Philip Albenze

Ohio · Northeast Ohio · Cleveland

Motivational and addiction recovery speaker in Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland is about an hour from Phil's gym in Austintown, close enough for a school assembly in the morning and a recovery meeting at night. He brings the same story to both: twenty years of drinking, three DUIs, a shooting, and the day his son's tears sent him into a gym.

57 milesfrom Phil's home in Austintown to Cleveland
Cuyahoga County, OHCleveland's county, Ohio's second most populous
363,608people in Cleveland (Census estimate, July 1, 2025, U.S. Census Bureau)
Up to an hourper keynote or talk, for audiences of 50 to 600

Book Phil in Cleveland, OH Call (330) 314-0228

Phil speaking on a stage in front of a screen that reads BELIEVE

Why Cleveland groups book Phil Albenze

Cleveland event planners get a speaker with a verifiable record: a feature in the Tribune Chronicle, two 21 News reports from his gym, a TRAIN magazine cover, and audiences from 50 at a Rotary Club to 600 at an HR association.

Phil drank for twenty years, held a job the whole time, picked up three DUIs and was shot on New Year's Eve 2002. In 2009 he weighed 304 pounds. He quit drinking cold turkey, lost about 140 pounds in a year, and became a champion natural bodybuilder and a personal trainer. For a Cleveland audience the story is close to home: he lives 57 miles away, in Austintown, Ohio.

Talks for Cleveland audiences

Recovery centers in ClevelandFor treatment programs and recovery groups in Cuyahoga County: twenty years of drinking, three DUIs, quitting cold turkey, and the twelve steps a year later. Schools in ClevelandFor Cleveland middle and high school assemblies: the shy kid, the liquid courage, the DUIs, and five lessons from a jail cell to the stage. Colleges in ClevelandFor Cleveland campuses: Phil has spoken four times at Otterbein University, about 200 students each time. Veterans in ClevelandFor Cleveland veterans' groups: Army, 1987 to 1993, and the twenty years after it. Workplaces in ClevelandFor Cleveland HR and wellness events: the functional alcoholic who never lost his job. He spoke to 600 at HRACO. Conferences in ClevelandA keynote of up to an hour for a Cleveland conference or association meeting. His largest audience so far: 600 at HRACO. Fitness events in ClevelandFor Cleveland gyms and wellness days: 304 pounds to 4.5% body fat, and Masters boxing past 50.

The books behind the Cleveland talk

Every talk Phil gives in Cleveland comes from his memoir The Black Sword (2025) and its sequel, After the Sword (2026). Cleveland hosts can order copies on Amazon for their audience.

Hear Phil before you book him in Cleveland

Every episode of Phil's podcast has its full transcript on this site, so a Cleveland event planner can hear exactly how this motivational speaker talks before booking him.

22 minBattling Addiction and Taking Your Life Back11 minFrom Jail Cell to Stage: 5 Takeaways11 minSmall Habits, Big Change

Addiction and recovery in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County

In Cuyahoga County, public money for addiction and mental-health services runs through the ADAMHS Board of Cuyahoga County.

In 2023, 550 Cuyahoga County residents died of unintentional drug overdoses, an age-adjusted rate of 43.1 per 100,000 (Ohio Department of Health, 2023 Unintentional Drug Overdose Report, Table 8). Phil drank for twenty years before he quit, and his message to people still inside it is the one he gives on his podcast: "If I could do this, anybody can."

What a Cleveland audience hears

Every talk is Phil's own story, the one in his memoir The Black Sword. The flyer for his 2019 evening at California Palms Addiction Recovery Campus described it as his story "of battling obesity and alcoholism to what motivated his transformation and commitment to helping others." Talks run up to an hour.

The turning point is the center of the story: his nine-year-old son crying at the doctor's office, and Phil pulling into a gym he had passed every day on his way to the liquor store and telling a stranger, "I need help." From there he talks about replacing one habit with another, cutting off the people who drag you back, and why asking for help was the hardest step for a man raised the way he was.

Phil on stage beside a projected photo of himself at his heaviest
Telling the story beside a photo of the man he used to be.

Where Phil has spoken

Phil has spoken at Otterbein University, the Human Resource Association of Central Ohio, California Palms Addiction & Recovery Center, the Mahoning County Career & Technical Center, Boardman Middle School, Hubbard High School, TCTC and the Rotary Club, to audiences from 50 to 600.

Cleveland schools, colleges and venues

Cleveland students are served by the Cleveland Metropolitan School District; colleges in and around Cleveland include Cleveland State University, Case Western Reserve University, Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C); Cleveland event venues include Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland and Rocket Arena. Phil speaks to every kind of audience on that list, from a classroom to a conference hall.

Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed staged what is generally thought of as the first rock and roll concert, the Moondog Coronation Ball, at the Cleveland Arena on March 21, 1952. (Encyclopedia of Cleveland History).

Booking a motivational speaker in Cleveland

Phil gives a conference keynote, a school assembly, a recovery-group talk or a workplace session, each up to an hour. Cleveland is about 57 miles from his home in Austintown, inside the 200-mile area around Youngstown he focuses on, and he travels farther when an event needs him. His fee isn't published: send your Cleveland date, audience size and venue to ask.

As a speaker he has addressed audiences from 50 people at a Rotary Club to 600 at the Human Resource Association of Central Ohio, and Otterbein University has had him back four times.

Phil Albenze in the press, for Cleveland planners

Before you book a speaker in Cleveland, check the record. TRAIN magazine put his before-and-after on its cover. The Tribune Chronicle profiled him and The Black Sword. 21 News and The Vindicator reported on the blind client he trains.

  • Tribune Chronicle
  • TRAIN magazine
  • 21 News (WFMJ)
  • The Vindicator
  • Business Journal Daily

Read the press coverage

Talk topics for Cleveland events

Questions from Cleveland event planners

Does Phil Albenze travel to Cleveland?

Yes. Cleveland is about 57 miles from his home in Austintown, Ohio, inside the 200-mile area around Youngstown he focuses on.

How long is a talk in Cleveland?

Up to an hour, for a Cleveland classroom, a recovery group or a conference hall.

What does Phil talk about in Cleveland?

His own story, told for Cleveland audiences: twenty years of drinking, three DUIs, a shooting, 304 pounds, and the day his son's tears sent him into a gym. Then quitting cold turkey, natural bodybuilding, and helping others.

Can schools in Cleveland book Phil?

Yes. Cleveland middle schools, high schools, career centers and colleges can book him. He has spoken at Boardman Middle School, Hubbard High School and four times at Otterbein University.

Can recovery programs in Cleveland book Phil?

Yes. Cleveland treatment centers, recovery groups and county programs can book him. California Palms Addiction Recovery Campus in Austintown has hosted him three times.

Does Phil speak to veterans' groups in Cleveland?

Yes. Phil served in the US Army from 1987 to 1993 and speaks to Cleveland veterans' posts and programs about the drinking that took over after he came home.

Can Phil give a keynote at a conference in Cleveland?

Yes. He spoke to 600 people at the Human Resource Association of Central Ohio, and Cleveland conferences can book a keynote of up to an hour.

Is there a book to go with a talk in Cleveland?

Yes. The Black Sword is the story the talk comes from, and After the Sword is the sequel. Cleveland hosts can order copies through Amazon.

How do I book Phil for an event in Cleveland?

Send a message through this site with your Cleveland date, audience and venue, or call Body by Phil at (330) 314-0228.

Phil also speaks near Cleveland

Motivational speaker in Akron, OH · Motivational speaker in Warren, OH · Motivational speaker in Canton, OH · Motivational speaker in Youngstown, OH · Motivational speaker in Detroit, MI · Motivational speaker in Erie, PA · Motivational speaker in Toledo, OH · Motivational speaker in Wheeling, WV

Motivational speaker in every city within 200 miles of Youngstown · Speaking

Book Phil Albenze in Cleveland

Send your date, audience and venue in Cleveland, or call (330) 314-0228.

Send a message