Dave Cooke is a man on a mission. Families are being decimated as substance abuse and addiction continue to proliferate into our communities. As the father with a son who has battled a heroin addiction for nearly ten years, Dave Cooke knows all too well the painful experiences of being a parent in the midst of this chaos. Dave saw his life completely fall apart as he relentlessly chased after a recovery for his son.
Before addiction entered his world, Dave was an author, international speaker, and successful sales consultant. In the span of eighteen months, all that changed. It was only after his business nearly collapsed, with his health suffering, and his relationships falling apart, did he realize something needed to change in his life, or he would be the next casualty to his son’s addiction.
A late-night intervention in the form of a conversation with himself initiated an entirely new journey. It was a conversation which changed his life and set Dave on an entirely new course. It all began with a commitment to ride his bike for one hour a day for one hundred consecutive days.
Today, Dave, through his non-profit organization, 100Pedals, shares the inspiring, insightful lessons from those morning rides and the six-year journey which follows with parents, family members, and communities looking to understand this issue of addiction in their lives. His gripping story and transformational journey provides a message of hope and encouragement for those who have been broken, as Dave once was, by the experiences of addiction in the family. Most importantly, Dave helps them discover a path through the chaos.
1 topic · no fee, no honorarium, no mileage
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“What’s your bike” introduces audiences to the struggles of addiction in the family, while lending credibility with those on their similar paths. Dave takes his audiences on a profound, personal journey where they transition from a feeling of helplessness and hopelessness to a place of empowerment and possibility, as they confidently begin the search for their path through the adversities which are dragging them down.
As the audience discovers the possibilities for change in the face of chaos, Dave moves them from a place of fear and worry to one of hope and opportunity while helping them recognize the impact of both on their lives and their outcomes.
After learning his youngest child was addicted to heroin, Dave Cooke spent the next eighteen months on a relentless quest to save him. This determined commitment took him through all the experiences a parent goes through – deception, theft, overdoses, multiple arrests, jail, homelessness and untold sleepless nights. With every painful experience guilt and failure took another piece out of his spirit to the point where he felt as though everything was lost. His business nearly collapsed, his health was suffering, and his relationships were falling apart. Dave was broken in every way imaginable.
Late one night, in a desperate plea for relief, Dave took on a personal challenge to ride his bike for one hour a day, for one hundred consecutive days. It was an activity which completely changed his life. Dave’s inspiring story provides powerful insights into the experiences of being a parent of an addicted child, while offering an incredibly inspiring message for parents struggling to find their way through life’s adversities such as the chaos of their child’s addiction.
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