Keith Banks Motivational Speaker, Author and Mental Health Advocate

My personal mission is to help people build resilience and lead fulfilling personal and professional lives. I am a passionate advocate for those who suffer from anxiety, depression and the effects of trauma. The success of my books has given me the opportunity to speak to many different organisations about trauma and recovery. My goal is to continue to add my voice to removing the stigma which has been too long attached to mental health.

About Keith

Keith Banks is one of Queensland’s most decorated police officers, a recipient of the Bravery Medal and twice awarded the prestigious Queensland Police Valour Award medal, among other honours. He is a passionate advocate for changing the way mental health is regarded, discussed and supported. Keith is the best selling author of two autobiographical books which document his experiences as a Queensland police officer, firstly as an undercover operative and then as a tactical special weapons cop.

Keith joined the Police Force in 1975 and resigned in 1995. He joined as an idealistic seventeen year old and embarked on a career encompassing twenty years of deep undercover work, criminal investigation, special weapons, bomb disposal, counter-terrorism and criminal intelligence. When he resigned, he was emotionally broken and racked with Post Traumatic Stress. The job he loved had almost destroyed him.

Services

Keynote Speaking

Keith uses his lived experience to inspire a change in thinking about mental health and adversity. He motivates people to think differently about their response to the challenges we all face and how to develop a resilience mindset and understand that recovery is absolutely possible.

Personal Mindset and Communication

Keith talks about his lived experience with PTSD, and the need to be honest and authentic with ourselves and othersl…

Resilience and Recovery

We all have some degree of trauma, that’s
the result of living. Sometimes this trauma becomes too painful…

Mental Fitness

Just as we invest financially, we must also invest in our mental fitness daily so we can truly enjoy life…

Keith Banks is a best selling author, public speaker and coach. He believes that people can thrive through connection and encourages the destigmatisation of the conversation around mental health.

Each of us is touched by trauma at some level. Once we understand how to accept and deal with that, we can create happy and enriched lives for ourselves and become better people, partners, employers, employees and contribute positively to the world around us.

Store

To order a personally inscribed copy, hover your mouse over the cover.

These two are the best first person true crime books of that era in Queensland that I have read.” – Matthew Condon, Author of Three Crooked Kings; Jacks and Jokers and All Fall Down. 

THE STORY BEHIND MY BOOKS

I had a police career that was not the norm. I never wanted to sit behind a desk or spend time in a suburban police station doing the mundane duty that comes with that. I have utmost respect for police that do that job, but it was never for me.

You should be careful what you wish for. During my service I experienced years of incidents of violence and death and this changed me. The idealistic young man I had been was gone forever. I struggled with the symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder for over 30 years and still have some dark days. A major part of my recovery has been writing my stories and sharing them with thousands of people via the team at Allen and Unwin Publishing.

My books are not heroic, but they are raw and authentic. I hope they will help people gain a better insight into the world of law enforcement and understand that cops are human and, like everyone, can be drastically affected by what they experience. I hope I have done justice to the memory of those many police who served for all the right reasons and have paid the ultimate price.

Without the thin blue line, we are at the mercy of those who would prey upon us. For that reason, I will always bleed blue.

TESTIMONIALS

Multi Cap Direct Support Workers Conference 2024.It was a pleasure working with Keith on our recent Conference. From our very first interaction Keith was highly engaged with our event, making sure to tailor his content to our audience, align with our Conference themes and ensure there were no issues with the content that would be covered. No request for additional information to assist in our marketing was too extreme and Keith happily promoted his involvement in the event to his networks as well. During the event he held the room so well you could hear a pin drop, and anecdotal evidence tells us that the key learnings from his presentation were very well received. I hope the opportunity to work with Keith comes up again in the future.
Robyn AdamsMarketing

CLIENTS

Keith’s clients include the Australian Defence Force; QBuild; Edge Consulting; Association Executive Services; Queensland Police Service; Civil Construction companies; retail organisations; security companies; financial institutions; and mental health and disability services providers and charities.

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