Freedom is not the absence of chains but the courage to live without them.
Former undercover investigator Gary Shaw spent years working inside the hidden world of modern slavery and human trafficking. What he discovered there was not only the brutal cost of captivity but unexpected truths about freedom, identity, courage and what it really means to be human.
In raw, honest, and deeply moving talks, Gary takes audiences beyond statistics and headlines into the inner landscape of freedom itself. His stories challenge the “hero narrative,” expose the hidden ways we collude with systems that harm and invites listeners into a deeper, more grounded way of seeing themselves and the world.
Gary doesn’t speak about transformation. He speaks from his experience inside it.
Talking Points
What Slavery Can Teach Us About Freedom
A powerful keynote for any audienceWhat Slavery Can Teach Us About Freedom
Freedom is not just the absence of chains. Drawing on real undercover work inside brothels and trafficking networks, Gary explores how captivity operates emotionally, psychologically and socially and what genuine freedom looks like in everyday life.
This talk challenges audiences to reconsider where control, fear and compliance quietly shape their decisions, relationships and workplaces and how freedom begins from within.
Audiences leave with:
• A redefined understanding of what it means to be free
• Insight into how control and captivity quietly show up in ordinary life
• Practical ways to live with greater agency, compassion and courage
Beyond Corporate Responsibility - The Inner Work of Real Impact
For organisations, leaders, and ESG audiencesBeyond Corporate Responsibility - The Inner Work of Real Impact
External change without internal transformation eventually collapses. Drawing on the Inner Development Goals and lived experience in complex humanitarian contexts, Gary challenges organisations to move beyond compliance toward sustainable, identity-led impact.
This talk invites leaders to examine the inner capacities required for wise action in complex systems including presence, discernment and the ability to respond under pressure.
Audiences leave with:
• Insight into why impact work often stalls
• A framework for inner development and leadership formed from within
• A deeper capacity to respond with presence
The Cost of the Hero Story
Why saviour thinking hurts us - as well as the people we want to helpThe Cost of the Hero Story
Good intentions are not enough. In impact work, leadership and everyday life the urge to rescue, fix, or save can unintentionally reinforce harm and perpetuate destructive co-dependency.
Gary unpacks the hidden dynamics of “hero” thinking and offers a more grounded, human approach to helping, one rooted in humility, presence and solidarity.
Audiences leave with:
• Awareness of unconscious hero dynamics
• A shift from performance to presence
• Tools for helping without undermining agency
When Your Image of God Breaks
Loss, suffering, and spiritual maturityWhen Your Image of God Breaks
(Offered for audiences or organisations navigating loss, uncertainty or profound change)
What happens when suffering dismantles our certainty about God, life, goodness or meaning itself?
A grounded exploration of how loss and disruption can reshape our inner world, inviting audiences into a deeper, quieter way of seeing, shaped not by answers, but by compassion, humility and lived experience.
Audiences leave with:
• The courage to question what once felt certain
• A more spacious, grounded inner life
• Language for doubt, grief and possibility
