I’ve never actually had a fight in a bar, but that seemed hardly relevant when I had the idea for this Ignite Durham speech (<– click link for video, if you’re reading this on Facebook). It didn’t seem to bother anyone who voted for me, either, and I thank you for that.
The Ignite idea is that if enough people vote up your idea and put you on the stage, you get 5 minutes and 20 slides (which auto advance every 15 seconds) to say your piece and change the world.
Or at least have a few laughs and beers with friends, which can also be wonderful. You must end precisely on time or you get razzed, Rick-rolled, and pelted with fruit. As you can see from the video, I missed the cut-off by half a sentence, so I didn’t get the fruit treatment, only the razz and roll.
I want to be sure and thank the real power behind this speech to my friend Mike Velotta, who taught me a little bit of Brazilian Ju Jitsu and has worked with me in the boxing ring as well. Mike is a wonderfully friendly, potentially deadly man, and he spent several hours talking to me (and periodically demonstrating) the key things people should consider and act on in any bar fight, dark parking lot, or other dangerous situation.
Everything in this speech comes out of my notes from talking and working with Mike, although I should add that I didn’t get to run it past him before getting on stage, so I may have screwed up something without knowing it.
Thanks to the hard-working producers of this year’s Ignite Durham: Ryan Boyles, Zach Ward and Jeffrey L. Cohen – the same people that bring us Ignite Raleigh!
PS: I just now realized I never posted my speech from last year, “13 Reasons Women Should Take Up Boxing” so look for that video in a few days!