Meet Keynote Motivational Speaker, #1 Best Selling Author, and former professional football player, Richie Contartesi. Standing a stellar 5'7" and weighing in at a magnificent 155 lbs, you wouldn't think he'd be much of a football player. Instead, he looks more like a chess player. Don't laugh, he's good at chess too!
Despite the odds and naysayers, Richie Contartesi walked on at Ole Miss and eventually received a football scholarship, started every game his senior year, and earned the Scholar- Athlete award twice. His inspirational book, "In Spite of the Odds” tells of the triumph and determination.
Born on December 10, 1987, in West Palm Beach, Florida, Richie is the only boy and has four sisters. He knew his athletic ability and resilience for success at a very young age by taking on the challenge of riding a two-wheel bicycle at 3 years old and winning. His football career started when he was 10 years old and right away he found his passion. Richie was determined to play college football and from hard work in high school, he had earned awards and accolades such as Most Valuable Player, Offensive Player of the Year, and Team Captain among others.
After making a mistake signing with Jacksonville University, he decided to take a chance on himself and follow his dream of walking on at Ole Miss. After 3 coaching staffs, 100’s of setbacks, and almost quitting, he pulled through till the end and earned a full Division I football scholarship at Ole Miss. More importantly, he surpassed his wildest dreams of catching passes in the SEC in front of 97,000 fans, starting in all 12 games his senior year, and earning the Scholar-Athlete award twice. At 5’7" and 155 lbs. he won the Scholar-Athlete award twice!
After college, he wasn’t finished. The next dream was to move to NYC and eventually start his own business. He worked for 2 years in the corporate world and found himself quickly at the top, earning rookie of the year honors. Shortly after, it was time to start his own business.
He made the biggest mistake right away and quickly spent all his savings starting Ripped Athlete. While some may see this as a failure, the lessons learned were invaluable. “I failed, I learned more in that year than I've learned my whole life,” says Richie.
That setback launched another dream where Richie set out to start Anabolic Technology. Since learning what it takes to start a successful business,I now have the confidence to go out and do whatever my heart tells me. Like moving to Florida and playing professional arena football for the Florida Tarpons. This would not have been impossible if I had a 9-5 job.
Currently, Richie speaks to both adults and youth. He has realized through all of this that no matter how much he enjoys defying the odds, his true passion is in helping others defy theirs. As a Motivational Keynote Speaker, he helps adults and teens understand that their dreams are closer than they appear. Through all the noise and out of reach possibilities, speaking is truly his favorite way of communicating his passion.
