Dean Windass

Dean Windass is best known for his footballing career, with over 100 appearances in the Premier League for teams such as Hull City, Middlesbrough, and Bradford City and spells in the English Football League. Since retiring from the sport, Dean has taken up coaching and media engagements as well as punditry and work as an ambassador for Hull City. With a career spanning almost 20 years, Dean is now booked as a football speaker for corporate and public events to openly share his battles with mental health and anecdotes from his sporting career.

Dean started his career at hometown club, Hull City, scoring 57 times in 176 games. He moved north of the border in 1995 to join Aberdeen, before featuring in England’s topflight for the first time in 1999 with Bradford City, after a short spell at Oxford United. He finished as the top scorer at Bradford during the 2000-2001 season, going on to play for Middlesbrough, Sheffield Wednesday, United and then returned to Bradford once again.

In his second spell at the club, he become its third highest ever goal scorer and was the top scorer in the Football League during the 2004-05 season with 28 goals. He moved back to his hometown for a second spell at Hull City, where he would also produce his autobiography, ‘Deano From Gipsyville to the Premiership’, where he discussed his career as a footballer and his battles with mental health issues and addiction. He would go on to score the winning goal in the 2007/08 Championship Playoff final to get the club promoted to the Premier League for the first time. He ended his professional career in 2010 having scored over 200 goals in more than 700 appearances.

Since retiring from football Dean has become a regular on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday. He has also worked with BBC Radio as well as local and national print organisations. Away from his media commitments, Dean became a Club Ambassador for Hull City in 2015, where he worked closely with the club’s hospitality team on a matchday as well as helping to promote the club at community projects. He is also a UEFA A Licence coach and worked with local side East Hull.

Working as a speaker, Dean is the perfect guest for any footballing audience given a long career and his status as one of the game’s biggest characters. His openness about his battles with mental health issues and addiction makes him a great speaker for anyone looking for a thought-provoking discussion on a serious issue.