Chris Bashinelli

Chris Bashinelli is an Emmy-nominated television host, United Nations speaker, and global citizen whose travels to over 100 countries have made him one of the most compelling voices on cultural connection, empathy, and our shared humanity. He is the host of the internationally recognized series Bridge the Gap TV, broadcast into 45 million homes across 80 markets.

From Brooklyn to the World

Bashinelli grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and began his career as an actor with credits spanning MTV to The Sopranos before discovering his passion for using media to bridge cultural divides. His Bridge the Gap TV series takes him to communities around the world where he immerses himself in local cultures, building connections and telling stories that reveal our common humanity. He has spoken at the United Nations, at Jane Goodall’s National Leadership Retreat, and for Fortune 500 organizations worldwide.

Building Bridges Across Cultures

Bashinelli’s authentic curiosity and genuine warmth come through in every presentation, creating experiences that challenge audiences to see the world differently. His adventures provide a rich library of stories that illustrate the power of empathy, cultural understanding, and human connection. His keynotes deliver inspiring presentations on building bridges across cultures and communities, the power of empathy and experiential learning, finding common humanity in a divided world, and using storytelling to create understanding and drive positive change.

The Power Of Human Connection – Embracing Diversity, Building Stronger Teams

Embark with Bash on an international adventure, from the sweeping grasslands of Mongolia to the remote hillsides of China, coupled with stunning video footage and thought provoking exercises, where we learn to truly embrace diversity and harness the collective power of our shared humanity.

It is only when every single team member, from the office manager to the CEO, feels safe to bring their whole, most authentic selves to work every day, that our organization will realize its full potential. So long as anyone feels they must hide who they are, we leave untapped resources on the table – negatively impacting our bottom line. Embracing the powerful metaphor of his childhood “Stoop” in Brooklyn, where his friends shared a combined total of thirteen nationalities, Bash reminds us that it is only when our uniqueness is celebrated and all perspectives equally welcome, that we can truly tap into the power of human connection.

Takeaways

• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion within a simple, powerful framework.
• How to encourage every employee to be their authentic selves.
• How to create a safe, inclusive environment in the workplace.
• The benefits of creating a “Stoop” with our teams.
• How to build lifelong bridges between cultures.

Creating A Culture Of Trust & Empathy – The Superpower To True Business Growth

In this flagship keynote, Bash shares the profound method he’s used to build trust and forge lifelong friendships around the world as a National Geographic Explorer. From living with nomads in Mongolia, to Sumo-wrestling Japan’s heaviest human being of all time, Bash shares the superpower for true business growth in engaging, humorous and practical terms.

Without trust, business suffers profoundly – with it, our people and our company thrive. When our clients feel on a core level that we have their best interest in mind, they will be inspired to work with us, and business will flourish. As we live and work from a place of empathy we will naturally create an inclusive culture that inspires teammates to want to work together towards our mission and attract clients who trust us with their business.

Takeaways

• Discover our “In” – Bash’s trademarked secret to true human connection.
• Why focusing strictly on our bottom line undercuts our clients’ trust in us.
• The short and long term business benefits of emotional intelligence.
• How to create an inclusive culture where teammates are inspired.
• Why deep trust is the foundation to long term business growth.

Creating A Culture Of Trust & Empathy – The Superpower To True Business Growth

In this flagship keynote, Bash shares the profound method he’s used to build trust and forge lifelong friendships around the world as a National Geographic Explorer. From living with nomads in Mongolia, to Sumo-wrestling Japan’s heaviest human being of all time, Bash shares the superpower for true business growth in engaging, humorous and practical terms.

Without trust, business suffers profoundly – with it, our people and our company thrive. When our clients feel on a core level that we have their best interest in mind, they will be inspired to work with us, and business will flourish. As we live and work from a place of empathy we will naturally create an inclusive culture that inspires teammates to want to work together towards our mission and attract clients who trust us with their business.

Takeaways

• Discover our “In” – Bash’s trademarked secret to true human connection.
• Why focusing strictly on our bottom line undercuts our clients’ trust in us.
• The short and long term business benefits of emotional intelligence.
• How to create an inclusive culture where teammates are inspired.
• Why deep trust is the foundation to long term business growth.

Inspirational Leadership – Reignite Employee Inspiration & Bring Your Best Self Everyday

Join Bash on an international adventure, from the distant hilltops of Western Hunan, to the iconic Mongolian steppe, where we learn, through the power of story, that the most effective way to lead others is to become our best selves, each and every day. Pulling from his most memorable experiences in travels to over 40 countries, Bash shows that it is only because of challenge, not in spite of it, that we can realize our full potential – the space between who we are and who we can be.

When our leaders truly embrace empathy and show an unwavering commitment to realize their full potential, the result is inspiration. Leaders inspire us by what they say and do, but perhaps more than anything else – by who they are. In this revolutionary keynote we’ll explore how the results of influence are often short term and self serving, whereas the impact of inspiration lasts a lifetime.

Takeaways

• “Inspiration vs. Influence” – Why inspiration always outperforms influence.
• Re-Ignite your team’s passion for your mission and purpose.
• Inspire your team by becoming the best version of yourself.
• Embrace challenge as a means to realize your potential.
• Harness the magnetic power of selflessness.

The Power Of Mental Wellness – Renew Employee Inspiration, Creating A Healthy Workforce

We are working harder, under more pressure, and for longer hours than ever before – but without a mindful approach to work and life, one that values our well being as well as the bottom line – burnout and turnover are inevitable. Pulling from more than a decade of in-depth mindfulness and mediation studies, Bash shares how to incorporate positive mental health strategies into our work and life in order to increase productivity, profit and happiness.

Colored by Bash’s extraordinary adventures around the world as a National Geographic Explorer, this keynote brings to life the core lessons he’s learned to create a healthy workforce in fun, engaging and practical ways. No matter what our organization is struggling with – employee retention, company layoffs, or economic downturns – it can fuel our path to a wiser, more caring and more innovative culture.

Takeaways

• Mental Health tools to increase happiness, productivity and profit.
• The power of mindfulness to reduce stress and increase concentration.
• How to create work/life boundaries that empower joy & productivity.
• How embracing challenge gives rise to real innovation.
• The scientific link between “Happiness” and “Trust”.

Step Into Your Potential – Change Your Mind, Change Your World

Potential is the space between “where we are” and “where we can be”, it is our “unrealized abilities”, personally, professionally and as an organization. Stepping into our potential means understanding that it is only because of challenge, not in spite of it, that we can become our best selves. In this thought provoking keynote, colored with international stories of adventure, resilience and triumph – Bash shares the power available to each of us when we stop seeing challenge as an obstacle to success, and instead as the very vehicle by which we can achieve it.

From a remote Chinese village that rebuilds after a devastating fire, to a young Tanzanian filmmaker’s unimaginable dream come true, to Bash’s own personal experience of tragedy to triumph – this talk reminds us that when we change our minds, we truly can change our world. We will only realize our potential as an organization when every single team member is committed to realizing their strength individually. This keynote experience is at once a call to action for each of us personally as it is a reminder of the impact that’s possible when we tap into the collective strength of our shared humanity.

Start At Step Z – A Guide To Realizing Our Potential

In this interactive keynote Bash walks attendees through the step by step method of how to get from Step “A”, to Step “Z”, reverse-engineering the path to their goals. With total clarity, he emphasizes that the swiftest way to get from where we are, to where we want to be, is to be there first – on the inside.

From speaking in the United Nations General Assembly Hall at 23 years-old with no prior training, to attracting partnerships from some of the world’s most recognizable brands, to leading a National Geographic Expedition in Mongolia, Chris Bashinelli has forged his own path in life. This talk is a call to action for each of us to embrace our full potential – first by imagining it, then by believing it, and finally through definite action.

Takeaways

• Bash’s patented 4-step method for achieving seeming out of reach goals.
• Why mental wellness comes from focusing on what is in our control.
• How to reverse-engineer the pathway to our potential.
• How to embody the qualities that manifest our vision.
• The scientific link between confidence and action