Dirish began his journey on stage in 2006 with Sunshine Toastmasters, while pursuing his Mechanical Engineering from BMS College of Engineering, Basavanagudi, Bangalore. Within a short span, he went on to win numerous Inter-collegiate debates and speaking competitions. In 2007, he won his first India-Sri Lanka Level Speech Contest conducted by Toastmasters International, becoming one of the youngest District Winners of the time.

In 2009, at the age of 24, he co-founded Banjara Toastmasters to mentor and develop numerous aspiring speakers. The club has produced numerous champion speakers, many of whom are Dirish’s mentees. Till date Banjara has completed over 700 meetings and is one of the respected toastmaster clubs in Bangalore

Dirish’s yearning to make a larger impact in the society, led him to establish “A Take on Life” in Aug 2016, which is India’s first platform that hosts conversations on Life. With this program, Dirish successfully established himself as a Show Host and Moderator and has been covered by print media-houses like, Indian Express, Deccan Chronicle to name a few.

Overtime Dirish noticed a lacuna in the coaching space, where professionals and aspiring speakers weren’t receiving the necessary guidance and mentoring to evolve into impactful speakers and thus began the journey of establishing his own course and brand. Today, Own The Stage, is  amongst  India’s most popular public speaking courses , with numerous working professionals, entrepreneurs and business leaders, who have been a part  and vouch for this program.  

Dirish is  today the most sought-after coach by mid and senior-professionals across industries. He is a veteran toastmaster- a district champion and multiple time winner in numerous contests held over the years. He has delivered Keynote Speeches and conducted numerous Educational Sessions across regions over the years.

Not all speakers can be great coaches. Dirish is gifted with the ability to coach and train people besides being a renowned speaker himself. For more than a decade he has coached numerous champion speakers and professionals. His list of mentees include CEO’s/CFO’s/Directors of established organizations . 

“ There is a sense of inexplicable joy and happiness to see your mentees mushroom into confident speakers who can create a positive impact in the society. Knowledge only grows by sharing . The least I can do, is impart my learnings and experiences garnered over the years to help others discover their true potential”, says Dirish. He has coached over 5,000 speakers till date and continues to work at creating a greater impact in the society.

He Writes, He Speaks, He Coaches and is also an astute a Business Development professional – You can’t ask for more, Can You!