Gary King
Speaker, author, Navy veteran. 80 years old. Survived 36 traumas. Read 2,300 books. Nailed 600 signs. One mission: prove that one word can change a city.
St. Petersburg, Florida
The Journey
Gary King is a speaker, author, successful entrepreneur, and a Veteran of the US Navy. His background is diverse and exhilarating: professional powerboat racing, internationally recognized artist and sculptor honored by President Clinton, General Manager and Vice President of sales and marketing in the television industry.
Gary has successfully owned and operated King Marine Engineering, formed in 1972, and King Productions International, started in 1981. He is an expert in event production, security, risk management and logistics. He has produced and directed some of the largest motor sports events in the Tampa Bay area for over 40 years, including the 2001 APBA Offshore Powerboat World Championships. He has been executive director and operations director of events with 250,000 spectators and managed over 2,000 volunteers.
He spent 16 years as a professional powerboat race driver, including a world record in 1991. He spent 14 years as an international artist doing projects for the Japanese government, a performance at the International Performing Arts Festival in Singapore, a television commercial for Disney World, and sculpture projects worldwide. Gary has traveled almost four million international air miles.
For 25 years, he served as Director of Security, Road Manager, Operations Manager, and personal consultant to celebrities. He has worked alongside the Secret Service and provided personal security for General Schwarzkopf. During that time, over six million people attended the events he managed, giving him the ability to interview thousands of participants and do hundreds of presentations on personal development.
He has been a featured speaker at the University of California, San Diego for 12 consecutive years. His message has appeared in Oprah Magazine and O's Guide to Life, with numerous articles published on Character, Ethics, Integrity, and Forgiveness. Gary is currently a consultant to BayCare and their 19 hospitals.
On June 13th, 2022, Gary discovered a process to reverse the effects of Complex PTSD and PTSD at 80 years old. Born with PTSD, he fought his way through 36 extreme traumas across eight decades. His greatest gift, he says, is all the suffering he has been through. That suffering became the research. The research became the signs. The signs became the experiment.
In November 2019, Gary started the nationwide Happiness Experiment, using the psychology of human behavior to place signs with the word HAPPINESS all over St. Petersburg. In three years, ten breaking TV news stories covered Gary and his mission. He was the headline on the Tampa Bay Times the day before the 2020 election. The first week of June 2023, his life story was filmed for the international film festival circuit.
In November 2024, Gary started a national tour as keynote speaker for the Barracks Legend Foundation, serving veterans and their families. He is passionate and committed about bringing the United States back to a foundation of character, integrity, and happiness.
Speaking
Gary has been a featured speaker at the University of California, San Diego for 12 consecutive years. He has presented to audiences of thousands in schools, prisons, veteran organizations, and corporate events worldwide. His trademarked presentations — "The Power of Truth," "The Happiness Formula," and "The Happiness Experiment" — have dramatically enhanced the lives of thousands of people across many cultures.
Gary's messages are timely and riveting on the subject of character, ethics, integrity, and forgiveness. He has been involved with over six million people worldwide in the personal development industry.
Book Gary
Veterans Mission
In November 2024, Gary began a national tour as keynote speaker for the Barracks Legend Foundation, bringing his message to veterans and their families across the country. The Stronger Than Before conference series addresses the unique challenges facing those who have served.
As a Navy veteran himself, Gary understands the weight of service. His personal experience with Complex PTSD — and his discovery of a process to reverse its effects — gives him a credibility with veteran audiences that no amount of clinical training can replicate. He has lived it.
Learn more about booking Gary for veteran events