Topic: Overcoming Obstacles

Mark Schulman

Mark Schulman is a monster drummer who’s toured the world with some of the greatest rock and pop performers – before crowds as big as 225,000. He’s played with P!NK, Billy Idol, Cher, Stevie Nicks, Foreigner, Simple Minds, and others over his 32-year touring career. Mark is also amazing on another stage – as a speaker, where he delivers a rock show disguised as a keynote. “I’ve learned about the importance of attitude as part of the touring family with these great performers,” Mark says as he unpacks the secrets of rockstar performance. His presentations translate lessons learned during a remarkable career into valuable tips for organizations, teams, leaders, and those who want to be their absolute best. Mark Schulman is a brilliant storyteller and performer who inspires audiences to engage and unleash their inner rockstar. Mark's first book, Conquering Life’s Stage Fright, shows people how to harness doubt, fear, and anxiety to perform at their best when it matters most. His next book, The Attitude Equation, is slated for late 2023 release. Mark is also a judge and coach on an all-new original music competition television show called BANDED on AXS TV.

DIGGING DEEPER

Mark Schulman grew up in Los Angeles and is a classically trained cellist. As a teen, he played with the Los Angeles Junior Philharmonic. He later even played cello on the 2009/2010 P!NK tour.

During his unprecedented career over the last 32 years, Mark has been a first-call drummer for world-class rock and pop artists. He was voted “Top 3 Pop-Rock Drummers” in the Modern Drummer Readers Poll in 2014 and was the featured cover artist in the May 2019 issue of Modern Drummer. Mark did four record-breaking world tours with P!NK over 15 years.

Mark’s resume reads like a “Who’s Who” of international rock ‘n’ roll royalty, including acts such as Cher, Billy Idol, Foreigner, Sheryl Crow, Stevie Nicks, Beyonce, and so many other world-class artists. He has drummed with Velvet Revolver at Ozzfest and for a crowd of 225,000 at Glastonbury Festival with Simple Minds. Mark has appeared on nearly every American, European, and Australian variety show including the Grammy Awards, Late Night with David Letterman, The Tonight Show, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, American Idol, The Paul O'Grady Show, The X Factor, Wetten, dass..?, the ARIA Awards, and more.

Mark’s fan base extends way beyond the rock ‘n’ roll stage. Fans of his other career, as a top motivational speaker, exist at companies and organizations he’s spoken for, including American Express, Microsoft, IBM, DELL Cisco, Aveda, Kaiser, NCAA, SAP, and more. To date, Mark has performed over 2,000 keynotes, 1,000 music clinics, and for over a billion people.

Offstage, Mark is passionate about teaching and helping others. He was the chairman of Create Now!, a non-profit organization founded in 1996 to help change troubled children's lives through creative arts mentoring. A cancer survivor himself, Mark has also motivated children and teens through his work doing seminars with the Ronald McDonald House and benefits for the Teenage Cancer Trust in the U.K.

An active educator, Mark taught at the Los Angeles Music Academy and is one of the world’s most sought-after drum clinicians, hosting clinics around the world. Mark produced his first instructional DVD in his studio, A Day in the Recording Studio; A Do-It-Yourself Guide to Recording Great Drum Tracks for Drummers and All Musicians distributed by Hudson Music. The Mark Schulman Signature Snare Drum is one of the best-selling signature products in the history of GRETSCH.

Mark's first book, Conquering Life’s Stage Fright, shows people how to harness doubt, fear, and anxiety as it relates to any performance or presentation and transform that into clarity, capability, and confidence. Mark has finished his second book, The Attitude Equation, which lays out a powerful path to happiness and achievement: Attitude x Behavior = Consequence. Mark and his writing partner Dr. Jim Samuels have interviewed rockstar performers across all industries about how ATTITUDE has driven BEHAVIOR to produce world-class CONSEQUENCES in their lives. The book is slated for release in late 2023.

In May 2023, Mark became a judge and coach for an all-new original music competition television show called BANDED. The show redefines the “build-a-band” concept and pairs up-and-coming artists with top coaches. Besides judging, Mark will coach one of the rock outfits.

Mark is also a music producer, trained audio engineer, and studio co-owner of West Triad Recording Studio in Venice, California.

Michael Kutcher

From the moment of birth, Michael Kutcher has overcome challenges and conquered obstacles that most people never even catch a glimpse of. Born an unexpected and underweight twin, Michael faced the first of several life threatening circumstances before he took his first breath. Thanks to both outstanding medical care and his indomitable instinct to survive, Michael survived his first days and weeks, although not without lasting adverse effects. Due to irreversible neurological deficiencies, Michael was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy before entering Kindergarten.

Throughout his childhood, Michael’s innate desire to thrive helped him overcome issues with eyesight, speech, and motor skill development. Michael grew up in a loving and supportive family that taught him the value of the health he did have and to make the best of his circumstances. A second close brush with death at a very young age helped open Michael’s eyes to the fragility of life and inspired him to take control of the future he once thought he’d never have.
Michael’s story is profound. He has lived the successes and reached life milestones that many didn’t think he ever could. His experiences and perspective on Cerebral Palsy have led him to work directly with Reaching for the Stars, A Foundation of Hope for Children with Cerebral Palsy as an advocate and public speaker.

Michael’s message in one of inspiration, hope, and appreciation. Having overcome unthinkable challenges against extraordinary odds, Michael is living proof that perseverance and unwavering positivity can surmount even the most seemingly impossible of obstacles.

Ashton spoke about his brother, Michael

His famous brother, Ashton, fought back tears as he paid an emotional tribute to his twin brother, Michael Kutcher, who was born with cerebral palsy. Speaking at the Ron Pearson Centre, he said:
"My brother was born with cerebral palsy and it taught me that loving people isn't a choice and that people aren't actually all created equal. The Constitution lies to us. We're not all created equal. We're all created incredibly inequal to one another, in our capabilities and what we can do and how we think and what we see. But we all have the equal capacity to love one another, and my brother taught me that." The Butterfly Effect actor then concluded: "When I got older, I spent years and years feeling bad about it, our inequalities. He also taught me that he had gifts that I didn't have. Extraordinary gifts that I didn't have, and that every time I felt sorry for him in life, I made him less. He taught me that and he gave that to me."