input at our European Management Meeting. It showed great skill weaving and highlighting the themes of our business strategy into your performance, presentation seems such an understatement! Your passion and energy is contagious and helped to create a real sense of excitement. The following day, other speakers from within the company referred back to the key messages you delivered, a sure sign of the positive impact you made. The theme of the conference was Raising the Game and you certainly did, thank you!”
Norgren

“Just wanted to write to say a HUGE thank you to Kriss for closing our conference on Wednesday on such a high. The delegates were bowled over with his performance and haven't stopped talking about it yet! ”
Premier Foods

“The presentation that you gave at Lorica was awesome, inspiring and the best I have seen; Thank you.”
Lorica

“I have run many events with celebrity speakers over the years and never yet have I met someone who was so well prepared, engaging and totally at ease with the people he came into contact with on the day; I would totally recommend Kriss for motivational speaker engagements; He is a real star”
Spicers

“Thank you so much for inspiring our team at the recent conference. I have had experience of many speakers at conference but you are in a league of your own. Your passionate delivery coupled with interweaving Vision Express examples was pure class. Your energy and enthusiasm are infectious and the whole performance left the team truly inspired.”
Vision Express

“Inspirational, exciting, motivating, real and great fun. The time he took to prepare so his message linked with that of our organization was noted by the audience and very impressive”
SAS UK

“Thank you so much for your motivational talk yesterday; You are so full of life and positive energy that it is understandable how you reached your goals; During the recognition, you had the energy for each person you greeted and didn’t lower your excitement for anyone, it was so nice to see.  You looked like you enjoyed it, which makes the difference.;I just enjoyed your motivational talk so much and even better than the last one you did, which was also very hard to top;I would have been happy to have seen a carbon copy of the last one too, as it was so good; Here’s looking forward to your next talk in the future”
Kleeneze

“Kriss was the keynote speaker at our client's breakfast event earlier this year.  We had some fantastic feedback from the team..

“An amazing speaker his enthusiasm was infectious!  His idea’s were inspirational and delivered in such an energetic way.   Realising  the potential within yourself and ‘The Arena’ particular stuck in my mind also ‘The past is for reference not for residence’ – very true, we should not dwell on mistakes that are made but learn from them!”

“One word – WOW. Such an amazing personality and he completely lit up the room when he began his talk. His interaction with the group was fantastic and he had everyone in fits of laughter!”

An interview with Kriss Akabusi

Why is it important to keep fit?
You have one life and it’s important to live it, the body is the vehicle that engages with the world, and, like a car, it requires regular maintenance.  If it is maintained regularly it is more efficient, if not it breaks down and, unfortunately in a person, that is not good thing!

If you can’t afford to join a gym what would you do to keep fit?
Walking and running is still free!   Develop a little circuit around your house.  We walk at 3½ miles per hour, you could do half an hour before you start work and combine the walk with some cardio vascular exercises, eg  swinging your arms or lunges.  An hour each day of this type of exercise will keep you trim and fit, (of course this does depending on your calorie intake).   Also concentrate on the exercise whilst you are doing it -consciously think about the good that you’re doing, the positivity that this will bring will provide additional benefits to your mind and body.

Will being fit help you study?
Yes, the combination of fresh air and exercise will oxygenate your brain, the natural chemicals around your body will make you more alert and attentive and enable you to have a clear mind ready to learn.

Does being fit give you confidence?
I feel that confidence comes through recognition of how far you’ve come in certain areas of your life.  If you’re successful in your fitness regime you feel like you can tackle anything and start asking yourself ‘what other areas can I succeed in?’

How important is diet
Physical activity is only one side of the equation; the other side is the calorific intake and the type of food you are eating.  For me, there are no banned foods, however I eat more fish and chicken rather than beef and lamb, I choose to limit red meat to once a week.  I eat manufactured meats like salami and ham, bacon and sausages in moderation as they contain so many more E numbers and fat.  Cod loin, smoked haddock, halibut and tuna are all excellent sources of protein.  I would recommend more protein and less carbs and try to eat your last meal 3 or 4 hours before you go to bed.  A typical day for me would include porridge for breakfast, salad with protein – chicken or prawns, or pasta and then fish for my main meal in the evening.
How did you keep motivated with all the training?
It’s all about being in the right environment, with like minded people, people who are committed to a cause and clear about what they want to achieve.  It’s great if you can find a buddy to exercise with, rather than do it all on your own.  The group dynamic is very powerful.
Do you have any relaxation techniques?
My relaxation technique is to go to sleep!  I can recommend a short power nap of 10 – 30 minutes in the afternoon, this helps rejuvenate the mind and body.  When I was a soldier I was told ‘eat when you can, sleep when you can and keep your weapon by your side at all times’!

Have you ever been bullied and if so what did you do
No I wasn’t bullied, I was brought up in North London, I was in the minority as there weren’t many black kids but I’ve always used laughter as a mechanism to be ‘one of the boys’, I’m fortunate – I have always been able to take care of myself.

And finally
It’s important to take your life seriously to prepare to stand out from the crowd.  Be the very best at what can you can.  Be yourself and enjoy the journey, because that journey sure does fly by!