Rafi Kohan

Rafi Kohan applies extensive experience in performance psychology to help individuals and teams thrive in demanding environments. An award-winning author and journalist, he has spent more than two decades studying what drives people to excel under stress. He’s written extensively on the business, culture, and psychology of sports, while reporting on and researching elite athletes, Olympians, military officers, coaches, poker players, neuroscientists, and other top performers. Through this in-depth work, he reveals what the world’s most competitive minds intuitively understand: stress, when harnessed correctly, is a catalyst for greatness. Known for his lively storytelling, sharp insights, and accessible science, Kohan helps audiences decode the mechanisms of resilience and build the internal systems required to thrive when it matters most.

Exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau, Kohan delivers engaging, research-backed keynotes that equip teams with practical tools for navigating pressure and sustaining peak performance. His talks blend humorous behind-the-scenes stories of rivalry and competition with actionable techniques drawn from elite training environments. He teaches audiences how to reframe adversity, regulate anxiety, build trust-centered cultures, and apply mental-skills foundations used by high-performing units across sports and the military.

Before becoming a sought-after educator on human performance, Kohan built a distinguished career in journalism. His critically acclaimed book, The Arena, was a finalist for the PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing and was praised by The New York Times Book Review for its deep reporting and narrative power. His most recent book, Trash Talk, explores the psychology of gamesmanship and the hidden mental strategies used by top competitors to gain an edge. Kohan’s writing has appeared in outlets including Fast Company, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Scientific American, GQ, ESPN, and NPR. He has served in senior editorial roles at Apple, The Atlantic‘s creative studio, and The New York Observer, where his storytelling earned national recognition and influence.

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