“That was the best, most honest talk I have had the privilege to listen to. Advice taken!”

- Grethe Vermark, MD, Media 24

Conn helps people and business better prepare themselves with agile resilience for a changing world.

Considered one of South Africa’s top creative thinkers, Conn Bertish is a multiple internationally awarded creative director, trainer of resilience, cancer survival and big wave surfing — who resigned from his high-powered job after beating brain cancer in 2015 to launch Cancer Dojo (a mobile support app for cancer patients) with his medically supported Happy People are Harder to Kill training programs. Conn’s creatively infused approach to empowering staff, leaders and organisation with simple engaging tools of transformation, resilience and happiness have been developed together with a team of professors, doctors, psychologists and behaviour-change specialists to best develop the mental pathways needed to attain true creative resilience during tricky times.

His talks, video series and workshops on the intersection of creativity, health, technology and resilience have spanned the globe to assist clients like Google, Airbnb, Nestle, Merk, Pfizer, Cannes Lions and more — to empower their staff with the right mindset to tackle our scary, exciting and rapidly changing future.

CONN BERTISH GAMIFIED HIS CANCER, SURVIVED AND BUILT AN APP FOR OTHERS

- Media 24

After beating a rare form of brain cancer by infusing his treatments with purposeful creative gamification, Conn was urged to share his thinking with some of the world’s top oncologists at the largest Oncology conference ever held in Africa in 2015. His opening talk raised a standing ovation and confirmed his purpose to build simple tools to help others utilise this positive creative approach to overcoming challenges while becoming happier, healthier and harder to kill.

"I've seen Conn on two occasions, in Barcelona and in Bucharest. Both times he had the most empowering and electrical speech of the evening. It is not just just his fantastic personal story that makes him so memorable, it is also the delivery: creative, emphatic, and with a spoon of self-irony that spices the very hard topic he is speaking and leaves the audience wanting for more."

- Valentin Suciu, Creative Partner, Jazz.com Romania

“Conn Bertish was absolutely inspiring today! Here's to people who follow their purpose. Salute!”

- Pepe Marais, Chief Creative Officer, Joe Public United

CONN'S 'NEVER FiGHt tHE OCEAN' SERiES

'Never Fight the Ocean' Series

SERIES

Utilising Conn’s history of big wave surfing and creative problem solving, his Keynote talks, programs and series delivers multiple ways in which delegates can harness their creativity as a way to achieve a reduction in their own stress, anxiety and potential negative mental states. Each tool provides a way to positively repurpose a challenge using creative problem solving to ultimately develop unique medically supporter skills of resilience; a more positive mental state and an increase in personal happiness, productivity and wellbeing.

*This series is backed by Cansa.org, The Mindful Revolution and The One Club of Creativity in New York.

CONN'S HAPPY PEOPLE ARE HARDER TO KILL TALKS

    Talk 1. HAPPY PEOPLE ARE HARDER TO KILL
  • Simple creative strategies for overcoming Adversity and Challenges.
  • How to harness and use creativity to build resilience, embrace change and live a more extraordinary life.
    Talk 2. PURPOSEFUL TEAMS ARE RIDICULOUSLY HARD TO KILL
  • Harnessing Collaboration as a harder to kill strategy.
  • How to empower teams with simple purposeful creative strategies that inspire sharing, interaction and co-creation.
    Talk 3. HOW CREATIVITY MAKES YOU HARDER TO KILL
  • Building creativity for mental health and productivity.
  • How to generate your own creative strategy for life, work and health.
    Talk 4. HOW LEADERS CAN MAKE TEAMS HARDER TO KILL
  • Creative Leadership during Crisis.
  • Leading with creativity, empathy and insight into your audience.
    Talk 5. HOW PURPOSE BUILDS INNOVATION
  • Innovation And Purpose.
  • Finding your purpose is a life’s work. Learn how to make it fun, extraordinary and part of living a more resilient, creative and happy life.
BOOK CONN TODAY AND MAKE YOUR TEAMS HARDER TO KILL.

Live, Heal and Thrive in a Digitally Enabled Age Under Pressure.

TALKS

Conn speaks and trains on the subjects (and intersection) of Creativity, Technology, Purpose and Resilience. His Harder To Kill modules range from 20 — 60 minute talks, 3hr Master Classes, 2 day sessions and multiple monthly series programs (including his ‘Never Fight the Ocean’ series of short talks and tools). Each iteration of training provides fresh purposeful ways for an interactive audience to learn how to better overcome challenging obstacles during stressful chaotic times. The talks, workshops and masterclasses are built to inspire, engage and empower the audience with simple user-friendly tools and techniques shown to build a more Resilient and Positive Mindset. Both the Harder to Kill qualities of Resiliency and Positivity are shown to enable humans and brands to become happier, healthier, more productive — and ultimately, Harder to Kill.

MEDICALLY SUPPORTED CREATIVE TALKS TO BUILD RESILIENCE

TOOLS TO GROW CREATIVE RESILIENCE:

Conn Bertish is the founder of Dojolabs and CancerDojo — a company he launched after beating a rare form of adult brain cancer. Conn’s creatively infused ‘Harder To Kill Journey’ to recovery captured the attention and support of many of South Africa’s top medical professionals, professors of mental health, oncology and psychology. His approach to using creativity and mindfulness as adjunctive medicine has been medically supported by the likes of:

  • Dr Tom Sutcliffe – Head of the South African Mental Review Board, ex head of Medicine, Western Cape
  • Professor Melissa Wallace – Head of Psychology Cansa.org
  • Professor Alan Davidson - Head of Oncology Red Cross
  • Professor Jeanette Parks – Head of Radiation Oncology Groote Schuur Hospital
  • Professor Claudius Van Wyk - M. Phil (Applied Ethics), M.Sc (O.B.), D.Sc. (Alt.Med.) - Member Scientific and Medical Network (UK)
  • Dr Garth Davids - Lead Oncologist - Mediclinic Constantiaberg

Conn’s Harder To Kill Healing Journey utilises over 20 different creative mindful tools to help people overcome mental and medical health challenges.

In Conn’s ‘Happy People Are Harder To Kill Talks’ he inspires and educates anyone struggling with anxiety or overwhelming challenges to activate them in their own way. Each talk is user friendly, medically complimentary and supported by Cancer Dojo’s team of medical professionals.

Here’s to becoming happier, healthier and more mindfully resilient.

YOUR JOB IS TO TRY AND REMAIN IN A NATURAL CREATIVE FLOW FOR AS LONG AND AS REGULARLY AS POSSIBLE

- Conn Bertish

Gallery of Talks and Workshops

Gallery of Videos

Harder To Kill Keynote Quotes

“Wow! Conn just received the first standing ovation the Business of Design festival has ever had!”

- Tracy Chemaly (Director Business of Design Festival Cape Town)

“we rank Conn as a top speaker and trainer who provokes leaders with a shift in mindset that is hugely beneficial for everyone - companies and individuals.”

Sil Curiati (Global Partner Lead Google)

"We all need inspirational stories in our moments of doubt and despair. Conn’s example in the face of a potentially debilitating cancer provides a message for all of us.  In this, Conn puts all his experience at your service.”

- Professor Tim Noakes (Director of the South African Medical Research Council)

"When Conn enters the room he is alight – his energy and passion are completely infectious, his anecdotes heartfelt and humorous. Whatever he’s onto, I want some of that! Passion personified.”

- Kirby Johnson (Project Manager at TNS Global"

“Conn is able to deliver a very powerful message in a sincere way drawing us into his world from which we have been given lifelong lessons – not only as a corporate team but also as human beings.”

- Jason Little (Head of Finance Sanlam Investments)

“Profoundly powerful, courageous and resilient and absolutely inspirational! Our whole intent was to end our wellness program on a high and Conn totally completely smashed the lights out and thank you so much for all of the valuable tools you have given us.”

- Ilse Gravett-Hultzer (Transformation Director RCL foods)

“You’re lucky to meet some people in life who seem to have so much energy, they can light up a whole room. Conn has this in buckets. So if you’re planning an event where you want to lift spirits and encourage people to think again, he’s the man for you. And Conn... never stop! You are a rare thing.”

- Ella Kieran (Director of WPP Stream Global)

“CONN BERTISH GAMIFIED HIS CANCER, SURVIVED AND BUILT AN APP FOR OTHERS”

- Media 24

CREATIVE RESILIENCE NOW

The Cancer
Dojo Mobile App

Available on Android and iOS

After beating a rare form of brain cancer by infusing his treatments with purposeful creative gamification, Conn was urged to share his thinking with some of the world’s top oncologists at the largest Oncology conference ever held in Africa in 2015. His opening talk raised a standing ovation and confirmed his purpose to build simple tools to help others utilise this positive creative approach. Cancer Dojo is a multiple awarded social enterprise that makes people happier, healthier and harder to kill.

CANCER DOJO
HEALING MANDALAS

Harnessing Cancer Dojo’s proactive and mindful patient ideology, we created an interactive series of posters for patients that for the first time enable them to interact positively with parts of their body affected by cancer. Merging the ancient Buddhist practice of Sand Mandalas and the science of Psychoneuroimmunology – each poster is designed to enable patients to interact with something that was until now, invisible to them. Our mandalas are available to purchase at:

Happy People are Harder to Kill

Book

Conn’s Happy People Are Harder To Kill book will be published and launched in December 2024 in conjunction with M&C Saatchi Merlin in London. The book will include 16 pathways to achieve Harder To Kill resilience and feature the stories behind the author’s hard-won collection of insights and tools that have positively enabled thousands of people facing life-threatening challenges to deal with more effectively with change, while becoming happier, healthier and harder to kill.

CALENDAR

'Never Fight the Ocean' Keynote talk for translated.com

Rome/Cape Town, January, 2024

'Happy People are Harder to Kill' 3 Day Program for Standard Chartered Bank

Singapore, March, 2024

‘Making Work Matter!’ Keynote talk for The Shoprite Group

Cape Town, June, 2024

‘Never Fight the Ocean’ Keynote talk for Skynamo

Cape Town, July, 2024

‘Happy People are Harder to Kill' Program and workshop for Infowerk

Dresden, August, 2024

‘Creative Mindfulness’ Keynote talk for iExperience

JHB/CPT, August, 2024

‘Never Fight the Ocean’ Keynote talk for Neural Jam

Italy, September, 2024

‘Never Fight the Ocean’ Keynote talk for Tover

Cape Town (remote), November, 2024

‘Never Fight the Ocean' Series for The One Club

New York, December, 2024

Get in touch