Speaking

Taking The Fight

Stuart Warren Dansby

Keynote Speaker · Trusted Performance Advisor · Champion Fighter

Every organization has a fight.

Let's talk about yours.

A practical performance framework, built from an award-winning documentary and more than 30 years of developing people, teams and growth.

Speaker reel

Film awards

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Festival selections

Streaming platforms

Countries streaming

Hall of Fame

2000

What Taking The Fight is

One story. One operating system.

Taking The Fight is built around one universal truth: we all have a fight.

Born from the award-winning documentary Taking the Fight and Stuart’s own journey from first-time fighter at 55 to champion at 62, it combines lessons forged in competition with 30+ years of leadership and human development into a practical operating system for how people think, lead, work together, and perform.

The story connects to human nature and inspires.

The operating system turns inspiration into behavior.

Fighting is the metaphor. The story is for a student, a manager, a parent, an executive, or an event room full of people who have a fight of their own.

Stuart Warren Dansby is the conduit. The message belongs to the audience.

The documentary

Taking the Fight chronicles a six-year saga: a first competitive fight at 55, life-altering injuries, opponents decades younger, and a championship at 62.

The purpose

The film creates the human connection. The Five Pillars turn that connection into a way people think, lead, work together and perform.

The credibility

More than 30 years building businesses, leading teams and developing people. The documentary is lived proof. The career is the second foundation.

“I am not a motivational speaker. What I am is a performance improvement coach, mentor, and teacher.”

Stuart Warren Dansby

For the workforce

The problems we solve

Organizations book this talk because the research is impossible to ignore.

Only 1 in 5 employees worldwide is engaged

0 %

Source: Gallup, State of the Global Workplace

Estimated annual global cost of disengagement

$ 0 T

Source: Gallup, State of the Global Workplace

Same company. Same CEO. Very different teams.

0 %

Up to 70% of the difference in engagement can be attributed to the manager. Source: Gallup, State of the Global Workplace

Only 20% of employees worldwide are genuinely engaged at work, and disengagement costs the global economy an estimated $10 trillion annually.

Even within the same organization, under the same CEO, engagement can vary dramatically from team to team. Gallup’s research indicates that up to 70% of that difference can be attributed to the manager.

Position power vs. personal power

The strongest leaders have both.

Position power

A title gives you position power. People respond because it’s their job.

Personal power

Leadership builds personal power. People respond because they trust you, believe in the mission and want to contribute at a higher level.

This isn’t simply a culture problem. It’s a management behavior problem. Management behavior can be coached, developed and trained into leadership skills.

Source: Gallup, State of the Global Workplace

For students

The same gap shows up before the first job.

Taking The Fight does not ask leaders or students to abandon what matters to them. It gives both a practical way, through pillars they can learn and apply, to close the gap.

Of Gen Z shares the values employers say they want most

0 %

Source: Suzy Welch, Becoming You Labs, The Values Bridge

Drop in entry-level job postings since 2024

0 %

Reported across global job-posting analyses since January 2024

What employers want most

What students value most

The operating system

The 5 Pillars of Taking The Fight

The path to championship performance. The arena changes. The pillars remain the same.

The difference between stress and challenge is perspective

Stress is what happens to you. Challenge is what you decide to do about it.

Same event, same information. The difference is the story you tell yourself. The skill is catching the moment you can make the switch.

For leaders

Reframe pressure before the spiral starts and respond with intention.

For students

Catch the spiral before it starts, reframe pressure and choose a steadier story.

Everything good in life comes from discipline

Everything you do, every day, whether anyone is watching or not, has your signature on it.

Health, relationships, wealth and growth are built through the daily choices nobody sees. Discipline is what shows up after motivation leaves.

For leaders

Daily, unwatched habits build reputation, culture, consistency and trust.

For students

Your daily habits build confidence, results, reputation and trust beyond graduation.

Your real competition is you

Your real competition is not the person across from you. It is who you were yesterday.

Self-improvement is the standard. Beat yesterday’s version of yourself every day, then multiply that growth over a year.

For leaders

Measure progress against your own last quarter and keep raising the standard.

For students

Measure growth against yesterday’s version of you, not someone else’s social media reel, grades, car or physical appearance.

Servant leadership and the power of the team

Good people will put more pressure on themselves than you ever can. Resource them. Coach them. Empower them. Give them ownership and the freedom to make mistakes.

You win or you learn.

For leaders

Transform position power into personal power. That is how you build a true high-performing team.

For students

Learn the difference between simply being on a team and empowering yourself to build a great one.

Championship performance

No one person or team arrives as a champion. Successful people do what unsuccessful people don’t want to do, because everything we do in life has our signature on it.

Championship Performance is planned and practiced. It is the outcome created when the other four pillars work together.

For leaders

Preparation, disciplined execution and team alignment turn potential into results.

For students

Preparation, discipline, learning and support turn potential into results.

Rise...Grind...Function...Achieve...in Gratitude.

Speaking and impact

Signature speaking experiences

Every organization has a different fight. Stuart works with leadership and event organizers before your event to tailor the content to your organization’s priorities, pain points, and culture, ensuring the conversation is relatable and hits home with real, practical takeaways that drive performance improvement, both personally and professionally.

The keynote

45 to 60 minutes

Most requested

The keynote + breakout

Also available

Credibility

Executive endorsements

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Stuart is a passionate and driven leader with tremendous EQ, commercial acumen, and organizational agility. He’s an asset and a force multiplier.

Jonathan Thompson

Chief Executive Officer, Nielsen-Massey Vanillas

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A visionary executive who builds high-performing business models, develops exceptional teams, and consistently delivers results with integrity and character.

David Stis

Chief Commercial Officer, Del Monte Foods

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One of the most passionate and motivating leaders I’ve ever met. Stuart consistently rallies organizations to deliver beyond expectations.

David Klavsons

Chief Executive Officer, King Juice

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A strategic executive who combines vision, innovation, and disciplined execution while inspiring teams and driving measurable business growth.

Sheila Rondeau

CEO, MOGXP

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Stuart saw strengths in me I didn’t yet recognize. His mentorship shaped both my career and the leader I’ve become.

John Albert III

Chief Executive Officer, Unified Building Group

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A high-performing commercial leader whose passion, strategic thinking, and ability to build new capabilities consistently drive growth and innovation.

Saverio Spontella

Chief Commercial & Marketing Officer

Recognition and media

Featured, selected and awarded.

Muscle & Fitness

NBC 6

The Contending

30+ podcasts

MMAM Hall of Fame

Inducted into the Meticulous Martial Arts Mastermind Hall of Fame in 2025 for his contributions to combat sports and film. The documentary has garnered 30+ awards from 26 festival selections.

Speaking inquiries

Let's take the fight together.

Book a keynote, add the breakout, or start with a conversation about the fight in front of your organization.

Rise...Grind...Function...Achieve...in Gratitude.