Eric Hayes was born in Long Island, New York, but moved to Tucson, Arizona with his family when he was two years old. At the age of five, his parents divorced which forced Eric, his brother, and mother to move into his grandparents’ house where five other people resided. This transition was life-altering and brought numerous challenges.

Growing up, Eric witnessed his relatives wrestle with alcoholism and drug abuse. This dysfunctional environment led to verbal and physical altercations being a regular occurrence in his household. Eric personally experienced mental, emotional, and physical abuse from his older brother. This abuse and lack of positive male guidance caused him to seek acceptance and attention from his peers who were also involved with drugs, alcohol, and gangs. From middle school to his freshman year of high school, Eric spent most of his time hanging out with gang members and eventually he was suspended from school for his involvement with gang activity. Needless to say, Eric was unfocused in class, consistently in trouble, and he was not motivated to do anything differently.

It wasn't until he failed two classes during his freshman year of high school that Eric decided to change. He decided to use this failure to change the trajectory of his life, so he pulled away from the negative influences and refused to become a mere statistic. He found a positive outlet in sports and dedicated himself to pursuing his dream of playing college football. Although he worked hard and was dedicated to sports, he still lacked effort and motivation in academics. As a consequence, Eric graduated high school at the bottom of his class. 

Upon graduating high school, Eric enrolled in a local junior college and earned a spot on the track and football teams as a walk-on. From there, he earned a scholarship to play football at a small private college in Kansas city, Missouri. While in Kansas City, Eric's poor study habits and lack of time management skills led to him barely graduating college. Determined to change, he decided to go back to college to pursue a Master of Arts degree in Organizational Leadership in Waxahachie, Texas, located just outside of Dallas. His new found motivation to excel academically led him to graduate on time with an above average grade point average.

In spite of the obstacles he faced with abuse at home and academic failure, Eric was able to overcome the odds. Ironically, Eric was afforded the opportunity to become a football coach and teacher during the final year of his graduate program. He coached football at the middle school, high school and NAIA collegiate levels. While he is no longer coaching, he still uses his platform as an educator to inspire the next generation. Throughout his years as an educator, he has been able to help countless students cope with losses, overcome their own adversities, graduate high school, pursue college or start a business.

Eric is now married to his wife, Kasie, and they have two children, Meleah and Levi. In August 2017, three months into their marriage, Eric and Kasie discovered that they were expecting a baby. When Meleah was born in April 2018, Eric and Kasie were informed that she was born with an extra copy of chromosome 21. Their baby girl received a Trisomy 21 diagnosis (also known as Down Syndrome) at birth and their lives were forever changed. In addition to his personal life experiences, journeying with Meleah through the joys and hurdles of Down Syndrome has provided Eric with a unique perspective on the topics of overcoming adversity, personal growth and development, and servant leadership.

Eric’s experiences fuel his passion for sharing his story with youth and young adults to provide them with the motivation and knowledge to overcome their own obstacles. With every opportunity he is afforded, he aims to inspire the youth “today” to become the empowered adult of “tomorrow.”