MTC

Paul is the reigning Olympic Gold medallist in the Laser sailing class. The Laser is one of the two single handed dinghies which are sailed at the Olympics by men, the second being the Finn dinghy which triple Olympic Gold medallist Ben Ainslie now sails.  Ben was an inspiration to Paul whilst he was growing up but soon the pair became friends and rivals.

At the Sydney Olympics in 2000, Paul's involvement was restricted to being Ben's training partner, but the excitement and first-hand experience of witnessing a friend achieve success rubbed off on Paul who left Sydney determined to represent his country in future Olympics. This aim was achieved at Athens in 2004, but he narrowly missed out on a medal in finishing fourth place overall.

A minor setback, Paul had begun to establish himself as a World class sailor and it wasn't long before he was recording multiple victories across the globe. In 2006 he won four gold medals and one silver.  He won both the pre-Olympic test events in Qingdao, and was subsequently selected to represent Great Britain in the Laser class at the 2008 Olympic Games.  This rich vein of formed continued at the games and Paul put the heartache of Athens well and truly behind him in claiming Gold in a masterful display.  Accolades followed Olympic glory as Paul was named BBC Yorkshire Sports Personality of the Year in 2008 and awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours list of 2009.

2009 proved to be another remarkable year for Paul as he won five of the six regattas he sailed in, was crowned World Champion and claimed the British Olympic Association Athlete of the Year Award for Sailing.

Paul relinquished his World title in 2010 on home soil but displayed fine form at the 2012 Sailing Test Event in Weymouth in August 2011 by securing a bronze medal. Pleased with his performance, Paul acknowledged there is work to be done before he takes to the water in 2012. As one of the first Team GB athletes to be selected to compete next year, Paul is now relishing the opportunity to hone his skills and has his sights firmly set on adding another gold medal to his tally from his home port.

When he is not in a boat, you can find Paul giving accomplished motivational and inspirational talks or getting stuck into a number of different sports such as windsurfing, mountain biking, kiteboarding and playing golf.  He is a member of Volvo Car (UK)'s sponsorship initiative, ‘Team Volvo for Life'.

MOTIVATIONAL / INSPIRATIONAL SPEAKER

Paul is the reigning Olympic, World and European Laser champion. Having overcome numerous hurdles en route to Olympic success, a journey that has taken over a decade, the tale of Paul's experiences cannot fail to captivate and motivate a variety of audiences. He has a very natural and relaxed style and comes across as himself as he relates his story. 

Style:

From the beginning of his presentation Paul immediately puts his audience at ease as he comes across as himself - a humble lad from Yorkshire. Relaxed, bright and very down to earth, audiences really warm to Paul's laid back and at ease approach as he shares his compelling story.

Content:

Paul begins at the start of his journey, facing the first of his many obstacles to become an Olympic sailing champion, that of been born and growing up in the land locked city of Sheffield! He then goes on to tell of the ups and downs of his journey to becoming Olympic champion, where he faced setbacks along the way such as career threatening injuries, self doubt and unexpected failure.

Paul is flexible and bright, and able to work to a client's brief, incorporating specific messages or tailoring his existing material to highlight certain business areas. His standard presentation though is naturally adapted with each individual audience in mind. As a result, his truly inspiring story never fails to engage his audience, large or small.

Key Points:

• dedication, 
• drive,
• sacrifice,
• overcoming setbacks,
• goal setting & focus

Testimonials: 

We have received very positive feedback from your session.  You covered off the key points and it was very well received by the large analyst audience (apparently you got easily the biggest cheer & applause on the day!!)
Accenture

"All Gold Medals have a story behind them, Paul Goodison's speech outlining the obstacles he had to overcome for Olympic Glory are particularly relevant for companies operating in the current economic climate. Paul is degree educated and this was apparent in his insightful and articulate speech. He is an effective public speaker and engaged with the audience very well.  We are definitely planning further events with him in the short term as  his value is going to sky rocket as we get nearer to 2012 as he is a sure bet to be a star of the games."
Chief Executive, Pro-Sheffield and Pro-Executive 

"The feedback on Paul has been superb from all the attendees, they enjoyed the video and the talk he gave and he really motivated the team.  He gave us a good insight into teamwork which linked very well with our theme for the day and gave some good "real life" examples of challenges and how to get back up to the top. He kept the talk motivating, humorous, relevant and interesting and helped to make the event a big success. I would definitely recommend Paul for future events and look forward to working with him again in the future."
Visa Europe