Jonny Benjamin and Neil Laybourn are inspirational speakers who have forged reputations as award-winning mental health campaigners. Brought together by an unfortunate event, Jonny and Neil share their experiences and passion for mental health in the hope that the stigma around the subject is broken.
Throughout his life, Jonny Benjamin has struggled with his mental health. Diagnosed with Schizoaffective Disorder, a combination of schizophrenia and bipolar, Jonny spent many occasions in hospital and was often driven to suicidal thoughts. Back in 2008, Jonny made the decision to act on these thoughts, considering taking his own life on Waterloo Bridge in London. Luckily with the kindness of a stranger, later found to be Neil Laybourn, Jonny’s life was saved. Fast forward to 2014 and Jonny became determined to find the man that saved his life on the bridge, launching the #FindMike campaign. The campaign went viral, viewed over 1 million times on social media and caught the attention of celebrities such as Stephen Fry and Boy George.
The campaign was ultimately successful, uniting Jonny and Neil just two weeks after the campaign started. Since meeting, the pair have joined forces as speakers to share their passions for mental health, providing support to those who suffer from mental illness and breaking the stigma surrounding the important subject. Their inspirational story was made into a programme by Channel 4, Stranger on the Bridge, and Jonny authored the book The Stranger on the Bridge: My Journey from Despair to Hope.
Both Jonny and Neil have contributed significantly to raising awareness of mental health and illness. Neil is the founder of the This Can Happen conference, designed to tackle challenges of mental health and provide solutions to workplaces. Jonny and Neil also founded Beyond, a charity focused on helping children with their mental health. Jonny is also the founder of ThinkWell, a programme designed for educational use to help improve and bring awareness to mental health in young people. The pair are also Ambassadors for Mental Health UK, and Jonny is also going to release The Book of Hope: 101 Voices on Overcoming Adversity.
Now booked as mental health speakers for a variety of events, Jonny and Neil are sought to share their inspirational story and to bring awareness to such an important subject. Passionate ambassadors of understanding mental health and illness, the pair are widely regarded as some of the UK’s most influential mental health campaigners and empower others to speak out about their battles with mental health. Having also partnered with the charity Rethink Mental Illness, the pair push the importance of kind words and how simply stopping and talking to someone can in some cases save their life.
Watch our Senior Content Executive, Megan Lupton, conduct an exclusive interview with Neil Leybourn and Jonny Benjamin, over on the Champions Speakers YouTube channel.
How to hire Jonny Benjamin & Neil Laybourn
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Jonny Benjamin & Neil Laybourn for your next event, today. To get in touch, simply call an official booking agent on 0207 1010 553 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
** We do not accept requests for autographs, signed merchandise, fan mail, birthday messages or any other non-commercial contact with the speakers or acts. Each speaker on the website may not have necessarily worked with Champions in the past but are known to perform such engagements within the industry.
Feedback from virtual events and webinars
During the Covid-19 pandemic and the temporary halt of live events, Jonny and Neil were booked as the exciting guest speakers for a range of virtual events and webinars. Read their feedback from virtual events below.
"The session was really well received and there were loads of questions in our veebox capture- more than we had time for which was great. Thanks again" - Helen, Apprentice Lead & Early Talent Lead, GSK
"Jonny and Neil were fantastic on Friday and we have had a lot of great feedback and thanks from our team for putting on the session. Thank you for your help with organising" - Laura, Galapagos UK
"Please can you also pass on my thanks to Jonny B and Neil. Their session has had such good feedback and they were so engaging throughout" - Grace, Event Programme Manager, Healthcare Financial Management Association
"The session was really good, we had some great feedback in the zoom chat" - Jen, Office Manager, Lucid
"A massive thank you! Jonny & Neil were absolutely phenomenal, I'm being inundated with positive feedback from across the company." - Cat, Marketing Analytics Manager, Informa Engage
"I would probably say that it was one of the most powerful and inspiring mental health talks I have ever seen. You can put posters up, you can tell people where to go for help but this event delivered something so impactful that I truly think it has made a big difference. Jonny and Neil were absolutely amazing. They will probably tell you that our host Nick also spoke from the heart- he really did open up about his struggles over the last 18 months. The whole event delivered a message that it's okay to talk and we have a company of people who are there to listen and be there for each other. We will be asking for feedback, but the comments coming through on the day demonstrated the impact this made. I don't think there was a dry eye in the house" - Sally, Muller
"The guys both did really well, I have had great feedback from those listening. Please pass on our gratitude to them both as their discussions fitted in great with our theme for the day and they gave us some great advice about communication in and out of the workplace to help improve/ spot mental health issues." - Emma, HR Advisor, Tennent Caledonian Breweries UK Ltd, C&C Group Plc
Feedback from in-person events
Jonny and Neil are often booked to speak together at in-person events, read their latest feedback below.
"I think the session was excellent. I have had a couple of notes with really positive feedback. Neil and Jonny are a joy to work with, and their story speaks for itself." - HSBC
"Just a quick note to say a huge thank you for sharing your story with our Bank of Ireland team this morning - the feedback has been amazing! While that’s lovely in itself, even more importantly is that you will have made a difference to some of our people who didn't know how they could find the "person on the bridge" that they might be needing to talk to. A huge thank you, really well done and my very best wishes to you both." - Ian McLoughlin, Chief Executive Officer, Bank of Ireland UK
