Damon West

  • Criminal Justice Professor
  • 3x Bestselling Author of 'The Coffee Bean: A Simple Lesson to Create Positive Change'

Damon West, M.S. Criminal Justice, is a college professor, internationally known keynote speaker and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Coffee Bean: A Simple Lesson to Create Positive Change, which Forbes’ listed in the “Top Twenty Books You Need to Read to Crush 2020.”

His autobiography, The Change Agent: How a Former College QB Sentenced to Life in Prison Transformed His World, vividly tells how he transformed the pot of boiling water that is a Texas maximum-security prison into a pot of coffee.

At 20 years old, he was a Division 1 starting quarterback at the University of North Texas, when he suffered a career ending injury. He turned to hardcore drugs to cope with disappointments of life. After graduation, he worked in the United States Congress, was a national fundraiser on a U.S. Presidential campaign and eventually trained to be a stockbroker for United Bank of Switzerland (UBS). One day at UBS, he was introduced to methamphetamines; he became instantly hooked—and the lives of so many innocent people would forever be changed by the choices he made in order to feed his insatiable meth habit.

After a fateful discussion during his incarceration with a seasoned convict, Damon had a spiritual awakening. He learned that, like a coffee bean changing with the application of heat and pressure, he was capable of changing the environment around him. Armed with a program of recovery, a renewed faith, and a miraculous second chance at life, Damon emerged from over seven years of prison a changed man. His story of redemption, grit and determination continues to inspire audiences today.

The Coffee Bean message has inspired thousands. Damon’s clients include such companies as Walmart, AIG, Chick-fil-A, Southwest Airlines, and sports teams like the Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Timberwolves, Clemson, Alabama and Georgia. The U.S. Army has even incorporated the #BeACoffeeBean mindset into their resilience training. Damon’s story has been featured both nationally and globally.

He is passionate about the Coffee Bean message and loves sharing how it changed his life and how it can change yours, too.

 


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Damon West headshot
Past Hosts Include:
  • Exxon Mobil
  • Walmart
  • NFL
  • Southwest
  • State Farm
  • Chick-fil-A
  • AIG
  • Forbes
  • US Army
  • American Society of Criminology
Rave Reviews About Damon West as a Speaker
Our players were very impressed. He did a great job of talking about servant leadership, did a great job of talking about choices and decisions, cause and effect of those decisions. I think his story is very compelling because of the sacrifices he had to make to get his life back to where it needed to be. The message about helping other people and the power of controlling yourself, what you do and what you say, is so important

The Story of Damon West: From Life Sentence to Best-Selling Author & Speaker | Profile Reel - Get Sharable Link
Talks & Conversations with Damon West
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Servant Leadership: The Secret To Life

Designed for any group, this presentation is focused and personalized for audiences who are working to positively change their culture. Before coming in to speak to your group, Damon will learn your most serious issues and address them as part of his presentation. Damon emphasizes the need to become ...

Designed for any group, this presentation is focused and personalized for audiences who are working to positively change their culture. Before coming in to speak to your group, Damon will learn your most serious issues and address them as part of his presentation. Damon emphasizes the need to become servant leaders in their teams, schools, communities, organizations and families. Additionally, Damon will end with a Call To Action, to be like the coffee bean from his story. At the conclusion of the event, Damon will field questions from the audience on any and all topics he discussed.

*(A PowerPoint presentation can be created upon request, which plays behind him as he speaks to his audience.)

Overcoming Adversity: The Damon West Story

In this intimate and personal presentation, Damon shares his cautionary tale and message of hope in a brutally honest presentation. Damon takes his audience on an emotional journey from childhood sexual abuse, adolescent addiction and living with ADHD, playing Division 1 football, working in the Uni ...

In this intimate and personal presentation, Damon shares his cautionary tale and message of hope in a brutally honest presentation. Damon takes his audience on an emotional journey from childhood sexual abuse, adolescent addiction and living with ADHD, playing Division 1 football, working in the United States Congress and ultimately working for one of the biggest Wall Street banks, UBS, before being introduced to meth. His nightmare life of meth-addicted crime and receiving the maximum punishment (Life) is vividly described. The survival stories on the life-sentence building inside a Texas maximum security prison and the lessons he learned while incarcerated, which ultimately delivered him into recovery, are spell-binding and riveting. Additionally, Damon will end with a Call To Action, to be like the coffee bean from his story. At the conclusion of the event, Damon will field questions from the audience on any and all topics he discussed.

*(A PowerPoint presentation can be created upon request, which plays behind him as he speaks to his audience.)

Core Values of Your Team: Inspire to Your Full Potential

This presentation is designed for businesses, corporations and teams to realize their full potential and stay ahead of the competition. For maximum effectiveness, Damon will personalize his story with your core values and goals, splicing valuable lessons and life-changing realizations he learned alo ...

This presentation is designed for businesses, corporations and teams to realize their full potential and stay ahead of the competition. For maximum effectiveness, Damon will personalize his story with your core values and goals, splicing valuable lessons and life-changing realizations he learned along the way with your organization’s story and mission statement. The themes of character, grit, goals, determination and winning the day are paramount in this presentation. Additionally, Damon will end with a Call To Action, to be like the coffee bean from his story. At the conclusion of the event, Damon will field questions from the audience on any and all topics he discussed.

*(A PowerPoint presentation can be created upon request, which plays behind him as he speaks to his audience.)

Convocations

Hear the message that school districts all over the country are implementing as their motto: Be A Coffee Bean! This presentation is designed for school districts and academic institutions wanting to both motivate their teachers and staff, as well as implement the vitally important message of the cof ...

Hear the message that school districts all over the country are implementing as their motto: Be A Coffee Bean! This presentation is designed for school districts and academic institutions wanting to both motivate their teachers and staff, as well as implement the vitally important message of the coffee bean, that the power to change any situation is within you, not in the outside forces around you. The culture of your district can be positively changed in one hour!

Damon’s message not only addresses the physical and mental well-being of students and staff, it also meets the criteria for social and emotional learning (SEL). The SEL aspects of the coffee bean message provide the audience with much needed leadership skills and tips for living a positive life.

Additionally, Damon will end with a Call To Action, to be like the coffee bean from his story. At the conclusion of the event, Damon will field questions from the audience on any and all topics he discussed and do book signings where requested.

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Biography

Damon West, M.S. Criminal Justice, is a college professor, internationally known keynote speaker and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Coffee Bean: A Simple Lesson to Create Positive Change, which Forbes’ listed in the “Top Twenty Books You Need to Read to Crush 2020.”

His autobiography, The Change Agent: How a Former College QB Sentenced to Life in Prison Transformed His World, vividly tells how he transformed the pot of boiling water that is a Texas maximum-security prison into a pot of coffee.

At 20 years old, he was a Division 1 starting quarterback at the University of North Texas, when he suffered a career ending injury. He turned to hardcore drugs to cope with disappointments of life. After graduation, he worked in the United States Congress, was a national fundraiser on a U.S. Presidential campaign and eventually trained to be a stockbroker for United Bank of Switzerland (UBS). One day at UBS, he was introduced to methamphetamines; he became instantly hooked—and the lives of so many innocent people would forever be changed by the choices he made in order to feed his insatiable meth habit.

After a fateful discussion during his incarceration with a seasoned convict, Damon had a spiritual awakening. He learned that, like a coffee bean changing with the application of heat and pressure, he was capable of changing the environment around him. Armed with a program of recovery, a renewed faith, and a miraculous second chance at life, Damon emerged from over seven years of prison a changed man. His story of redemption, grit and determination continues to inspire audiences today.

The Coffee Bean message has inspired thousands. Damon’s clients include such companies as Walmart, AIG, Chick-fil-A, Southwest Airlines, and sports teams like the Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Timberwolves, Clemson, Alabama and Georgia. The U.S. Army has even incorporated the #BeACoffeeBean mindset into their resilience training. Damon’s story has been featured both nationally and globally.

He is passionate about the Coffee Bean message and loves sharing how it changed his life and how it can change yours, too.

His Wall Street Journal bestselling bookThe Locker Room: How Great Teams Heal Hurt, Overcome Adversity and Build Unityis being optioned for film adaptation.

His children’s book, The Coffee Bean for Kids, is the genesis for Coffee Bean Clubs being started by students at schools all over America.

Today, Damon lives a life of recovery and service, sharing his story all over the world. Of all the hats Damon wears, however, the two most important to him are being a husband to Kendell and a stepfather to Clara.