ACHIEVE THE IMPOSSIBLE !
Alan Bates
As a qualified Hypnotist with over 25 years of experience, Alan can help you, your group or your company to overcome challenges and reach personal or company targets. Alan does this by showing you how to use the extremely powerful tool of your own mind. Try it. It works!
Gary Skyner
Gary is a Motivational and Diversity speaker who uses humour to talk about how he has overcome the challenges presented to him in his life as the second Thalidomide victim in this country. He can inspire you too!
ENTERTAINMENT
Alan and Gary can offer you a great evening’s entertainment with Gary’s stand up comedy and Alan’s comedy hypnotism! Have a look at some of the testimonials and the short DVD clips on this site. Let us know whether you want a private party, an event for your business colleagues, or whether we could fit in with a larger event. We’re very flexible!
AFTER DINNER
Gary is a practised after dinner speaker and has appeared at many celebrity and corporate functions with fantastic results. Alan can also provide unusual entertainment at your function with his world famous act.
Alan Bates Biography
Alan Bates was born in Wallasey, Cheshire in October 1957, the first of three children. He had a very happy childhood but wore out his parents as he was hyperactive. He still is! Alan has incredible stamina with a great thirst for work and a love of life. This love includes his two children, his beloved partner Steph and their new baby, soon to be born.
Alan has always had a passion for motorbikes and began racing in the early 70’s. It was his love of motorbikes that led to him constantly working on engines and, as his best subject at school was engineering, he began an apprenticeship. At about the same time, he and a friend set up a mobile disco and the bookings began to roll in. After completing his apprenticeship, Alan felt that he had come to a crossroads in his life and when a friend asked him if he would like to go to Miami and work on a cruise ship, he could hardly believe his luck! Alan accepted the job and spent the next three years cruising the Caribbean as a Casino Manager. He had many adventures and saw much of the world but it was to be a chance meeting with an entertainer on board ship that was to determine the path that his life was to take.
The man in question was a Scottish illusionist who used hypnosis in his act and Alan found it fascinating. He was so intrigued that when he returned to England in 1981 he began to read about hypnosis and psychology until, one night, almost by chance, in a club where he was the DJ, he decided to try to hypnotise a few of the willing customers. To his astonishment it was completely successful and the die was cast! Eventually, after much work, Alan put together his own show incorporating his unique brand of comedy and presentation.
Alan has always prided himself on the respectability of his show and is a member of the Ethical Federation of Stage Hypnotists and of British EQUITY. He always stresses that nobody can be hypnotised against their will and that nobody would ever do anything against their own personal moral values. That’s why, Alan jokes, he always looks for volunteer subjects who don’t possess any moral values!
Alan has performed in Cyprus, Malta, Switzerland, East Africa, Europe, Egypt, Singapore, the Middle East and the United States. However, the highlight of his overseas touring was an invitation to perform for the Royal Family of Brunei. The occasion was the Princess Hamada’s birthday and it was a great success. Alan is now entitled to use the addendum ‘By Royal Appointment’ and he is extremely proud of this privilege.
Much of Alan’s work has taken the form of Theatre Tours, to name just a few these have included The Royal Court and Neptune Theatres, Liverpool; Chester Gateway Theatre; The Beck Theatre, Middlesex; Wrexham Hippodrome; Oldham Coliseum Theatre and King George’s Hall, Blackburn. Alan has also been heavily involved in the corporate market.
For two years, Alan also toured the UK with psychic medium Derek Acorah, star of the TV show ‘Most Haunted’ and they had great success with their own show ‘The Paranormal Experience’. The show incorporated both Mediumship and Past Life Regression, both very powerful experiences.
The BBC filmed Alan’s show for the programme ‘Heart of the Matter’ which is hosted by Joan Bakewell and he has appeared on other television programmes, including Esther Rantzen’s ‘That’s Life’, The James Whale Show and two very successful recent appearances on the Graham Norton Show.
Alan’s comedy hypnosis show is extremely fast paced and the ‘stars’ on stage could find themselves ‘winning the Lottery’, being chased by ghosts, feeding baby fairies, starring in the cast of River Dance or even conducting the orchestra at the last night of the Proms. He has also, on many occasions, offered hundreds of pounds to hardened smokers, only for them to find that they cannot take even one puff!
This takes us on to some of Alan’s more serious work – therapy sessions. These can be to help people to stop smoking, lose weight, increase their self esteem or even to cure phobias that people may have suffered from all of their lives. These sessions can be on a one to one basis or as part of a group and can really change the lives of those who take part. This also includes a clinical practice in Malta.
Alan takes great pleasure from helping others to achieve and can teach people very quickly how to harness the power of their minds to overcome challenges, improve their lifestyles and to meet targets set by themselves or their bosses. Invaluable lessons for today’s world from a man who really does understand life and its challenges
Gary Skyner Biography
Gary Skyner came into the world one dark, wet Bonfire Night in 1959 and he’s been setting off fireworks ever since!
He was the firstborn of Frances and Brian Skyner who had married earlier that year in a romantic Valentine’s Day ceremony. They were looking forward to the birth of their child but when he was born, the doctors and midwife took him away immediately from his mother, saying “It’s a boy. It’s a pity.”
With a great deal of sympathy, the doctor told Brian that his son had been born with shortened arms and that, instead of hands, he had jelly-like flippers. He finished his speech by saying “Poor mite. If he lives, he’ll never amount to much.”
That ‘poor mite’ is the man who will make you laugh when he speaks to you about Diversity; the same one who works in venues all over the country and, indeed the world, making hordes of people feel better after spending time listening to him or after an evening being entertained by him.
Gary’s mother loved him immediately and vowed that she would bring him up as a ‘normal’ child.
Gary has grown up without a father as he left the family, unable to accept or cope with his son’s disability.
Some people thought that Gary ought to go to a ‘special’ school but after taking a verbal test that proved he had intelligence and capability three and a half years beyond his age, he was allowed to go to school and began to attend Tiber Street Infants. Although the majority of the children treated him well, there were others who called him names and tried to bully him but they soon backed off when Gary stood up to them.
He began to sharpen his tongue and his wit from a very early age and, though he was not aware of it at the time, by becoming a clown and making a fool of those who mocked him, he was grooming himself for his future career as a speaker and a comedian. His experiences mean that he has first hand knowledge of how ignorance breeds prejudice and how people’s perceptions of disability can influence the workplace.
He tried a few jobs when he first left school; a switchboard operator – not a success as his arms were too short; working on the door of the Register Office telling people whereabouts in the building they needed to go – boring, until the day that there was a small fire in a skip. They made the mistake of asking Gary to deal with it and he was at last able to fulfil a long-held ambition to be a fireman! He went berserk with the fire hose and had to have it removed from him by force when the real firemen arrived. The amount of water damage was huge but Gary’s adrenalin level was even bigger!
Gary’s next foray into the world of employment was as an apprentice welder. Although he managed to set fire to many pairs of overalls, he really enjoyed his apprenticeship there; learning a great deal, being just ‘one of the lads’ and, best of all, working with the hands that he’d been told would never be able to do anything. Unfortunately he had to finish after two years, when the doctor discovered on an x-ray that Gary’s lungs were being damaged by fume inhalation.
Being an avid football fan, Gary was thrilled to be chosen to play in amateur teams, showing just how strong his legs were and that he could score goals as well as the next man.
Gary has also earned himself a letter of thanks and praise from the Assistant Chief Constable of Liverpool, when he went to the assistance of a man who was being brutally attacked by thugs.
Amongst his many different careers, Gary trained as a paralegal and also, unbelievably, managed to train for and achieve a Pilot’s licence. There are not many people, with or without all their limbs, that can say they have had such a varied career path but Gary has constantly fought for the right to prove that he is more able than the majority of people have ever given him credit for.
It was in the 1980’s that Gary began working as a stand-up comedian though he had always had a gift for making people laugh. He did quite a few shows for charity and really found it hard to believe that he was not only being paid for doing something that he loved, but that other people were benefitting too.
The 80’s were a defining decade in many ways for Gary. He married his beloved Sheelagh in the 80’s and has two lovely children, Holly, the eldest, and Jessica.
The victims of the Thalidomide drug have fought for many years for adequate compensation. Initially it was the parents that took up the fight against Distiller (Bio) Ltd. This company sold out to Guinness in the late 90’s and, once again, the Thalidomiders began to campaign for a fair settlement.
They had been small voices fighting a huge organisation. By then many of them were of pensionable age and were worried about the future for their damaged children. As Gary states, “If I’d been in a car crash, I would have received about 750 thousand if I’d been left with a body like this. Instead I received a pathetic 70 thousand. If you work out what each of us needs over a number of years, it’s completely inadequate.”
Gary and another Thalidomider, Freddy Astbury took up the cudgels; they were fighting for proper compensation for everyone out of the massive profits that were being made every single year. They are not fighting for handouts or concessions. They want for every Thalidomide victim what rightfully belongs to each of them. He is still fighting and as part of that fight he is establishing a new charity called CLIMBS which stands for Congenital Limbless and Impaired Mobility Benevolent Society. This charity aims to help not only Thalidomide victims but those who lose limbs or parts of limbs as a result of trauma such as car crashes, other accidents, landmines etc. In this he is being helped by many celebrities who have both a voice and a social conscience.
One of the most enjoyable activities in Gary’s life and one of the most important, is the work that he does to raise awareness of disability and to show people that, no matter what challenges face them, thinking positively and believing in yourself can overcome every obstacle
Testimonials
GARY SKYNER
Gary has worked in many different types of venue and for diverse corporate and academic groups, including FE Colleges, Police Forces, Companies, HM Forces and many Associations linked to Disability and to Training. Here are just a few of the comments made following his performances at The Home Office, Various prisons and some company events:-
“Inspirational”, “Uplifting”, “Humbling”, “In awe of his achievements”, “A moving talk”, “Very entertaining”, “Hilarious performance and very enlightening”.
Sgt. Gerry Springett booked Gary to perform at his regiment’s WO’s and Sgt’s Mess in March 2007 at Gujarat Barracks, Colchester, and had this to say, following the event, “You’re the best comedian we’ve ever had. It was like a breath of fresh air having you here. My guys are not the easiest to entertain but you did it and we’d definitely like you to come back again in the future.”
Colleges have said ”The feedback from all the students, without exception, was positive and your use of humour, your challenges to them and your explanation of your own life experiences really fascinated them…”
“Your approach hit home to all of our students, from all backgrounds and working at all levels.”
“I will be publicising your services amongst our local college consortium as I am sure that other students would enjoy the experience as much as ours did and I am already in the process of booking your return visit for next year.” – Moyra Throssell – Lecturer/Equality & Diversity Co-Ordinator (South Cheshire College)
ALAN BATES SHOW REVIEWS
British Gas – I am writing further to the booking of Alan Bates, for our sales conference. The event went very well and everyone enjoyed the show. The content was extremely funny and we would consider re – booking Alan for a similar event.
Kristie Cataffo (Customer Sales Manager).
Europe Car – Alan Bates was one of the most entertaining acts I have ever seen. My colleagues absolutely loved the whole show and I am sure they will be talking about it for many months to come.
Tim Hartnell (Nottingham).
Rapier Design Group – Thank you very much for the excellent show at the Renault V.I After Market Seminar. We had very good feedback and everybody enjoyed it enormously.
Fiona Lewis (Rapier Conference & Design).
HM Inland Revenue – I have received numerous compliments from colleagues and guests who attended the evening, commenting on what a fabulous time they had had and already asking me to organise a similar night in the near future.
Jon Samuel (Bootle One).
Factory Productions (Dubai) – On behalf of Hyaat and Intercontinental Hotels, I would like to express my gratitude due to yourself and other fellow professionals. Factory Productions is now firmly on the map.
Gail Clough, Duncan Jones (Factory Productions Dubai U.A.E.).
KP Foods – It was a great show and achieved exactly what I had hoped for at the end of a session of conference papers. It became the talking point throughout the convention and the participants were pleased and impressed to have been part of the show.
P. Whitworth (President European Snacks Association).
Astra Pharmaceuticals – The show was a major success and is now the main topic of conversation in the company as news of the event spreads – very motivational!
Ian Irving (Senior Fields Sales Manager).
CELEBRITY QUOTES
Peter Kay (Phoenix Nights) – Well done on a great show!
Esther Rantzen – Amazing !
What’s On Magazine –Mind Bending Stuff !
The Sun – Knock Out !
James Whale – Extraordinary !
The High Sheriff of Cheshire – Superb Fun !
Emirates News – Welcome Back !
The Gulf Today – Audience Spellbound !
Joan Bakewell – An Enjoyable Show !
Miss World 1990 – Best Show ever !
Gary Skyner