Dave Crispin

Athlete, Business leader, Concerned citizen, Connector, Event planner, Parent

I’m Dave Crispin 59 years young. I’m a qualified life and relationship coach/counsellor, and I’m passionate about helping people. My story starts back in the United Kingdom, where I was born and grew up. When I was 21 I lost my mother to breast cancer. Understandably, it was a huge shock to find myself without my mother. My father and brother and I did the best we could but we weren’t equipped to process the loss properly. We were males; we didn’t seek out someone to talk to. I found myself in a similar place when my partner passed away suddenly after 26 years together. We had a caring and loving relationship and cared deeply for one another. When she passed, I found myself having to deal with not only the emotions of myself, but those of our teenage daughter. Both of us had always been active members of our small local community, they helped me through those dark times, that made me realise how important community is in times of need. As a male, I wanted to fill the void in my life that my wife had left but soon realised that neediness was not the way to do it. I was taking emotional baggage into any new relationship and of course they weren’t working out. I spent a number of years rediscovering who I was and getting used to the changes in my life. Then I met my current wife. Life was all coming together when I was diagnosed with cancer. Well, that was a shock to say the least. But it was at this time that I decided a career change was needed (I ran a landscaping business at the time). As I went through chemotherapy I studied life and relationship coaching and also learnt a lot about myself, especially in regard to self-esteem. These profound experiences have shaped me and the way I interact with others. Now as a coach I can use my empathy and passion to help others in similar situations, as well as their partners. As a volunteer speaker for depression and anxiety support service beyondblue, I’m keen on keeping the lines of communication open. The more conversations we have around mental health issues, the better. What I love best about my career choice is brainstorming with clients, it lets me use my creative side and shifts the perspective. Life coaching is future-focused and that’s what I like about it – it’s visionary, not based in the past. Recently, I have taken a more active role in our community in helping to engage with a variety of groups and bring them together. This includes long standing families who have been present from the early settler days – 1800’s to ‘new Australian’ families that have migrated from various countries around the world. Various projects I have been involved with include a new business group of which I’m Chairman – Business SJ inc. currently around 60 financial members. Various emergency response organisations, including our local Bush fire brigade, our State Emergency Service, local wellness groups and many more. I’m someone who likes to be involved and make things happen to benefit not only my local community but my community at large.

I'm passionate about raising awareness on Mental health issues, domestic violence, poverty and a raft of other soical issues. The current crisis we face globally with COVID-19, shows that in the sharing of information and working together as a global community, we can save lives.

I love what TED stand for. We are a connected global community and the spreading of ideas and information that is potentially accessible to all, is a wonderful thing. In my business I regularly refer my clients to a particular talk on a relevant subject. The TEDx platform doesn't discriminate, it's inclusive and open to all who are willing to share and learn.

My very first experience with a TED talk was watching Amy Cuddy, which I still watch and recommend on a regualr basis. I've been fortunate enough to have attended a couple of TEDx events in Western Australia. They are a source of inspiration, and connection, which is why I floated the idea amongst my peers. Since then, I've connected with various people who have hosted TEDx events, 1 of them has agreed to join our organising committee. A videographer has been sourced as well as a previous TEDx speaker - Dr Moira Clay and a speaker coach who has trained many speakers for previous events. This will be such a big event for our community if it goes ahead, many we have spoken to are now aware of what TED is all about, what it stands for. Already it has created a buzz in our community. At this moment in time, it'll be a great shot in the arm for us to look forward to on the rebound from this virus.

Making things, drawing and that I enjoy fishing (although I catch and release) I'm not into killing things.