Gareth Gates is a chart-topping singer, West End star, and one of the UK’s most inspiring voices in the realms of Diversity & Inclusion and Mental Health.
Gareth Gates
Rising to fame on Pop Idol while navigating the challenges of a severe stammer, Gareth has turned personal adversity into a powerful platform—championing difference, resilience, and the importance of speaking up.
In this exclusive interview with The Champions Speakers Agency, Gareth shares how growing up with a speech impediment shaped his identity, how music became his lifeline, and why he now uses his story to encourage others to embrace their uniqueness, face their fears, and prioritise emotional wellbeing.
Q: You've spoken openly about living with a stammer. How did navigating that challenge throughout your youth shape your identity and resilience?
Gareth Gates: “Well, for as long as I can remember, I've had a stammer. As a child at school, I could barely get one word out of my mouth. Reading aloud in class was traumatic. Answering a register was hell, and I once peed myself in front of the entire class because I couldn't ask the teacher to go to the toilet—quite humorous now, but pretty mortifying in the moment.
“Lads would hold me down in the playground and beat the words out of me, as they'd say. Life was pretty tough. All my childhood and into adolescence, having a stammer was a real burden for me—right up until that first audition on Pop Idol, which was actually 22 years ago now. I feel very old.
“But my stammer was always a negative up until that moment. I was badly bullied at school because of it. It caused me constant pain and upset and embarrassment. But the very thing that caused me all that hurt actually became the one thing that made me stand out from the crowd.
“Up until that moment, being different was a very negative thing. I tried so desperately to fit in and to not cause a fuss, to not stand out from the crowd for all the wrong reasons. Actually, for the first time, being different was a good thing. Having a stammer was a positive thing because it got me noticed. It created a story that people could latch on to. I was the boy that couldn’t speak but could sing amazingly.
“And I'm sure there's things that you are going through, or maybe you have an affliction that holds you back. But maybe that's the very thing that makes you—the thing that sets you apart from everybody else. Although it's hard to recognise when you're going through that hurt, I encourage you to persevere and to push on, because these things make us stronger and make us the people we are.”
Q: Your ability to sing fluently despite having a stammer is remarkable. At what point did music become your outlet for self-expression, and how did it change your life?
Gareth Gates: “At the age of eight, my first school was producing a production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. I was a very shy boy with a stammer, but somehow I decided to go along to the auditions with my friends—again, probably just to try and fit in with them.
“Part of the audition process was the school asking us to sing a small section of music. Now, up until that point in my life, I could barely get one word out of my mouth, so nobody—especially me—was expecting much from me being able to sing. But when they did ask me to sing, all of a sudden these words just came flooding out of my mouth—fluently, effortlessly, without any struggle or tension.
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“This completely changed my world. Finally, I could express myself. I could get out of me what was in me, and I absolutely loved it. So much so that I began to learn to express myself on several musical instruments—the guitar, the piano, and the drums. I mean, my poor parents had to endure hours of me creating a racket on all of my instruments.
“But, you know, I was dealt a difficult hand in life: the inability to speak and the inability to communicate. I could have just settled for that and let my affliction dictate the life I was to lead and to live. But as soon as I found that something I could excel at, I knew I had to put my all into that. I had to switch my energy from what I couldn't do to what I was able to do and what I did well—what I excelled at.
“And I think we all have things in life that we struggle with, but we also all have things that we're good at. I urge you today to find your thing—to find that trait or that gift that you're good at. It may take some time to find your calling or your path, but persevere, because once you do, everything changes.
“My life certainly changed in an instant. I went from being a shy boy that couldn’t speak to people applauding me when I sang fluently. I could very easily have given up, but I knew from a young age that I wasn’t going to accept what I was given in life. I knew I was destined for more, and I think that belief and that drive and determination are the reasons I’ve achieved what I have.”
Q: Public speaking is a common fear, even more so for someone with a stammer. What have you learned about fear, and what practical advice would you offer to those trying to overcome their own?
Gareth Gates: “Well, giving this speech today—or giving a live interview on TV or public speaking in general—is one of my biggest fears. As a stammerer, speaking in front of somebody, the fear level is always very, very high.
“So, as part of the speech therapy programme I'm on, they teach you to face that fear head-on. We head out onto the street in the busiest of town centres, and our task for the afternoon is to introduce ourselves to over 100 people.
“Now, the first person we speak to is horrendous, and it goes terribly wrong because the fear level is too high. But the second person, the third person, becomes that little bit easier. By the time you've spoken to 50, 60 people, it actually becomes enjoyable—and it's something that we call exciting fear.
“Because you've had a good level of success doing it in the past, actually facing that fear becomes fun.
“I try to apply this to every area in life now. Every time I'm fearful of something, I think: well, the only way I'm going to melt that fear away and try and diminish it that little bit is to face that fear head-on.
“Yes—and I encourage you to do the same. I'm sure there are people out there who are scared of certain situations, worried about it going wrong, and, as a result of that, I’m sure people are stuck in the exact same place that they've been for years.
“I challenge people to take that leap of faith, as I did with my speech—and eventually, you'll be even wondering why you were fearful in the first place.”
Q: When you deliver speeches today, what are the key messages you aim to leave with your audiences—and why do those messages matter so much to you?
Gareth Gates: “In my speeches, I talk about lots of things. But the main points I try to get across are to encourage you to find your thing.
“I've always suffered with a debilitating speech impediment, but I realised as a child that I could actually get words out of my mouth through music—and so that became my thing. I put everything into that. I shifted my focus from something I can't do to something I do well.
“And, you know, we all have things in our lives that we excel at. So, to find your thing and to really, really put all your energy into that.
“I also like to encourage people to find a mentor and to stick with the winners—to rub shoulders with people who are going to inspire you to be better.
“And finally, which is the biggest thing I try and encourage people to do, is to face their fears. You know, my standing in front of you today speaking, is my biggest fear, and I hope to plant a seed to encourage you to do the same.
“Because if I can do it, then so can you.”
This exclusive interview with Gareth Gates was conducted by Chris Tompkins of The Motivational Speakers Agency.