Gary L. Smalls

Gary L. Smalls is a keynote speaker, resilience and leadership expert, and certified fitness professional whose work bridges physical wellness, personal empowerment, and organizational development. Smalls is a National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer, United States Track and Field Level 1 Coach, and TCS New York City Marathon finisher, bringing nearly two decades of professional experience and close to four decades of personal experience to his roles as a speaker and business enhancement specialist. He is the founder and lead strategist of Dream Team 718 Consulting LLC and Dream Team 718 Wellness LLC, organizations focused on the connection between individual health, community well-being, and people-centered leadership in organizational success.

Smalls' commitment to fitness and resilience developed in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, where he grew up in a neighborhood with limited nutritional resources and few examples of active, healthy living. His interest in fitness deepened during high school, where he studied the science and systems of physical training, forming the foundation of his career in health and wellness. Smalls has worked as a Livestrong coach and youth mentor, supporting inner-city students from junior high through college in overcoming mental and physical challenges. He has also practiced mixed martial arts and completed multiple road races, demonstrating the discipline and perseverance that inform his approach to wellness and leadership.

Through Dream Team 718 Consulting LLC, Smalls delivers a strength-based approach to leadership, sales, management, and customer service, emphasizing the value of people in business success. Through Dream Team 718 Wellness LLC, he has developed initiatives such as the "Wellness Wednesday" fitness program at Baruch College, designed to promote exercise and nutrition among staff, students, and faculty. Smalls' approach supports clients in building stronger bodies, resilient mindsets, and effective teams.

Smalls' community involvement includes serving on the Health and Wellness Committee for the founding chapter of One Hundred Black Men Inc. and working as a personal training coach for A Second U Foundation, a nonprofit supporting formerly incarcerated individuals. He is also the lead facilitator and coach for CUNY-Baruch College's PitchPrep/Blackstone LaunchPad Pitch Competition and serves as senior director of workforce development and lifelong learning at Nassau Community College. His speaking engagements include keynote addresses at Bronx Eagle Academy's Convocation and Building 21 High School, where he shares practical strategies for resilience, mindset, and long-term success with young audiences.

With expertise spanning business leadership, overcoming adversity, health and wellness, youth empowerment, and entrepreneurship, Smalls provides audiences with insights grounded in lived experience. His story, rooted in Brooklyn and shaped by sport, resonates with corporate audiences, academic institutions, and community organizations, establishing him as a versatile voice in keynote speaking, leadership development, and wellness programming.