Neema Bahrami

Neema Bahrami is an event producer, survivor and LGBTQ inspirational speaker. His life has not been an easy journey. At a very young age, he became estranged from his family when they learned he was part of the LGBTQ community. As a confused teenager trying to find his place in the world, Neema turned to friends for support, even living on their sofas for a brief period of time.

Determined not to let his situation hold him back, Neema committed to becoming the best he could be. He began working 3 different jobs to make ends meet and get back on his feet. Always focused on the positive, when asked to look back at that pivotal time in his life, Neema laughingly says he simply convinced himself sleep was overrated and he persevered.

Since those early years, Neema has overcome tremendous obstacles to become a leading voice for the LGBTQ community. His is now driven by a passion for helping others learn to accept themselves and overcome their own personal tragedies.

Neema was the event manager the night of the tragic Pulse Nightclub mass shooting in 2016 in Orlando, Florida, during which 49 people were killed and more than 53 others were injured. Many were coworkers and close personal friends. Since that time, Neema has traveled the world, sharing his journey toward healing and speaking out about what he’s done to overcome the tragedy in his own life since that tragic night.

Neema’s Journey

A natural speaker and audience favorite, Neema has spent much of his career on stage. Audiences worldwide are drawn to his inspirational story and message of hope. Neema’s love of speaking was instilled when he was just a teenager. Asked to host a local stage show in Daytona Beach, Florida, Neema had so much fun, and enjoyed the work so much, that when the manager asked him to continued hosting the show each weekend, he jumped at the chance.

Being on stage came naturally to Neema. With his engaging style and quick wit, Neema began to develop a following. As he became more widely known, Neema quickly realized that while it was a lot of fun, he could actually leverage the stage to promote his message of hope and perseverance to encourage others and invite them to do the same. Organizations and event producers began hiring him in other cities around Florida and his career path was set. He readily tells audiences his career today is all because one person took a chance and gave him the opportunity to work when he was a teenager.

Programs

A portion of all appearance fees will be donated to the onePulse Foundation.

Hang a Heart

Hang a Heart is a program that began after the Pulse tragedy. Children in Neema’s neighborhood created hearts out of craft materials and hung it on his front door so that Neema would know that he was loved when returned home.

The children recruited friends and have made and hung over 300 hearts throughout Central Florida. Their efforts have touched so many and raised money for the Pulse Memorial.

Neema's Truth

What Audiences are Saying

“Listening to Neema speak, telling his story about surviving Pulse was very moving. Knowing of the Pulse tragedy, but hearing someone who worked at the nightclub, and survived the tragedy, brought deeper meaning and understanding. His story reminds me to practice love and kindness as it always goes further than hate. Neema’s story about survival was very inspiring, and also relatable. Neema has a powerful way of delivering his story and I could listen to him talk endlessly."
–Jamie Ashby