Motivational speaker inspired from students responses

In the last eight years, Métis speaker, actor, and producer Kerry Girling has addressed over a million high school students in more than 400 schools, and now expects to reach even more with the power of film.
"It started as a passion after one of my best friends died from after-grad drinking and driving," explains Girling of his motivational speaking which now includes film credits.
Although it is a dream job to him, and he's been able to make it a success, getting the message across is what truly inspires this motivational speaker.
"I was inspired by a lot of the students that came up to me in tears with issues of self-esteem, self-confidence," said Girling, who was in 80 schools that particular semester.
"It floored me, the comments made about how it was getting through to them and I knew I had to do something about bullying ­ at school, at home, on the playground."
With entertainment interests and background, producing a bullying film seemed like a natural step for Girling, and "The Instigator" was released this June. Using a local Saskatoon company, Flowing Line Pictures, Girling produced his first film on an incredibly low budget of only $36,000, and has already recovered his initial investment. At the same time he created two documentaries on bullying, "Unleashed" and "School of Pain".
"The average Canadian small budget film is between $1 and 1.5 million, while the average US small budget is closer to between $7 and 8 million," explains Girling, adding that a lot of expertise and passion for his film helped with the low overhead, with industry experts and support focusing on the cause rather than profit. He wrote the script, had it adapted to screenplay, and even acted a part in the film.
With over eight years of clientele for his message in schools across North America, Girling has a fan base and market ready-made for his film release, but he worked hard to get there.
In his first two years he gave away 101 presentations, donating his time and cost while honing his skills. He began by touring with another speaker and sharing for ten minutes at the end, sometimes to students even older than him. Now he is at the point where, by word of mouth, reputation, and previous engagements, he gets called for bookings on goal-setting, bullying, drinking and driving, and drugs.
He realized that at 27-years old he was being a positive role model, but had experienced both kinds of role models and wanted to focus on that.
For his newest film, which will be shot in mid-August, Girling is focusing on drugs and lifestyle choices.
"Role Model" is a film about how both negative and positive choices and leadership affect everyone.
For inspiration, he drew on his own life ­ which has also been the key to his success in school tours. In Girling's youth, his oldest brother went through a phase of rebellion which included heavy drug use ­ cocaine, crystal meth ­ and there was a point where he wondered if he'd next see him in the hospital, or the cemetery.
"I was naive, we came from a regular Saskatoon family, a good household, and I didn't understand why ­ he had always been a positive role model for me until he hit that phase," said Girling, adding that was why the title was chosen for the film.
Using local talent and locale to shoot the film, Girling had a successful casting call over the last weekend in June, and they are now only looking for an actor to play a mother. The cast is made up of all ages, although primarily high school students anywhere from age 15 to 28.
"There are devastating disasters during the film," said Girling, speaking of peer pressure and how common it is now for 12 and 13 year olds to be addicted to crystal meth and common street drugs without knowledge of consequences. "The people that you hang around with will make you or break you."
The essential message of the film is to hang out with encouraging and positive people that will bring you towards your goals ­ much like Girling's speaking tours. He notes that in an age where students learn visually, using film to show reality is a powerful tool.
His hope is it will be a positive resource for teachers and administrators to use to spark a conversation and put an end to common street drugs. The package includes a workbook on street drugs, self-confidence, and goal-setting fundamentals for use from grades 5 to 12. For more information, go to kerrygirling.com and theinstigator.ca.