Keegan Hirst

Keegan Hirst is a world-renowned rugby player who has faced many personal challenges throughout his career. He has now become Britain’s first Rugby Player to come out openly as gay. He is not only known for his skill, but for his identity and the story that follows it. In 2015, he decided to start a new chapter of his life and started to talk about how he felt rather than denying his feelings. Keegan has become a sought-after speaker for events and when booked, shares his experiences and journey into becoming part of the LGBTQ+ community.

Keegan started playing Rugby at age 11 and realised that he wanted to pursue his talent into a career. He started his career at Bradford Bulls under 18s Academy and then progressed to play for multiple teams afterwards including Batley Bulldogs. At around 15, he started to question his sexuality, but did not want to limit his opportunities within his new career which is why he waited to come out publicly. When he gained the courage to accept his feelings, Keegan decided to become the first rugby player to openly come out as gay which lots of people respected him for as it was very rare at the time throughout the male sports industry. He has now retired from rugby and is focussing on other ventures such as speaking and online coaching.

Keegan opened a whole new side to both his personal life and career when speaking up about his identity. After he made the decision to be openly out, Keegan delivered a TEDx Talk, ‘A Talk about Hope’ where he spoke openly about his journey and the situations, he has faced throughout difficult points in his life. He believes that he can help others that are facing similar situations to encourage others to speak openly about their sexuality. Keegan has also started an online platform where he coaches men in the LGBTQ+ community, empowering them to break the stereotypes that they may face and encourage them to feel proud of who they are.

Keegan Hirst has become an inspiration to the LGBTQ+ community and is recognised for the brave step he took within his career. Being openly out whilst working within the male sports industry was very rare in 2015, and Keegan was able to prove that it was possible to be different yet still respected in an industry that he thrived in. Keegan Hirst has now started to speak upon his experiences throughout his career and when looking to book a passionate LGBTQ+ speaker, he is able to captivate a wide range of audiences.

To book Keegan to speak at your event please call a Prime Performers Booking Agent on 020 3500 3331 or email your enquiry to info@primeperformers.co.uk