Keynote Slash Coleman
"Joy, Resilience & Embodied Connection — Because Healing Is Allowed to Feel Good."
NPR once said Slash Coleman has the power to change the way people think. Part performance artist, part mentor, and part movement builder — his work lives at the intersection of creativity and compassion. This isn't just a talk. It's an experience.
Reserve Your SpotSlash Coleman is an award-winning storyteller, author, performer, and certified Laughter Yoga Leader who has spent his career at the intersection of healing, humor, and human connection. Based in Richmond, Virginia, his work has reached thousands of people across corporate keynotes, healthcare settings, universities, and community programs — all united by a single conviction: joy is a legitimate path to wellbeing.
Known to audiences through his PBS documentary special The Neon Man and Me and his memoir The Bohemian Love Diaries, Slash brings a rare combination of artistic depth and scientific curiosity to every stage. A fellow producer at PBS once described him as "a wannabe scientist trapped in an artist's life, strapped to a runaway thoroughbred horse" — and that restless energy is precisely what makes his keynotes unforgettable.
"NPR once said that Slash Coleman has the power to change the way people think. And if you spend any time with him, you'll understand why."
— Speaker Introduction, Laugh for LifeSlash is the founder of Laugh for Life and the creator of the Storiflo™ Method — a bold approach to leadership and connection that blends story, emotional presence, and intentional shared experience. He holds a Master's in Education and has been recognized as a US Laughter Ambassador by Dr. Madan Kataria, the founder of Laughter Yoga.
His journey into laughter therapy began unexpectedly in 2016, following a lung collapse, when his surgeon recommended Laughter Yoga as part of his recovery. The transformation was profound — not just physically, but in how Slash understood human connection, isolation, and resilience. Since then, he has led free laughter sessions that reached over 9,000 people in a single year, run programs at the VA Medical Center, collaborated with cancer foundations, and partnered with Virginia Commonwealth University on research exploring laughter's role in addiction recovery and neuroplasticity.
In this keynote, Slash takes us beyond the science and straight into the experience — using laughter, storytelling, and the Storiflo™ Method to demonstrate how joy is not a distraction from healing but its very engine.
This session is designed to be lived, not just listened to. You'll leave with tools you can use immediately — with children, families, clients, colleagues, and yourself — to invite more regulation, connection, and genuine playfulness into your work and life.
For educators, parents, and movement practitioners, this is a reminder that the nervous system speaks the language of play — and that laughter may be the most ancient regulation tool we have.
How unconditional laughter — independent of humor — activates the nervous system, boosts optimism, and supports the brain's capacity to rewire itself.
The Storiflo™ Method uses personal narrative and shared emotional presence to create safe, generative spaces for growth and transformation.
Eye contact, play, and co-regulation — Slash demonstrates how simple relational practices can dissolve isolation and build genuine community.
Three days of movement, learning, and human connection — July 17, 18 & 19. Register now to secure your place.
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