Profile

"Blindness is the best thing that ever happened to me." Gord Paynter is a stand-up comic and he is different. Losing his eyesight in his early twenties as a result of diabetes, Gord thought his lifelong dream of becoming a comedian was gone forever. In truth, blindness opened his eyes to a whole new world of opportunity, humor and motivation. It all began on amateur night at a comedy club. Gord's unique style of comedy surprised the audience and triggered fits of laughter. Laughter that sparked the rediscovery of his dream. Today, Gord tours throughout North America performing as both a stand-up comic and a motivational speaker. Gord has been featured at the international comedy festival Just For Laughs in Montreal, and has appeared on The Comedy Network's Open Mike With Mike Bullard, Club 54, and CBC's Fifth Estate and The Nature Of Things With David Suzuki. When not touring, Gord splits his time equally between his wife Catherine and the golf course. (Maybe not equally...) In 1999 he made international headlines when he struck a 184 yard hole-in-one. And what did he shoot for that round? Six thousand and four!

Television / Film / Radio

•  Just For Laughs International Comedy Festival - Montreal
•  Open Mike With Mike Bullard - The Comedy Network's
•  Comedy at Club 54
•  The Fifth Estate - CBC
•  The Nature Of Things With David Suzuki - CBC

Keynotes And Topics

•  Leave 'em Laffin - An upbeat and motivational presentation drawing from Gord's own life experiences. Gord talks about the new challenges blindness brought to his life and how he managed to overcome those to achieve his goal of becoming a professional comic. Leave 'em Laffin combines Gord's original brand of humor with emotional, hard-hitting reality. Each show is personalized and presented in an interactive style. Gord touches on issues that audience members may be dealing with in their own lives.

Client Reviews

•  "From the moment Gord took the stage, our audience never stopped laughing, that is until he spoke about his motivation to reach his goals, at which point, you could hear a pin drop." - Hershey Canada Inc.
•  "His ability to motivate through comedy is true talent. At the end of Gord's presentation, all participants were immediately on their feet for a standing ovation." - Sears
•  "Gord Paynter, blind since the age of 22, is not only an inpirational character with a great deal of charm, he is an extremely funny man and as likeably a public speaker as they come." - F. Gilfeather
•  "Your ability to use yourself and life situation to motivate others is outstanding and worth mentioning." - Aurora College
•  "Your humour and motivational message left our people with a true sense of inspiration to move forward as a team and challenge each other to meet and exceed our goals." - Cognis Inc.
•  "The laughter throughout the room was spontaneous and uncontrollable." - The Credit Valley Hospital

Performance Fee Range:  $1,000 - $5,000    Travel from Brantford, Ontario

In order to service our clients efficiently our policy is to respond to inquiries for paid personal appearances only. Requests for contact information, merchandise, autographs, etc. will be disregarded.