Johnny Crowder Keynote Speaker

Founder & CEO of Cope Notes
Forbes NEXT 1000
Startup of the Year People's Choice Award Winner

Enquire Add to shortlist

Johnny Crowder's Biography

Johnny Crowder is a suicide/abuse survivor, 2x TEDx speaker, Certified Recovery Peer Specialist, and the Founder & CEO of Cope Notes, a digital mental health platform that provides daily support to users in nearly 100 countries. With a decade of clinical treatment, a psychology degree from the University of Central Florida, and 10+ years of work with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Johnny’s advocacy has impacted millions globally.

Since his first keynotes in 2011, Johnny’s candid perspective has garnered praise from media outlets like Entrepreneur, CNN, and Forbes.

As a Certified Recovery Peer Specialist and Founder/CEO of Cope Notes, Johnny offers practical self-care tools and mental health strategies. His infectious positivity, humor, and authenticity as a trauma survivor highlight the importance of mental health. He shows audiences that opening up about mental health is key to coping and that resilient organizational cultures prioritize and support mental health.

Discussing struggles like anxiety, depression, addiction, burnout, and compassion fatigue, Johnny dispels myths that keep people stuck. In his 2020 TEDx Talk, he explains that good mental health, like physical health, requires consistent effort. He provides audiences with self-care techniques and a blueprint for making mental well-being a cultural cornerstone in any workplace.

Johnny’s experiences of poverty and abuse, deep knowledge of psychology, and ability to explain complex topics make his presentations powerful and practical. His vulnerable perspective has attracted praise from outlets like Upworthy, CNN, and Forbes. Whether commanding a virtual stage or touring with his Billboard-charting metal band, Prison, his firsthand experience with mental illness and positive humor resonate, educate, and inspire.

Beyond Coping: How to Foster Resilience, Connection, and Happiness in the Workplace

Crippling burnout. Chronic absenteeism. Rampant resignations. The perfect storm of workplace pressure, constant change, and employee isolation is damming up the rivers of productivity at thousands of companies. Employers are concerned—and rightfully so.

Incorporating insights from his own lifelong mental health journey, Johnny poses a thought-provoking question: Why should we merely cope with hardship when we can leverage it to become stronger, happier, and more connected versions of ourselves? In plain English, he shares the hard-won resilience and emotional intelligence strategies that led to the invention of the science-backed health and wellness program Cope Notes®, now used in nearly 100 countries around the world. This entertaining and actionable keynote delivers proven steps to:

Reframe and respond to personal and professional challenges as they arise

Forge deeper connections and cultures that foster mental wellness and belonging

Process adversity in a way that builds relationships, confidence, and true happiness

The Surprising Productivity of Self-Care: Using Mindfulness to Combat Burnout and Compassion Fatigue

48% of the U.S. workforce struggles with compassion fatigue. The result? Burnout, absenteeism, mental and emotional distress, poor sleep, unhealthy diets, reliance on dangerous coping mechanisms, and sky-high turnover… particularly in caring professions.

Empathetic people are invaluable on any team. But when compassion makes it feel as if the weight of the world is on your shoulders, genuine empathy can devolve into stress, overwhelm, and an inability to help the very people you care about in the first place. Mindfulness is the backbone of all practical self-care measures, but without understanding how to integrate it into your daily routine, your strained relationship with your work will never change. Through this enlightening and easy-to-implement program, your audience will learn how to:

Identify the sources and symptoms of burnout and compassion fatigue

Rethink the assumptions that trigger impostor syndrome and work-life imbalance

Establish daily self-care strategies that drive a renewed sense of energy and purpose in the workplace and beyond

The Punk Rock Guide to Building a Brand: How to Earn Millions Without Selling Your Soul

By embarking on any entrepreneurial journey, you’re signing up to fail—at least, that’s what the statistics warn. So what do you need to beat the odds? Venture capital? Ivy League degrees? Friends in high places? And don’t you have to play a little dirty to get ahead?

Johnny Crowder built a globally recognized brand without any of the advantages listed above. But how did he leverage the lessons he learned on tour with his Billboard-charting heavy metal band Prison to turn Cope Notes® into a worldwide force for good without cutting corners or compromising on his values? In this empowering and tactical presentation, Johnny gives your audience a peek behind the tech startup veil by teaching them how to:

Differentiate between the nice-to-have and essential ingredients of a successful business

Master the types of mental strength and integrity that entrepreneurship demands

Apply mindset, focus, and resilience strategies that build character, stamina, and scalable success

Johnny Crowder Speaker Reel

How to Grow as a Person (And Why It Sucks) | Johnny Crowder | TEDxEustis

Why I don’t want to die anymore | Johnny Crowder | TEDxWestshore

Articles, Media & Podcasts

Why I Rewired My Brain

Pegasus

Tampa mental health service Cope Notes wins Startup of the Year prize

Tampa Bay Times

The Next Evolution Of Digital Mental Health Support

Forbes

Tampa startup Cope Notes is the text big thing in mental health

Axios

Comments & Testimonials

Johnny is SO very real! From the moment I met him, he felt like a trusted friend. THANK YOU, THANK YOU!! He absolutely had a positive impact on more than 2000 of our employees today with extremely strong survey results with a score of 4.9/5 across key metrics!!

Molly Sjostrom, General Mills

To say that the event went well is an understatement. The amount of positive feedback we received from my fraternity brothers and our university's administration was astounding. I cannot speak more highly of Johnny Crowder's ability to engage audiences. Almost everyone who went to the event felt personally impacted by his story. A lot of men were able to shed their masculinity and truly open up to their peers without the fear of being judged; that would not have been possible without Johnny's insight, humor and candidness. Many of those in attendance said that Johnny was the best speaker event they had ever attended and would love to hear more from him in the future.

Ethan Haqq, Elon University

I've been fortunate enough to hear Johnny a handful of times, both in-person and virtually, and he never disappoints. He has a way of instantly building a connection with his audience, keeping them interested and entertained with his storytelling all the while driving the message and importance of mental health in his presentation. He is inspiring, talented, and insightful. Don't be surprised if you go from laughing to tears in a matter of minutes as you'll be in awe of the person you're listening to. Thank you for sharing your story with others. It's making an impact on so many people, including my own.

Sam Wagner, International City/County Management Association

Planning for an event that is geared towards youth to talk about their mental health, finding a dynamic relevant speaker wasn’t easy. Until we found Johnny. Throughout the planning, Johnny was extremely professional and responsive, and he even jumped in to promote the event with us on a local podcast. Johnny’s talk was very well received and the youth who attended the BRAVE Summit learned about acceptance, and that it is ok to not be ok from Johnny. The excitement has not quelled and the youth are still talking about the talk that Johnny gave and how he inspired them to take control of their mental health and seek help when needed. I would absolutely recommend Johnny to speak to ANY group.

Jennifer Wills, Flagler Health