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National Geographic Explorer & TV Host | United Nations Moderator | Arab-American Diversity Speaker | Expert on Human Connection
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Chris is a gifted speaker that has the uncanny ability to fill any venue with positive energy and excitement. He has a rare knack of being able to help bring out the best in every member of the audience. I'm very impressed with his ability to communicate complex messages in an easy to understand and entertaining way. His message as relevant in the cubicle as it is in the space station. I would highly recommend Chris for any speaking venue."
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Chris Bashinelli, better known as “Bash”, was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York to Lebanese and Italian-American parents. After a decade-long acting career including an appearance on the HBO hit television show, The Sopranos, Bash decided to follow his real passion – using media to build bridges between cultures. He now traverses the globe from Uganda to Haiti as Host of Bridge the Gap, a television series featured on PBS and the National Geographic Channel, where he experience’s life in countless cultures around the world.
A celebrated Diversity, Equity & Inclusion speaker, Bash brings to life an inspiring message of empathy and connection that has birthed lifelong friendships around the world. His world-view was shaped on his childhood “Stoop” where his friends shared a combined total of over thirteen nationalities. His ancestors immigrated to the United States from Lebanon, through Ellis Island and his great-grandmother was onboard the Titanic. Bash helps companies understand in engaging, humorous and practical ways how to create a culture of trust, belonging and empathy in the workplace.
A passionate Mental Wellness advocate, Bash has studied meditation & mindfulness for more than a decade. After studying Anthropology in East Africa at 20 years old, he returned home to discover his father had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. The death of Chris’s father propelled him on an international quest to better understand the human condition and the universal qualities that lead to a happy, meaningful life. Today, he brings to life the powerful lessons he’s learned to overcome depression, increase productivity and reignite employee inspiration.
Bash has spoken around the world, from Abu Dhabi to Azerbaijan, and at 24 years old, became the youngest male to ever moderate the UN International Day of Peace. He has shared the stage with Stevie Wonder, the UN Secretary General, and his mentor, Dr. Jane Goodall. He is a National Geographic Explorer, an Eagle Scout and has interviewed some of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People on the Planet.
Bash has lived as a nomad in Mongolia, worked with suicide prevention activists in Pine Ridge and Sumo wrestled the heaviest Japanese human being in recorded history. Through one of a kind stories of adventure and authentic moments of human connection, he truly bridges the gap between self and other, helping us recognize our shared humanity. Bash takes audiences on an inspirational journey, coupled with stunning video footage and thought provoking exercises.
Whether he’s embarking on yet another jaw-dropping adventure for National Geographic, or interviewing his mentor, Dr. Jane Goodall, for PBS – Chris Bashinelli leaves audiences inspired, empowered, and connected, reminding us of our greatest asset – our people.
See keynotes with Chris “Bash” BashinelliEmbark 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 it’s 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
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:
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:
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:
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:
"Chris Bashinelli is an inspiration to youth worldwide. He speaks with passion and his message is one of hope, cultural tolerance and call to action. He knows how to reach young and old alike. Bridge the Gap shares exciting and inspirational stories of daily life from the developing world and encourages us to realize that at the end of the day, we really are all the same and every single one of us makes a difference. We need more people like Chris in the world."
JANE GOODALL PhD, DBE
"Chris presents with a smooth confidence that both sets the tone of the event and captures the attention of the audience. He harnesses the ethos of social entrepreneurship, and would be an asset to any event requiring a quality speaker."
Frank Fredericks
What I love most about Chris is that he treats everyone exactly the same- be it the United Nations Secretary General or the hotel concierge. He does not distinguish between rich people, poor people, famous people, and everyday people. For Chris, everyone is equal. He has a great deal of respect for the ‘human being’ and this is a rare quality. Chris embodies what we say in Germany, ‘Wir sind alle gleich’, which means, ‘We are all the same’.
Milena Pighi
"Chris is beyond inspirational. Before, I thought ‘I’m just one person, what can I do?’ But now I feel I can really make a difference."
Mackenzie Stack
Why did you leave you acting career behind?
I can vividly remember the day I was on set filming an episode of The Sopranos for HBO. It was the culmination of nearly one decade of acting classes, never ending rehearsals and countless rejections. Although it was the culmination of my career to the point, I felt completely unfulfilled. I’d heard whisper in my heart since childhood that urged me to travel the world and experience other cultures, but I pretended I didn’t hear it up until that point. This was the day I decided to go for my heart’s calling, and six months later I was on a plane to Tanzania.
That first trip to Tanzania shifted my perspective to a completely self-centered universe, to one that at least began to think about other human beings. (Namely due to a man named Pete O’Neal, a former Black Panther who, after being exiled to Africa, created a non profit community center with his wife). Two days after returning to New York my father was diagnosed with cancer. Two years later, he passed away. It was only upon seeing death face to face that I fully began to live my passion. With my father as my sparkplug of inspiration I have since traveled to over thirty countries, had my TV series air on PBS and Nat Geo International, and spoken in the UN General Assembly Hall. I could say ‘how’, but the more relevant question is always ‘why’, and that is personal for each of us.
Can you please explain your concept of the “Stoop”?
A stoop is any place where people can come together and have an intercultural, intergenerational, international dialogue free of judgment in order to work out solutions to problems. The term “Stoop”, although originally a Dutch word in use in the Northeastern United States, can refer to any place of coexistence where open dialogue is paramount. Sometimes a stoop is a set of stairs, sometimes it’s a wrestling dojo in Mongolia, and sometimes it’s a laundry mat in Wisconsin.
The most important thing to remember is that a stoop is not only a physical place, it is a mentality that we carry with us in our heart wherever we go, and it will strengthen any relationship. The three rules on the stoop are: Listening, Non Judgment, and a Willingness to Step Outside of our Comfort Zones.
How would you describe the ideal Global citizen of the 21st century?
My idea of a Global Citizen will likely not match what you find in an academic journal. To me, a global citizen is not a title or certificate that someone can give to you. It is a state of mind that looks at other living beings (whether human or animal) and acknowledges that their lives are just as, or even important than my own. It’s the recognition of equanimity and equality- and then the actions that arise from that mindset. You don’t need to travel the world to be a global citizen. You can do it right in your own backyard.
How are your keynote presentations unique?
Keynotes are not presentations, nor are they speeches; they are dances with the audience present in that room at that moment. Uniqueness is inevitable at every event because you can never have the same audience at two events. Even if you literally have the same exact people at two different events, those people change so much from moment to moment that they are no longer the same. Any powerful speaker feeds off their audience, feels the energy, and plays with it. My intention is to always be present to the needs of the person I am in front of in that moment.
Do you have a favorite experience from your speaking career?
One of my most memorable speaking engagements happened last year. I had the good fortune to present for the Entrepreneur’s Group in Saudi Arabia, directly next to a mosque. During the speech the “Adhan” or “Call to prayer” began. I paused the speech, allowed for a moment of silence to respect the present moment, and after checking with the audience for permission, continued the presentation.
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