I Will Never Give Up

At 37 tears old, Derek stand 6 foot 5 inches and has a voice resonating with a singular passion due to a life of coping with adversity and overcoming hardship. Stemming from his childhood experience of parental abandonment, and his troubled youth navigating the pitfalls of the foster care system, his years have been colored by extremes of humility, humiliation, aggression, emotional distress and overwhelming anxiety. At five years old his mother and stepfather turned him over to the county social services, and he has never known a real father. As a foster child, he was disturbed and erratic. Having suffered child abuse, he was prone to sever distress and crippling depression. He has been "labeled and misdiagnosed" in almost every psychological evaluation in existence, by psychiatrists who might have better sympathized with him. And yet, the dire circumstances of his life have never been obstacles to him succeeding at those endeavors which he has aspired to. Being a child afflicted with numerous emotional, language and mental disturbances, foster care authorities considered placing him in a psychiatric institution unless a suitable home was found, with adults able to cope with his special needs. He has defied the artificial limitations imposed upon him by the demeaning diagnoses that parents, adults, doctors, psychologists, speech therapists, and social workers used to mislabel him.

Derek knows firsthand the trials of a hard-knock life, and the absence of solid foundations upon which to build a happy, productive life. He firmly believes that never giving up and trusting in yourself are the keys to success. He lives a very successful and happy life. Success, he feels, begins with oneself, in the mind and heart, and is earned by the courage to take proactive action. Not only does he caution against being boxed in, but he considers it equally dangerous to even acknowledge the existence of a box.

As a singer/songwriter, Derek had performed his music live for thousands of people. He has been featured in numerous newspaper articles, magazine and appeared on ABC and CBS news. With the unexpected success of his song "Goodnight Soldier," he has been blessed with the opportunity to perform live for some very famous people as well as performing for and meeting President Bush.

Derek is an inspiring motivational speaker, who unleashes his creative and fun-loving personality in a never-ending effort to ignited passion in others and instill the courage to take action. His truism is to make no excuses and become what you want to become.