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Adversity Spurred Athlete's Speaking Career

Ruth Mancina

Throughout her 20 years in the public speaking industry, Lilly Walters has had hundreds of former sports stars come to her for advice on how to succeed in the field.

Most have failed, said Walters, author of numerous public speaking books, including the 2008 Almanac on Speakers Bureaus and Lecture Agents.

"It's a very, very competitive market," the California-based author said.

One former mid-Michigan athlete has bucked that trend and seen his motivational speaking enterprise grow in the past decade from a one-man show to a team of six speakers presenting at schools, churches, corporations and sports teams throughout the United States.

Brian Pruitt started H.A.C.C. Motivational Speakers after seeing his dream of playing in the National Football League fade.

In 1994, Pruitt, of Saginaw Township, was an All-American running back for Central Michigan University, the third leading scorer and the second leading rusher in the nation. Football analysts expected the speedster to go fairly high in the 1995 draft.

"It was pretty much a done deal - I was going to the NFL," he recalled.

But after finding out that he had a neck condition that would make him susceptible to paralysis, he was told he could not play professional football.

"I was flabbergasted," he said. "What do you next?"

For Pruitt, the answer was clear - find something else that he was equally passionate about, which he knew was public speaking.

"I realized that I was just as good of a public speaker as I was a football player," he said.

At the age of 22, he started his business and came up with the acronym H.A.C.C., which stands for Heart, Attitude, Courage and Consistency. He quickly became known as the "HACC Man" and began speaking to local churches and schools about his experiences and realized that there was a niche for his type of talks.

Today, Pruitt travels across the country speaking to groups about how to overcome obstacles and accomplish one's dreams.

Despite the high failure rate of former sports stars succeeding as public speakers, Pruitt has had to hire five more speakers to reach as many audiences as he can in the United States, Europe, Canada and Mexico.

"I think my experience and what happened to me sets me apart," he said. "People begin to admire the strength you have to get up after you've been knocked down."

His staff now includes speakers in Michigan, Washington, North Carolina and Georgia.

"I met people who were just like me who had a heart for great communication and needed a stage to get their message out there," he said. "I decided to bring them all under me so we could work together as a team."

A key to his success is his sincerity, Pruitt said, adding that audiences know if a speaker is truly passionate about his or her subject.

In trying to help people overcome obstacles and adversity in their life or work, Pruitt focuses a great deal on helping people learn how to overcome fear, including the fear of success.

Most of the groups he speaks to already have an idea or theme as to what they want Pruitt to speak about, he said, adding that he also pays close attention to the feedback he gets from his audiences when crafting his talks for the future.

While his communications degree from CMU has helped him with his business, Pruitt said consulting with other public speakers and asking for advice and criticism has helped him succeed.

"I go to other great communicators and ask for feedback - I ask a thousand questions," he said. "I videotape myself and critique myself even to this day."

Up next for Pruitt, in addition to increasing the number of speaking engagements, is to focus on the company Web site and sell books, CDs and DVDs. Also on the Web site is an e-newsletter written by Pruitt.

"We're going to exhaust every avenue we can to get the message out," he said.

Ruth Mancina is a freelance writer living in Saginaw.