Darren
Flanagan

Darren was fantastic - highly relevant for our team and an absolutely professional, personal and emotional account from him - a highlight of our program.

An intense, passionate, emotional delivery of his story, there were a lot of tears in the room. Darren tied it very nicely with how you work with your advisers, commitment, leadership, thought and quality with family etc. He was a huge hit.

Darren Flanagan had the audience at the NSW Ambulance Safety Summit laughing, crying and holding their breath during his incredible account of his role in the Beaconsfield Mine rescue. He received a standing ovation from the audience, predominantly medical professionals including paramedics, doctors and flight nurses. Within his presentation, framed perfectly to the NSW Ambulance Summit safety messaging as ‘Safety in a Complex Environment’, Darren conveyed the unique challenges and pressures of his experience in a way that completely resonated with the audience. His presentation was voted the highlight of the conference with its multiple messages relating to safety, personal resilience, faith in your own abilities and the need to rise to a uniquely difficult challenge. I highly recommend Darren as an exceptional keynote speaker.

I have never seen a presenter invite an audience in to experience the real emotions of his own real life experience. The way Darren presented made us all feel as we were actually there with him. At times we cried, at times we laughed, he was the best presenter I have seen in 25 years. That night Darren also joined us for dinner and he was swamped by both members and suppliers alike who merely wanted to speak with this guy and thank him for sharing his story.

An insider's version of events of one of the most publicised mining accidents in Australia's history. Darren Flanagan's speech about his involvement with the rescue of the Beaconsfield miners is gripping from start to finish. His raw emotion takes the audience to the scene of the accident, the efforts of the team involved in the rescue and the toll that it took on the mining community. His speech is a real eye opener and a great motivational tool for anyone involved with the industry.

Darren Flanagan is a passionate, enthralling and inspiring speaker. The manner in which he is able to communicate the human side of the Beaconsfield rescue - the effect on families, on rescuers, and on the survivors themselves - made us realise why safety in the workplace cannot be taken for granted. Darren was the closing speaker of the conference and even after two days of presentations, Darren managed to hold the attention of everyone in the room - and I mean all 300 delegates - for over an hour.

In a nutshell, Darren Flanagan blew everyone away. Several of our guys who have been with us for 10 years or more said he was the best speaker we have ever had. It was nice to have someone who wasn't overly professional (that's not a criticism) and didn't look like he was 'just going through the motions'. He is an ordinary, genuine man who was caught up in an extraordinary set of circumstances... everyone in the room was moved by his experience. A lot of our delegates are men in the construction industry - they're not known for being easily affected.

To say it was an interesting, absorbing and dramatic presentation would not be doing it justice. Darren Flanagan's talk was electrifying, emotional and detailed. His description of the rescue operation and the conditions the miners survived in, made us all understand, not only the enormity of the operation and the delicacy of the final preparations to break through to the miners as well as the extreme conditions that rescuers and rescued were sharing but how the Aussie spirit shone through. As well as privileged, we were enthralled, thrilled but most of all thankful to have such a dinkum, brave Aussie speaker to share his extreme experience with us.

He is always very real, and you feel the raw emotion which hits home for all. It starts the right kind of conversation, and reaches everyone, even the toughest of people. Love his honestly and appreciate his willingness to share so openly with everyone to raise awareness for the right reasons.

Wow, what an amazing guy! Darren’s presentation was so moving and inspirational. He really puts things into perspective. He was just so generous with his time, emotions and advice. Words cannot describe our thanks for not only his group presentation but also the words he had for our staff afterwards. Thank you Darren for taking us on a small part of your journey.

The two events were fabulous, and Darren had staff in both the north and the south operations captivated – they were along for the whole ride from the moment he got to the stage. We very much appreciate his energy and support.

Darren’s presentation was a highly emotional and thought-provoking account of his involvement in the Beaconsfield mine rescue in 2006. Darren’s attention to detail took the audience through the rescue and included important messages for us all such as trusting yourself amidst fear and the human instinct of avoidance. He also made me reflect on the value of family and friends, what is important, and the impact of mental health illness in our society. I would recommend Darren’s to others who are seeking an impactful and genuine storyteller.

Darren quickly gained the full attention of the audience. His presentation is extremely honest and authentic. The story is one of heroism but also compassion. Feedback from delegates was that they greatly enjoyed Darren’s presentation; it was a tremendous start to our 2017 convention.

10/10 – Darren isn’t your normal speaker; he puts his heart and soul into his story and really takes the audience along on the ride.

Darren was the most engaging and interesting speaker I have ever heard in person. He was open, honest and emotional. His talk took us to places I didn't imagine, and I am better for having heard it. Don't miss his story!

Darren Flanagan tells stories within stories. The rescue at Beaconsfield Mine is in itself a marvellous feat. The personal battles and rescues that also occurred during that rescue and since then are at another level. Darren’s recount is real, his story is personal and the delivery is from the heart.

After two years of construction, typical toolboxes and a recent significant mental health issue onsite, we knew we had to do something different. Fulton Hogan engaged Darren on another project and I received great feedback on his approach and story. After I spoke with Darren and heard his story and how he can tailor it to our current site issue, I knew we had to give it a go. “Darren presented with such passion and authenticity that’s it’s impossible not to be encapsulated by his story. The team was laughing, crying and simply in awe as Darren took us on his Beaconsfield journey and inspired us to look after our mates better and change our attitude to staying safe as a way of life. The feedback we received from the team has been overwhelmingly positive - it’s very clear that Darren’s story touched the hearts of many of our people and I would not hesitate in recommending him to anyone.

We are a project operating in the Rail industry and Darren was asked to present his Beaconsfield story for an R U OK? Day event. The feedback we received after Darren’s talk was incredibly heartwarming, he truly touched every individual. Darren’s story literally had the team go from laughter to tears, to simply being in awe of his story and the impact it so clearly still has on him today. Darren’s message was such a great reminder for the team that no one is safe from mental illness, and you don’t need to have experienced a significant event to suffer your own battles. We would certainly have no hesitation in recommending Darren for any business wanting to make a big impact on its people.

Darren captured the audience from the moment he went on stage and held them until the end. His story and the lessons learned remained the key talking point amongst our members for the remaining day and a half of our conference.

Met our expectations and exceeded them. Darren was very generous in sharing his personal experiences, which our staff found very moving and made a lasting impact. Exactly what our field- based staff needed to encourage them to seek support with mental health issues.

Bloody amazing! Darren’s story is something that I think about often and it is an honour to have been able to gain a small glimpse of insight into his private story of struggle. The way he shares what he has been through is something that I feel anyone could draw strength from. I am so moved by Darren’s lived experience and his willingness to shed light on the importance of mental health.

Darren’s story was quite incredible delivered in a very emotive way. The story was very captivating for the entire presentation and was wonderfully concluded with a set of key poignant messages. It was obvious that Darren was heavily invested in the presentation and entirely committed to bring across his important message regarding safety.

It was an intense, fascinating, heartfelt, honest and emotional story of survival from an unimaginable situation. You could hear a pin drop for the entire 90 minutes – no one moved, no one spoke, every staff member was completely captivated from start to finish (not normally the case!).

Darren's presentation received a long, standing ovation - celebrating his passion for human life and the frailties of our existence.